Penny For Your Thoughts By: Nancy Whitaker
A lot of us look back and think about how things used to be and call them “The Good Old Days.” Is it because we had it better back then or because we were young and that was just how it was?
Those who can go back in years and recall outhouses, pumping water into a bucket, warming up bath water on the stove, hauling in coal for fuel, Maytag washers, hanging out clothes even in the winter, packing your school lunch, and walking to school think back now and say, “Well we did not have it so bad.”
I guess as kids we entertained ourselves with games such as Red Rover, Freeze, Mother-May I, softball, marbles and tag. Believe it or not, I was fairly quiet and could read or play paper dolls for hours. I built little houses for the dolls made of cardboard, named them all and cut out their clothes which had tabs on them. Those paper dolls filled many childhood hours for me in companionship and socialization.
In our world things change each day. We now have iPhones, computers, video games, dolls that are like newborns and remote controlled cars and helicopters which can fly at the push of a remote. (Oh if my deceased family members could see all of this).
Gone are the days when Mama used to get on the back porch and ring that dinner bell and say, “Supper is ready. Come now or you will miss out.” We used to sit down as a family and eat the fixin’s of pork chops, fried potatoes, head lettuce with mayonnaise, sliced tomatoes and we either had iced tea or hot tea.
Today most of us try to watch the fat in our diet and eat healthier, but I could sure eat one of my grandma’s suppers. Gone are the days of dandelion greens, Kentucky Wonder beans, sunbonnets and apron, hand me down dresses, icy cold bedrooms in the winter and hot ones in the summer.
Being raised by a strict Mama and grandparents, my life was based mainly on school and church. In fact, I was older before I could even wear lipstick. Yes, I was raised old school and got spankings if I misbehaved…….. (not me). My Mama had an old wooden ping pong paddle that used to have a ball on it and that is what she used to spank us. (No I was not abused by a spanking, but I sure did not like them). By the way, I was 15 when I got my last paddling.
My grandpa worked on the railroad. He would leave one day and come home the next. Grandpa used to bring home these big cases of coconut cookies. They were square shaped, but I thought those were the only store bought cookies you could get. I was very happy to learn once I got out on my own there were cookies called Oreos.
Another thing was that he would bring home ripened bananas. I mean they were almost black and so I grew up believing all bananas were black and tasted rotten. I did not starve to death, but let me say that our eating habits were different. It was after I was grown up that I tasted different foods and found out that I liked them.
I do not recall ever having spaghetti as a kid. In later years I cooked it, but even today when I go to a restaurant and order spaghetti, I cannot get the hang of twirling it on my fork.
When I got married I had never tasted shrimp, ate a steak and had no clue what Italian food was about. Pizza became a new food for me also. In early days of pizza making, all I knew was Chef-Boy-Ar-Dee. My pizza eating and cooking skills has developed since then and I love to experiment with different recipes in the kitchen.
We can never go back to those days of growing up, but those memories somehow last forever. There are just so many many things that I look back on and wish I could go back just for one day. I do believe that life itself is a learning experience.
Today I still like to fry up a bunch of potatoes, cook fat bacon, soup beans and I still like the square coconut cookies.
The story of the Country Mouse and the City Mouse just came to my mind. I may have grown up, left the country life and the good old days, but my customs and roots I was raised with will always be a part of who I am.
Have you ever felt like your youth was the good old days? Do you ever want to go back and visit for a day? Let me know and I’ll give you a Penny for Your Thoughts.
