Christian Message Boards: May I ask? How long is your memory?

This is topic May I ask? How long is your memory? in forum General Discussion at Christian Message Boards.

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Posted by John Hale (Member # 8034) on :

How far back do you remember?

I have flashes of the hustle / bustle / vitality that was the 1960's. I don't remember as far back as the Kennedy assassination, but soon after.

My folks had a rose-colored glasses child rearing policy until we were at least in school... so we did not have much exposure to Beatlemania (except our female cousin Tana who was nearing her teens got a Beatles haircut).

So I don't remember the counter-culture or Dr. Spock or much about the social ills of the world... at least not until 1969-ish when in grade school I started getting caught up on these things.

My oldest memories were of the older generation in my family mostly. People who were old, nearing death (which I was oblivious to at the time) who had personally experienced the world go from horse and buggy and wagon days to the space race for the moon.

I remember quiet houses filled with musty old furniture and that awful breath mint (pillow shaped candy). Seems like they all had grandfather clocks and pianos in their homes too. Always ready to tell how it was in the good old days. And I reveled in those tales as they spoke of a far off time I would never know except through their experience and that far off look they had in their eyes as they spoke.

I had many Norman Rockwell moments years before I was ever aware of the artist or his work. Through the images painted by the memories of these people. Out very link back to the old world... a bygone era which not only provided a foundation for the present and the future but was also a grounding in a more realistic way of looking at life.

The marks on the faces and hands of these people were not only from age but from hard work and living up to what was expected of them. The scars of war and hard life through the Depression and the selflessness of being a grown up and seeing that youth toed the line...

They were sadly an untapped resource by most. Instead of running around with cousins playing tag, ghost in the graveyard, badminton, or board games like Sorry or Mousetrap... I typically listened in on the adult conversation of parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles (and by adult it meant mature content but in no way meant indecency).

Most kids couldn't care less about these things. I felt learning about my family and the prior generations as far back as anyone could remember made me more sure of myself who I am etc.

The antiques and family heirlooms that filled the houses in those days which in later years loomed only as catalysts for bickering by the heirs of dead or dying relatives. {sigh}

The Thanksgiving and Christmas get-togethers. The sense of home with father and mother. The way the whole house got so excited when Daddy came home from a days work. The (boring) news casts and newspapers filled with (to me at the time) unintelligible information the adults found vital to function in society and the business world.

Life seemed less volatile somehow (even though the nuclear arms race was in full force). Ironic. There seemed to be purpose. Work and jobs were abundant. Homes were much much more affordable and within the reach of just about everyone. Cars were much more affordable.

Dad only mad 10k a year but was able to buy a new car every 4 years and a house every time we moved. I think the car was 3500 and the houses on average were around 17k. I remember the old "gas wars" where gas was 25 cents a gallon (down from 35 to 50 cents).

I remember cousins who bought old cars (ten years old) for $50 to $100 rummaging in the backs of sofas in their homes for loose change to buy gas to go "crusing" at the local burger joint.

That was when the hems were getting shorter and my notice of them ever intense... I never really saw the curlers and daddy's t shirt fad as much as... well... even a wee fellow is a fellow (ladies word to the wise)...

I recently had a birthday... today's 50 is the new... 50... new to me, anyway... and it's funny how even though the aches and pains are a constant reminder and the recent pictures or daily shaving some old guy's face in the mirror ought to keep me apprised of just how old I've gotten... I still have to remind myself constantly that I am not a kid anymore. That my early 20's (which is apparently where I parked my self awareness) was 30 years ago (one and a half times that age ago).

Thank you for indulging this old fart's reflection on the way the world was so different and for that matter the ways in which I was so different. What does or can improve with age is self confidence and less concern about what other people think. I even like myself more now that I am better acquainted with my shortcomings and having lived through some things I never thought I could have.

I am curious to read about other's experiences here.

Posted by Betty Louise (Member # 7175) on :

I am 58 and turn 59 this spring. I remember bits and pieces of my younger days. I remember in first grade on the first day I told the teacher I could not drink white milk and she informed me I would too. I got it down, but we got in a line to walk to class, I threw up on her feet (not on purpose). I remember her taking me to the milk lady and telling to give me chocolate milk from then on. Even now I would like to drink white milk but I can't.

I remember my mom being very strict and when I dropped my thermos, I begged my teacher to write a note to tell my mom it was not my fault. She did. [Wink]

I do remember when President Kennedy died. I remember that was all TV for days and I thought the world was going to end and I was afraid.

But, I think we see memories in little snips here and there. I find it interesting when my sister and I get together, that there are some events that I remember that she does not remember and there are things that she remembers that I do not. Also, even though my mom was stricter on me then my sister, I see my childhood has a happy one and was surprised my sister did not see it as happy.

My husband's father was like my mom not one to say that they love you and big in discipline and he sees his childhood as happy and his brother doesn't. I think with memories, our personalities color what we remember. Some people are more positive then others. I have been through alot of bad things in my life and though I have not forgotten them, I prefer to think about the good and ignore the bad.

Hope this helps.
betty

Posted by Eduardo Grequi (Member # 3984) on :

I remember what I was doing when JFK was murdered in Nov 1963. I was attending Chippawa Country School and we were to begin reading when the announcement came across the speaker that President Kennedy was assinated. The Principal said everyong to meet around the school court flag in front for prayer. Teachers aligh your students. After the prayer for the President and His family school was dismissed for the rest of the day. I remember being 1 years old playing with my brothers when I saw a big rat and took to the trees and would not come down. My oldest sister tracked up the tree and told me come on before dad gets home. She told me thats not a rat its an opposum. I told her to look again. That was June 1959.

Posted by TB125 (Member # 2450) on :

I remember when blocks of ice were being peddled up and down our neighborhood streets by a man with a horse-drawn wagon, and the dairy delivered fresh milk to our porch. I remember when our doctor made house calls, even at 2 A.M. in the morning to give me a shot for an asthma attack. I remember listening to the exciting drama of The Shadow on our radio, the only source of outside entertainment in our house. I remember walking about a mile to school with my lunch box, or sometimes even walking home for lunch. I remember getting braces on my teeth and my dad didn't even think of dental insurance. I was born and raised during the "great depression", and I didn't even know it. I remember a big family picnic on the 4th of July when we reserved the entire park pavilion for our gathering. I remember selling "Liberty" magazines door-to-door in my neighborhood. I remember playing "mother may I" with my buddies in our neighbor's front yard and softball in the small vacant lot just a few steps from our house. And the weekend hikes out into the country or across the hills and valleys to a distant park with my brother and my dad.

Posted by otter77 (Member # 8441) on :

wow! This thread is impressive. I feel silly contributing to this but I thought you might enjoy a laugh at my expense on this subject.

I am 33, almost 34.

Early relate-able memory: I remember the Olympics in Seoul Korea. I remember when we got our first Color TV. I remember when we first got Cable TV. I remember when we got our first CD Player. I remember Ronald Regan (but nothing before him). I remember hearing about but not understanding something called the Iran-Contra affair.

Yep - having been born in 1977... all my earliest memories are early 80s. [Wink]

Posted by John Hale (Member # 8034) on :

No one would poke fun. We are all at varying stages of life. It is interesting to read and compare.

What used to fascinate me was the older generations who lived in my early years that witnessed the World Wars and the Depression and saw humanity rise from seven thousand years of horse driven wagons to trains, planes, automobiles, and rockets to the moon in their lifetime. Not to mention indoor plumbing and electricity.

They'd seen it all... for the most part. And I was one who picked their brains continually. From the 50 years I've lived I've seen the world change drastically. Imagine how drastic it was for them.

Posted by John Hale (Member # 8034) on :

By drastic changes, I mean...

Parents were respected. They could slap you, spank you, scream at you, lock you up in your room or ground you to the house, make you go to school and I for one am mighty thankful they could because I NEEDED it all.

I think most children do.

Being grown up meant being responsible. Some did act irresponsible but they were few and considered losers. The world seemed to be a well oiled functioning machine where everyone did their part their share their trade and were the hardest on themselves about inferior products or performance.

Work was plentiful, seniority and pay raises were readily given to loyal employees along with Christmas bonuses... It usually meant a pay cut and loss of seniority, but there was always another job around the corner you could go to.

The purchasing power of the dollar was strong and stable. It didn't take much more than minimum wage to get started... Dad as a school teacher in 1972 made $10K per year (and that was after the big strike) and bought our homes (on average $17K) and bought a new car every 6 or 7 years and the old one became the new second car, and fed and clothed and dental and health care for 5 kids.

Posted by John Hale (Member # 8034) on :

quote:
Originally posted by otter77:

I am 33, almost 34.

Yep - having been born in 1977... all my earliest memories are early 80s.

This was me in 1977... LOL