Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Remember When

Do you ever feel like you woke up one day and you were old. Or maybe just from another world. I have been spending too much time with my daughter's friends because I feel a rant coming on. This happens a couple times a year so bear with me. This too shall pass.

 I heard a nameless teenage girl complain that she needed a new cell phone. ( Not mine!!!) Why I asked and she proceeded to tell me all the new features that her phone didn't have. She also proceeded to tell me how unfair her mother was that she would not purchase her this new phone because her phone was only a year old and worked perfectly.  She went on like this was the most abusive parent on the planet.....

Well wake up America some of you  have no idea how good you really do have it.

Can you imagine not having a computer. I didn't have a computer growing up. We went to this wonderful thing called a Library. Do they even make encyclopedias anymore. Remember library card catalogs. I was probably in my twenties before I ever even saw a computer. I bought a set of encyclopedias for my children when they were young. Took me two years to pay for those rascals and they may bury me with them but I am not throwing them out. I educated 4 kids with them and they were a heck of an investment.



Can anyone remember having a pen pal. The anticipation of checking that mailbox at the end of the gravel driveway everyday for that illusive letter from a friend far away. Handwritten with a ten cent stamp attached. How about clipping box tops from a cereal box for that toy on the back and saving your pennies and sending off in the mail for it.  To a little kid it seemed like that package took a lifetime to arrive. And you complain about slow email.

We had one phone in our house and the same phone number for over 50 years. Till both my parents died. In the beginning we had a party line. There were two other houses on our line.  There was no call waiting, you didn't know who was on the other line till you answered. If no one answered you called back. There was no voicemail or answering machine. It was this big black bulky phone but guess what. It is still plugged in on my bedside table and still working. Even without electricity. Imagine that. And I don't even have to stand out in the driveway on one leg to get a signal. And no batteries.


There was one TV with 3 channels in our house growing up and at a certain time of the night the national anthem played and it went off.   Back then you actually had to get up to change the channel. Anyone remember TV Guides? How about those VCR's ? I still have plenty of tapes and still play them .....

 Somewhere I still have a box of 8 tracks, and cassettes. Anyone remember the CB radio craze. I even have one of those around somewhere. Don't see them much anymore. How about those vinyl records. I still have grandma's Truetone radio with a built in record player for those new fangled 78's. And yes it still works !



If your car broke down you didn't have a cell phone you actually had neighbors that stopped and helped you change that flat tire or maybe gave you a lift to where you were going.  Anyone seen a pay phone lately?  And who said that you have to be available 24 hours a day 7 days a week. My children fuss at me for not turning my cell phone on. Has it ever occurred to anyone that I do it on purpose. Are those 1000 friends on Facebook really your friends? When you get sick will they come and hold your hand or bring food to your family or just visit with you. Is it really necessary for everyone to know your status always.

Anyone remember when you bought things and they lasted a lifetime and maybe beyond.

 Grandma's lamp still lights the way on a stormy night

My own highchair now holds my own grandchildren


Aunt Sally's clock has been keeping time since 1918 and still serves my kitchen well. No electricity and no batteries. You just have to wind the key once a week.


Grandma's sewing machine still makes the prettiest stitches of all of my 4 machines. And honey is it a great leg workout. Talk about building those calf muscles : )


Mama's Singer still piecing quilts. This is the machine I learned to sew on. Still working!

And all the cell phones I have owned in the last 10 or 15 years other than the one I now carry. Where are they?



In a junk box in the bottom of my closet.

Imagine that .......

10 comments:

  1. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! My brother has my mom and dad's old phone number! I remember when it was: Wellington 5786...and we had a 3 party line...thanks for the post...I too feel the rant!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I could kick myself for all the treasures I let slip through my hands...all the listed things, Radio's, my mothers Singer Factory sewing machine I just gave away because i was moving D*** I was silly.:o( If I had stayed in NJ I would have chickens ( who knew I'd want them again now:o( crying my eyeballs out....Oh Well, some of the memories were good.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am right in there with you..... :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. AMEN! Thank you for writing this! American needs to wake up and soon! I still have the encyclopedias that my kids used in school No I'm not getting rid of them. They can shut down the internet and I still read. I also have oil lamps, and old furniture build in the USA, and it is still holding up!

    ReplyDelete
  5. There will always be a place for books. It worries me to think that there might only be 'e-books' in the future.

    And what about Twitter? I won't use it. It encourages illiteracy, as far as I'm concerned.

    Wish I'd had the sense to have my Granny teach me to sew.
    Thanks for a wonderful post. ♥

    ReplyDelete
  6. Couldn't have said it better,you go girl,makes me wonder what the world is going to be like when this next generation takes over !!!!
    Have a blessed tomorrow

    ReplyDelete
  7. No Twittering for me.

    My Fair Lady is an awesome movie!

    And you know what? I remember ten cent Hershey bars. =|

    ReplyDelete
  8. Were you reading my mind :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Well you know I loved this post : )

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have a rotary dial phone in the basement, and on more that one occasion have been able to contact the electric coop here in central Minnesota when the power went out! It is a 1965 Western Bell telephone and is red, brought from my dad's barber shop when he retired!I will never get rid of it. Thanks for this post. Phil/Minnesota

    ReplyDelete

Feel free to challenge me, disagree with me, or tell me I’m completely nuts in the comments section of each blog entry, but I reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason whatsoever (abusive, profane, rude, or anonymous comments) – so keep it polite, please. Also I am not a free advertisement board if you want to push a product on my comments I will delete you fast !!!

Related Posts with Thumbnails