The Trouble With Simpler Times

The year I hit the next significant decade of life started this month.

As I was thinking about this milestone, and after reading a rambling article about how the “good ol’ days” were not as good as some would think, I concluded that modern times are not as good as some imagine.

The trouble with any time you can imagine has much to do with perspective. Have you lived it? Do you remember it accurately? What was hidden from you that you never knew about said times? Yes. And how old were you then?

Back then…

1. I didn’t need login credentials or a password.
2. Computers were big boxy machines that needed a “clean” room and tremendous air conditioning power to stave off the heat of burning electrons!
3. No seatbelts, airbags, or other safety measures we wouldn’t dream of getting into a car without.
4. Bicycle helmets? Knee pads? All we tried to do was keep our pant legs out of the unprotected chain and socket near the pedals.
5. Pocket knives – don’t leave home without them. And we carried them on flights across the country, proudly worn in scabbards on our belts.
6. Talk about flying; everyone was welcome at the airport to see the travelers off at the gate or to welcome them home. I was in my 20s before they started moving smokers to the back of the plane.
7. I remember my grandparents drawing water from a well, catching rainwater in a barrel for washing up, and washing clothes outdoors. Most would groan and say, “Just wear those clothes a few more times before washing.” Then? Hanging everything out to dry and pray the birds and rain don’t come. Imagine doing this in the Winter!
8. No microwave. Gas heaters in the living room. An attic fan in the hallway ceiling. No fancy kitchen gadgets. I seldom remember changing light bulbs. In my mind, they lasted forever!
9. I never had a color TV until I married, and by then, it must have been the late 70s before they became standard. Before TV? Radio and it was free! No subscriptions to listen to music!
10. My first car had only an AM radio. Later, 8-tracks, cassettes, or CD players were mounted under the dash and tied into the speaker system. Of course, after-market A/C contended for the leg space in the middle of the front seat.
11. We played outside a lot. “Go play until dinner time. Be home by dark!” Bicycles and woods were our greatest pleasures. BB Guns – and ammo only cost the price of a soft drink (called cokes by everyone around me) – 10 cents.
12. I remember buying Hardy Boy books, and when they went over a buck, I almost cried. Libraries were our friends. Even my kids will remember library days. They were allowed to check out 11 books and took a stack home every week. Cheaper? Important? Sure. Money doesn’t grow on trees, and very little is to be had for extravagant purposes.

I could go on, and someday I will. But thinking about it? It still makes me wish for simpler times.

There was nothing simple about growing up. We all faced challenges different from those of today’s youth, but we were challenged. Imagine life approaching my milestone of this month and chopping firewood, getting the horse and plow ready to break ground, or not having the security of a pension or social security (think about this) to pay for groceries and living. No medical insurance. There was no extended care because no one could afford what did not exist. My healthcare costs more than a month’s living cost in the decade I was born.

Today will produce the groans of a future generation looking back to these “good ol’ days.” The minimum wage in my state went up to $16.66 this year, and that’s still not enough if you live in a big city. The year I was born, the minimum wage was 75 cents. A living wage is always higher.

Before I stop, if you were a spiritual person back then, the church was Sunday morning and night, and a mid-week Bible study, probably a separate prayer night, and youth service. Everything revolved around the community of the church. Today? Stay home, watch it on your computer streamed through a social platform, and wait for your favorite section before paying attention. All the while, you are still in your PJ’s.

Oh, I so wish for the good ol’ days.

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