Wasn't this us?

[gray_marian]

A little house with three bedrooms,
one bathroom and one car on the street.
A mower that you had to push
to make the grass look neat.

In the kitchen on the wall
we only had one phone,
And no need for recording things,
someone was always home.

We only had a living room
where we would congregate,
unless it was at mealtime
in the kitchen where we ate.

We had no need for family rooms
or extra rooms to dine.
When meeting as a family
those two rooms would work out fine.

We only had one TV set
and channels maybe two,
But always there was one of them
with something worth the view.
For snacks we had potato chips
that tasted like a chip.
And if you wanted flavor
there was always onion dip.

Shop-bought snacks were rare because
my mother liked to cook
and nothing can compare to snacks
in Betty Crocker's book.

Weekends were for family trips
or staying home to play.
We all did things together --
even go to church to pray.

When we did our weekend trips
depending on the weather,
no one stayed at home because
we liked to be together.

Sometimes we would separate
to do things on our own,
but we knew where the others were
without a mobile phone.

Then there were the movies
with your favourite movie star,
and nothing can compare
to watching movies in your car.

Then there were the picnics
at the peak of summer season,
pack a lunch and find some trees
and never need a reason.

Get a cricket game together
with all the friends you know,
have real action playing ball --
and no game video.

Remember when the doctor
used to be the family friend,
and didn't need insurance
or a lawyer to defend?

he way that he took care of you
or what he had to do,
because he took an oath and strived
to do the best for you.

Remember going to the store
and shopping casually,
and when you went to pay for it
you used your own money?

Nothing that you had to swipe
or punch in some amount,
and remember when the cashier person
had to really count?

The milkman used to go
from door to door,
And it was just a few pence more
than going to the store.

There was a time when mailed letters
came right to your door,
without a lot of junk mail ads
sent out by every store.

The postman knew each house by name
and knew where it was sent;
there were not loads of mail addressed
to "present occupant."

There was a time when just one glance
was all that it would take,
and you would know the kind of car,
the model and the make.

They didn't look like turtles
trying to squeeze out every mile;
they were streamlined, white walls, fins
and really had some style.

One time the music that you played
whenever you would jive,
was from a vinyl, big-holed record
called a forty-five.

The record player had a post
to keep them all in line
and then the records would drop down
and play one at a time.

Oh sure, we had our problems then,
just like we do today
and always we were striving,
for a better way.

Oh, the simple life we lived
still seems like so much fun,
how can you explain a game,
just kick the can and run?

this life seemed so much easier
and slower in some ways.
I love the new technology
but I sure do miss those days.

So time moves on and so do we
and nothing stays the same,
but I sure love to reminisce
and walk down memory lane.
With all today's technology
we grant that it's a plus!
But it's fun to look way back and say,
Hey look,guys, THAT WAS US!



LIFE IS SHORT. SMILE WHILE YOU STILL HAVE TEETH

[j.sabourn]

Way above my head Marian. Only 2 bedrooms, no phone and certainly no car. Certainly better than the council house which was the only house as such ever lived in. Previous was furnished rooms. About 8 years then graduated to 4 bedrooms and a phone. Still later a car, which I never drove as kept failing the driving test, as soon as they brought the no drinking act in, gave up on that one. JWS

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi Marian.
Around 1952 I was home on leave; a mate's uncle brought a car around to take my Mum for a spin, she was crippled and had never been in a car before, we drove up into the hills and she thought she was on a magic
carpet, all the time I was home she kept talking about it, in those days simple things made people happy.
Cheers Des

[j.sabourn]

Dez bought my mother the first washing machine she ever had about 1954. Had to be worked by Norwegian steam by a handle. That was modern technology in those days. She was pleased as punch with it and stood in the wash house for many years after it had been superceded by electric ones. JWS

[Doc Vernon]

Quite a few of the things mentioned in that Poem were but a dream for us Marian!
A Farm House with very little ,but love and Happiness!
Thanks

[happy daze john in oz]

The then simplicity of life that gave us cause to find our own way in life. No fancy frills then, we used something now long gone, imagination! We were resourceful and healthy, obesity was a word we never knew, well not until the Golden Arches arrived. We rode bicycles on the road not the side walk and knew the highway code. Bath night was Friday clean or not, and for many the bathroom hung on a nail outside. We roasted chestnuts by the fire and ate bags of crisps with little blue bags of salt in them. We sat outside the pub with a glass of lemonade while mum and dad had a beer or two. This thread could go on for ever, but sadly nostalgia is not what it was.

[John Arton]

Growing up in the Lake District, at weekends and in school holidays we would be out of the door by 0800 and on our bikes with a pack of jam buttties and not be back until dark, cycling for miles around the lakes. No phones and parents were never worried about where we were, the roads were a lot quieter in those days so you could cycle safely.
Nowadays parents worry when they cannot get hold of their children every hour and kids hardly ever play out exploring. They can usually be found no further than 100 yards from their house sitting playing on their phones or if lucky enough, wandering around in gangs around the local shopping centres, again glued to their phones.
rgds
JA

[Ivan Cloherty]

Living in a house with no gas, no electric, no running water I think most things in that poem would have been impossible for us. We had oil lamps and a glass accumulator battery operated valve radio, the battery had to be carried two miles to be charged, pick up the charged one, leave the expired, every day for eight years!,god they were heavy, no we didn't have a car, but we did have books and adventures that would have 'elf and safeti' in blue fits today, or have social services removing us from the care of our mother

[Fouro]

During school holidays I loved staying with my grandparents.They had a cottage in a village which was situated close to Stirling Castle. There was no electric, no gas, no running water. Water was obtained from a village hand pump. All cooking etc was done on a black lead grate. The fire on the grate burned solid fuel such as logs etc. At the rear of the cottage was a very long garden where every type of fruit bush grew. Gran always had plenty of home made jams. The cottage had two attic bedrooms. When in bed I enjoyed reading a book under the light of an oil lamp. Situated at the bottom of the garden was a dry toilet. Grandfather didn't have a car but he had two Clydesdales (Jock and Baldy) and a cart. I always enjoyed being close to them and polishing the brasses on their harnesses.
All gone but not forgotten.

FOURO.

[j.sabourn]

Fouro looking back it all seemed better then than now. We looked forward to leaving school at 15. It was up to anyone what they wanted to do within limits, robbing banks not included. If you could read and write that was a damn sight better than our grandparents. Also showed you didn't have to go for a fancy education and were able to compete with those who only in your fathers time were considered the gentry. We have come a long way in our own History and the same has or should have been available to other countries. However they all want the same with no strings attached. What the working man fought for he should be proud of, and also of his country, he won it by fair means and should not have to hand it back on a silver platter to those who made no effort to do the same. JWS