A couple of years ago, Kelly gave Claire and myself\u00a0 books for Christmas. The weren\u2019t books to read \u2014 they were books to write\u2026 They were entitled, \u201cMy Dad\u201d and \u201cMy Mom.\u201d Each page posed a question about yourself and your past\u2026 the idea being that when filled out, it would be like a mini history of your life.
\nIt was a great idea and of course we haven\u2019t written in either book. But wait, there\u2019s a good reason. While the idea is terrific, each page is way too small to properly address the questions \u2014 and \u2014 the questions are generic, they don\u2019t specifically apply to us.
\nWe discussed this with Kelly and she agreed and intended to provide a more specific set of questions in a larger format. That hasn\u2019t happened yet, either.<\/p>\n
So \u2014 I thought I\u2019d take a day or two to jot down some things that might (or might not) be of interest to Kelly and David and maybe even some day to Emily and Locke.
\nIn no particular order, here\u2019s some things I remember that made growing up almost 80 years ago different than today \u2014 not saying it was better, or worse \u2014 just different.<\/p>\n
My parents never wore jeans, or \u201cLevis\u201d as I remember them being called \u2014 I\u2019m sure they didn\u2019t even own a pair. In fact I think I was probably in Jr. High before I got my first pair. They were dark blue and had bight orange stitches on all the seams. They also had shiny rivets on the pockets.
\nI don\u2019t think my Dad ever owned a credit card\u2026 maybe my mom did in the later years, I\u2019m not sure. The first credit card I owned was for gas. I got that when I was in my 20s.<\/p>\n
We didn\u2019t have a television set in our house until I was about 8 or 9 years old. There were no television stations<\/em> in the state of Oklahoma until I was 8 or 9 years old. We had the first TV not only in Maysville but also the surrounding towns. It was very big with a very small screen \u2014 and, of course, black and white.<\/p>\n I was probably 21 or 22 years old before I tasted my first pizza. It was delivered in a truck \u2014 the truck was the whole pizza restaurant, they had an oven and counter and a window in the side where you paid for, and got your pizza. When you called, they came to your house (in my case it was where I worked) stopped at the curb and cooked your pizza \u2014 certainly couldn\u2019t say it wasn\u2019t fresh. I think you could get cheese and maybe pepperoni\u2026 I don\u2019t remember any of the other \u201cstuff.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking of food, there wasn\u2019t any \u201cfast food\u201d when I was growing up. We ate at home. If it was a special occasion, we would go to a restaurant, except we called it a cafe. They just served food \u2014 like you\u2019d get at home. There was no Italian, Mexican, French, etc. establishments. They just served food. I guess the first \u201cfast food\u201d place I can remember was Dairy Queen. Most everyone just went there for ice cream, but I think you could get a hot dog and maybe even a hamburger. You couldn\u2019t go in though \u2014 you had to walk up to the window and order. Most people went back to their cars to eat.<\/p>\n And if you happened to want an alcoholic drink with your meal \u2014 forget it! When I was growing up, Oklahoma was a dry state. You couldn\u2019t buy wine or any distilled beverage. It was possible to buy beer, but it was \u201c3.2 beer,\u201d only 3% alcohol content. Of course you couldn\u2019t buy any<\/em> beer on Sunday. In fact you couldn\u2019t buy much of anything on Sunday\u2026 almost all the stores were closed.<\/p>\n We didn\u2019t have \u201clittle league\u201d anything. There were no organized sports for kids. If you wanted to play baseball or football or basketball, you found a bunch of kids and just played, It was only when you went to high school that organized sports were available. And soccer \u2014 never heard of it when I was young and when I did hear about it, it was a \u201cgirls\u201d sport.<\/p>\n Outdoor play consisted of building forts, sliding down hills on pieces of cardboard and if we were lucky enough t ever get any snow, we had snowball fights and tried to build snowmen. We didn\u2019t have skate boards, roller blades, or trail bikes or ATVs\u2026 I had a bicycle and I remember my granddad built me a wagon. I think I had pair of roller skates (with a key, not built onto shoes) but if you wanted to go roller skating, you went to a \u201croller rink.\u201d<\/p>\n I never had a telephone, or radio, in my room. We had a telephone in the \u201chall\u201d and a radio in the living room. The first phone I remember didn\u2019t have any kind of dial \u2014 when you picked it up, the operator already knew who you were and would usually call you by name and ask who you wanted to talk to. Then she would connect you. Almost like a human Siri\u2026.<\/p>\n There was no kindergarten in Maysville \u2014 when you got to be six year old, you went to the first grade. And if your grades were good enough (we actually got grades, no S\u2019s or U\u2019s) at the end of the year, you were promoted to second grade\u2026 and so on. If you didn\u2019t make good grades, you repeated that grade the following year \u2014 no one worried that someone that had to repeat a grade would be \u201cruined for life.\u201d We actually had to do something to receive an award\u2026.<\/p>\n Of course we had no computers, or hand-held calculators. We had to memorize the multiplication or \u201ctimes tables.\u201d We were required to solve math problems using nothing but a pencil and paper!!<\/p>\n When I was young I had a job\u00a0 as a paperboy. Just about all newspapers were delivered by boys (usually via bicycle) and most boys at one time or another, delivered newspapers. I delivered The Daily Oklahoman and I got to keep a few cents for every paper I delivered\u2026but I had to collect the money from the customers on a weekly basis (I think.)<\/p>\n When you went to the movies, you never saw any of the cowboys, like the Lone Ranger or Gene Autry, actually kill anyone \u2014 they would just shoot the gun out of the bad guys hand. No blood and guts.<\/p>\n When we got sick, often the doctor would come to your house!! I\u2019m not making this up\u2026.<\/p>\n If by any chance either one of my kids are reading this, they\u2019re laughing like crazy. I think you have to have \u201cbeen there,\u201d to appreciate it. Since this post is getting pretty long, I\u2019ll continue it later. Growing up today ain\u2019t what it used to be\u2026. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A couple of years ago, Kelly gave Claire and myself\u00a0 books for Christmas. The weren\u2019t books to read \u2014 they were books to write\u2026 They were entitled, \u201cMy Dad\u201d and \u201cMy Mom.\u201d Each page posed a question about yourself and … Continue reading
\n\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n