People of the younger generation laugh and joke when older folks go to reminiscing about the good old days. They find it deplorable that older members of our society had to live in such an old fashioned, technology free world. They wonder how we managed to survive without all of the modern day wonders that they take for granted, or as part of life's necessities.
Years ago, a telephone was a luxury for most families. The single status symbol in the home, hung on the wall, or sat on a table top, proudly telling visitors of your good fortune. You had to stand in one spot to talk on it, but that was fine, because you were always glad to take time to talk to your neighbors and family members. It didn't really ring to often anyway, because a lot of your friends and family didn't have a telephone, and really found no need for such a luxury.
Years ago, a family get together was anticipated with excitement and joy. The adults gathered in the house and the children played outside, if the weather was nice. The women would mostly hang out in the kitchen, cooking great smelling dishes, and passing the newest baby around the room.
The men all hung out together, talking about cars, fishing, hunting or their jobs. At times they'd all wonder out to the garage, if there was one, to look over the newest repair job, each offering their own bit of advise, on the cheapest repair strategy. You fixed, repaired and patched up the best you could, just to get a little more use out of something, rather it was the family car, the tractor, or even the old washing machine.
The children, of all ages, played together in the yard, or at least close enough to be within shouting distance. The neighborhood, open fields, creek beds or huge rolling hills and mountains, depending on location, was theirs to explore. They gazed in wonderment at the different fish swimming in the creek, or new plants, trees or tiny animals that lived in the surrounding areas.
The outdoors held many unseen adventures, and the children were never bored, no matter how many times they had explored the same places. The older ones, unquestioningly, kept an eye on the younger ones, because they were older and proud to be awarded the task of herding the younger ones around. They delighted in showing the younger ones all the discoveries they had already made, on previous adventures.
When one of the many generations of men let out a “holler” to “get on to the house” they knew dinner was ready and went on a run, to get washed up. A big meal it was too, as everyone had brought something to contribute. Everyone sat at big long tables, pushed together, and covered with an assortment of different table clothes. It didn't matter that they didn't exactly match, they did their job of covering the old worn table top.
The meals were so much fun, what with all the different discussions taking place. Grandma and Grandpa might be telling stories from way back, while Mom, Dad or an Uncle talked about what might be in years to come. Dinner was about, not only sharing good food, but sharing life as well. Everyone joined into the discussions, even the tiniest child. It might have only been by banging on the high chair tray with a spoon, but everyone laughed, especially when the mashed potatoes inadvertently ended up in the hair and not the mouth!
After dinner, everyone gathered on the big front porch, or found comfortable sitting space in the yard. It was the twilight of early evening, and time to relax. Sometimes, a relative brought out an old guitar, that had been around for years, and started to strum a song. Soon, everyone was asking, play this song, or play that song. Even the little ones were trying to sing along, mostly making up words as they went.
When it was time to leave, everyone gathered their tired, sometimes sleeping, children and packed them into their various cars. It had been another good day, just like last weekend, and they were already looking forward to next weekend's gathering. Because, a weekend without a whole houseful of family and friends, just wasn't heard of. Sunday's was the day you spent with family, plain and simple.
Perhaps we do live in a much more advanced world these days, but at what price? Telephones are no longer a luxury, that you are proud to own. They are deemed a necessity, and not just one will do. It seems that every member of the family must have their own, even down to the youngest child.
We talk, we text, we email, and instant message. It's no longer necessary to make that drive to a relative's house to visit. What for? We are all tied together by technology; who needs a face to face visit? Besides, we've all been busy at our jobs all week long. We have so much catching up to do around our own house!
The kid's don't want to go to Grandma's house, anyway, because she doesn't have a video game system. Nor does she have a big screen television with 250 channels. And they don't want to take their games with them. It's to much trouble and time to unhook all the wires. And if they did take it, someone else's child might want to play too. Share? What a concept.
So, we plod along in this new age of “techno” everything, all the while complaining about the cost of living, and the ever failing economy. We complain, complain, complain, yet we continue to write out checks monthly for cell phones, house phones, internet service, cable television, game systems and new games.
After all, we have to have something to do, don't we? It would be just awful to have to spend a quiet Sunday afternoon, visiting with family and friends. Just imagine the horror of no ringing phones, no blaring video games and no tables covered with everyone's laptop.
Imagine the horror of real conversations, of seeing someone smile or actually hearing a child's laughter, instead of seeing his face on your computer screen.
Yep, it sounds like we had it just awful back in the good old days, doesn't it?
