3/15/06
Oh yes, those were the days! Maybe.
Tri-O's oddities, observations, and opinions by Herb Kandel
Half the mail arriving at our house is usually catalogs and other solicitations. Probably not too much different than yours. A recent one was for a magazine called Good Old Days. In the accompanying brochure it dwells on the nostalgia of days when life was a lot more simple. It asks you to remember, among other things, “Penny post cards, pickle barrels, the organ grinder with his cute little monkey, Evening in Paris perfume, The Shadow and The Lone Ranger on radio, etc”. Some I remembered, but then I thought ----- What made the “good old days” so good…….or were they? (Hmmm, hold chin, get that thinking far-away look in the eyes and add a little musical harp riff to indicate flashback).
Was the old ice box any better than your refrigerator? The ice had to be replaced each day and the drip pan emptied. The best thing about it was that you could chomp on the ice chips that came from it. Before the washing machine ( some claim that its invention was the greatest liberator of women) became a common household appliance the corner laundry gave you a choice of “wet wash”, where you brought the damp items home and hung them to dry on clothes lines, or “finished” (ironed and folded, but more expensive). Few homes had private phones and party lines were how you got the local news fast. Now cell phones have given instant communication (and pictures) to millions and payphones will soon become collector’s items. Sure, gasoline cost only 16 cents a gallon then but today's cars go farther on a gallon and the cars are a lot more comfortable and safer with anti-lock brakes, airbags, fuel injectors, cruise control, and sound systems that are better than some home stereos. If you had a tooth cavity the dentist’s high pitched drill with the belts and pulleys was enough to make you want to say “Enough! Let me endure the toothache!”, and perish the thought of a root canal back then!! In summer we kept windows open, sweated under fans, and siblings usually shared bedrooms. We now live in bigger and better houses that probably have central heat and air conditioning. Movies were 10 cents for a double feature, cartoon, serial, newsreel and had a weekly dish night. Now two of every three households own videocassette recorders, or DVD players, and “On Demand” entertainment. Consider the pilot light on gas ovens, the radio listings for the three major networks, the high roof antennae for the scratchy black and white TV, butcher shops with sawdust on the floor, and the first time you ate in a restaurant? Now we use microwave ovens, answering machines, food processors, camcorders, home and laptop computers, cable and satellite TV with hundreds of channels, fax machines, and as important, many products have been getting higher in quality even as they drop in price. Super-centers that sell everything from apparel to X-boxes are open around the clock and fast food places are always nearby.
There were outbreaks of diphtheria, whooping cough, and polio. Yes, the doctor made home visits carrying his magical black bag of curative medicines; but who would trade for those days when we now have the benefits of a health care system which provides remedial pharmaceuticals, preventive and diagnostic procedures, and modern surgical techniques? Maladies once fatal, are now treatable. Organ transplants, the stuff of science fiction, are taken for granted today. We live longer and healthier.
But are we happier now than we were then? When younger we had no thoughts of nuclear annihilation, terrorism, racial strife, natural disasters, crimes, wars, recessions, pollution, homelessness, and other social pathologies. Although they existed.
We were just young and healthy as each day was a new adventure not plagued by the necessities of having to live and cope in an adult world. We were provided for, protected, and had the feeling of belonging. That, I submit, is what makes them “The Good Old Days“ for me. It was not because of things or events but our abundance of innocence and trust.
So, no, I did not subscribe to the magazine. I carry those days forever tucked away in my place of memories, as I suspect you do too. Each of us cherishes, as did Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane, his own Rosebud.
I invite you to share your own “Good old days”, or any other thoughts via e or snail-mail.
