Life in the Slow Lane

Do you ever think about the "good old days"? Of course the younger generation would not remember, all they have ever known was a life in the fast lane, I remember long summer days we would spend playing outside til dark. No game consoles or computer games then. No Smart Phones, Droid's, I Pad's, etc. Hell, we were lucky to even have a house phone. Good old rotary phones, the big bulky black ones. One television if you were lucky and got 3 channels with rabbit ears. Don't forget, it was a black and white television. All shows were PG, no profanity, nudity, or blood and gore. An icebox was just that, an insulated metal box that you put big blocks of ice in to keep food cold.  Rich people had attic fans, the rest were lucky to have window fans. If the wringer washer was broke it was back to the foot tub and scrub board. People that lived in the country still had outhouses. Indoor plumbing was a luxury.  Most walked every where they went or took the public bus if one was available where you lived. Only used taxi's in emergency. The poor could not afford vehicles. Although times may have been a little tougher then, there were many good things you didn't have to worry about. You didn't have to lock your doors. You could leave your car keys in the ignition  Murder was almost nonexistent compared to today's statistics. There were no pedophiles, serial killers, and rapist as is so prevalent in current times. Don't get me wrong, it's not as though there was never any crime, but the crime rate was so low, usually only occurring in big cities. You did have the gangsters of the early 1900's, fighting for control of a territory, especially during prohibition. But they were killing each other, not the innocent. I think if I had a choice, I would opt for those good old day's rather than current times. But that of course is just me. So here I am an old woman wishing that I was out swinging on the swing that hung from the big tree in the yard that daddy made. Swing Sets were for the rich when they started making them. But poor was good, it was a kind loving family that worked together to accomplish the needs of each day. Everyone had their chore's but the kids had plenty of play time. There was no morbid obesity of the young from lack of exercise. We ran and played all day. We were served well balanced meals 3 times a day, and you only ate at meal time. But, it was okay, we were to busy playing anyway. School was better, You only had to learn the basics, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, and world history. You didn't have to take state required test to determine if you passed or failed..............   So here's the thing. I grew up poor but in the best times you could. I had a loving family, and though we had very few material items, we had each other. We used our imagination for playing. Only thing kids can imagine now is their new smart phone or new car. No paper dolls or puzzles made of Popsicle sticks. I laugh to think of what a 8 year old would do now in this time if we gave her paper dolls for her birthday. I can see it now, throwing it aside and saying "cute joke, now where's the real present". The other good things about the good old day's were gasoline at 19 cents a gallon, bread 10 cents a loaf, a gallon of milk for 89 cents. Going to the movie with a dollar and be able to buy your ticket and get a soda and popcorn with the same dollar. Well, I guess I have rambled enough about those times that we will never see again. Oh, for the good old days, life in the slow lane. It wasn't so bad after all.