Po', but didn't know it......

We are the world.... no, that ain't it, but I do like that song...

We are the children, mebbe grandchildren of folks who lived thru the Depression.  Kinda like the verbiage God awful and awfully good, 'twas also known as The Great Depression.

This ain't an expose' on how it happened, why it happened, or any kinda comparison our present pandemic economy takes on... Heaven knows there are enough Social Media postings (both ways/sides) for that.

This is more about working, finding a penny, to turn it in for a nickel... today's equivalent of Chucky Cheese... "ya gotta penny kid?  you can get anything on the bottom shelf... oh, a nickel?  Next shelf up" and so on and so on.

Today, most kids, by the age of 12, have a cell phone.  It it's an iPhone, the average cost, if bought upfront is $758.  Ha.  Hella lotta pop bottles!

Times were easier (rougher?) then.  I remember affixing the baseball glove to the handlebars, setting sail for the City Park Ballfield ("it's ok mom, the term pedophile won't even surface for another 35 years,") and there we went.

A mostly friendly game of Indian Ball, interspersed with "Fair!", "No it wasn't, it was FOUL"... "Nuh uh, you were out!"  "Was not!".. "Were too!"  And of course, it was all solved by a thread with 47 posts on Facebook and whomever was the most influential won.

No, that ain't it.  It was solved by one huckster gripping the bat with one hand around it, somewhere around the middle.  Huckster #2 (the other team) would then place his/her hand just above Huckster 1's, and one by one they'd work their way to the top and the last possible person to be able to grip the bat at the top, won.  God awful, or, compared to today, an awfully good way to settle a dispute.

"Mom, can you hook me up with $10?" just didn't happen.  Be for real. En route to riding the bike to the City Park, one would scour the ditches along the way in the oft chance someone had winged a Pepsi bottle outta their Station Wagon.  There was the thrill of Victory (*"YES! Got one!") and the agony of defeat (Dangit! It's broken!")

Our economic era consisted of.... swinging by the water fountain after we were all Indian Ball'ed out... then, one by one we'd climb under the bleachers to see who could come up with the first shiny dime.  No street corners with cardboard signs begging for us...we earned those dadgum 'holy' jeans on our hands and knees. We were 'fashion-eske" before Christian ever came outta the Dior.

Hungry?  "Mom, please take me for onea them $9 Five Guys juicy Cheeseburgers." Ha! If it wasn't close to dinner time, we'd force the best climber up the mulberry tree for a nifty snack for us all. If the tree was mature enough, we'd all climb it.

If we ever did find enough pop bottles to load on our wagon to take to Safeway, or, we'd somehow managed to find a dime and three pennies from under the bleachers, or on the path to/from the concession stand - we'd go buy either those stupid (I hated them) Nik-L-Nip wax bottles, or mebbe some blue chewing gum, Beechnut.. the chicks dug the candy necklaces... my personal fav was the Pixy Stix, purple in fact.

"Dad, can I please have one of those fancy $399 metal baseball bats all the boys are getting?"... we were realists. If our wooden bat cracked, we'd head for dad's toolbox in the garage where we could use a nifty screw to close the crack, followed by wrapping a mile and a half of electrical tape around it to make it "good as new."

We kids, going, playing, on our own, giving mom/dad time to do whatever mom/dads did... climbing the darn mulberry tree rather than "mom, can you bring me a snack", entrepreneurs, gathering our own 'funds' to run to Mattingly's to buy  goodies..  FOR THE LIFE OF ME.. we were good kids!  WHY, the birth control pill was invented in 1960 I will never know! 

That's about all the thrifty stuff we did... well.. that and, using a magnifying glass to start a fire... blowing up stuff using vinegar and baking soda... two empty cans of corn and a long string for our own 'walkie-talkies'.... ballcards affixed with closepins that would VROOM on the spokes of our bike... tiddlywinks... dominos.. monopoly... hula hoops... hopscotch... (and we haven't even mentioned bluegill or crawdads)...

Life was easy, hard.  Po', but didn't know it.

Now that we've had a class reunion or ten, it's fun (kinda I guess) to peek back at all the years, eras, as the creek flowed.

5 year.... are you sure he/she is the right one?

10 year.. In school, we got June, .July and August for vacation.. I get two weeks now? This stinks!

20 year... Now I'm beginning to understand why The Pill was invented.

30 year.. Listen... shhhhh... listen... there ain't nobody else besides you and me in the house! Let's chase each other 'round the room tonight.. and play the games we played on our wedding night"...not tonight Mr.. my back hurts.. I pulled my groin when my 7 iron thudded insteada followed thru...the grandkids will be here soon, nope... we just did that a week ago Tuesday...

40 year..  99 throttles of commuting to work, 99 throttles a year, take one down, car in the garage, 98 throttles of commuting to work... are we there yet?  Can you see what my SS paycheck would be if I quit now? I've got an aching, weak back.  When'd ya get it? About a week back. Tell me again why we bought this two story house?

50 year...what the heck was the names of those kids we played with in the neighborhood?  Dangit, I dropped a dollar bill.. oh well, I'll wait until I drop anudder, then scoot it over with my foot and pick'em up at the same time. Two birds, one fat belly.

Life before the streetlights came on was awesome. Life was simpler. Fun. Fun was had. The family life we were able to experience set the table of life for years to come. Roles.  Role models.

Red Rover Red Rover, send nineteen-fitty-something back over.

Love, Victurd