Axes To Grind - "I Remember When . . ."

I Remember When . . .

. . . there were no fences much less walls and dogs ran free, got to know each other, built up immunities, and didn’t require huge vet bills.

. . . cats were kept indoors and didn’t crap in my back yard.

. . . not only dogs knew their neighbors but so did people.

I Remember When . . .

. . . a man was as good as his word.

. . . a handshake was a contract.  (We did not renegotiate handshakes.)

. . . loyalty in the workplace went both directions.

. . . how you behaved was as important as who you were.

I Remember When . . .

. . . work was a virtue to be desired, not something to be done between text messages, Utube videos and personal phone calls.

. . . a thank you was personal, not a generic email to “all employees.”

. . . when an employee was hired he was hired by a person, and when he was fired he was fired by a person, not by a text message, an email or by an organization that “decided to go another direction.”

I Remember When . . .

. . . kids met at the sandlot and played pick up games and did not need a “league” to provide an activity.

. . . Halloween was for kids and it was safe.

. . . we were raised by a community of parents, aunts and uncles, neighbors, church members, teachers, shopkeepers, and townspeople, who all cared about us and how we acted.

. . . we carried gym bags not back packs ... we “dressed out” for gym and took showers afterward.  (You all should experience a middle school classroom after P.E. on an August afternoon.)

I Remember When . . .

. . . newspapers and radio and TV news programs had news not upcoming news. (I deleted my harangue.) 

. . . movies cost 12¢ and 25¢ on Saturdays that had double features plus a cartoon and Movietone News. (It was “olds” by the time we got it but news to us.)

. . . we could hear the lyrics in a song.

I Remember When . . .

. . . cashiers could make change.

. . . people were concerned as much with service as price.

. . . service stations actually provided service.

I Remember . . .

. . . days that were not necessarily the “good old days,” but they were kinder, gentler and simpler.  (I would like to remember days like that 30 years from now.  Actually, I would like to be able to remember anything 30 years from now.)

I Would Like to Remember When . . .

. . . I lived in a community in which people loved their neighbors as themselves.

. . . people did unto others as they would have others do unto them.

. . . God was part of all our lives not just part of an expletive.

That would be something to remember!

“Axes to Grind – I Remember When…”

© 2010 Michael J. McCabe

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