Country Roads

It is chilly this April morning. I put on my pink fleece robe to go out and get the paper. It is a bright, beautiful, sunshiny morning.
Chilly mornings remind me of childhood visits to my grandparents' house in Tennessee. .
There was no central heat and air in their little house in the country. Grandma would get up early and rekindle the fire in the fireplace. We quickly got dressed in the morning and turned our backs to the fire to absorb the heat. Like many rural families they still had an outhouse. It was no picnic walking to the outhouse on a cold or rainy day.
Still, there was something so basic and so simple about those long ago days. I can remember Grandma kneading biscuit dough for breakfast and smell the strong coffee percolating on the stove. Grandpa would be puttering around outside, perhaps working under the hood of the car, or going fishing at the pond which was within walking distance. I went fishing with my parents, once, when a thunderstorm dropped out of the sky. I cut my leg on a barb wire fence trying to make it home through the storm.
The little house had a good view with fields and meadows in every direction. We played on the front porch and could see the storm clouds forming in the distance or the sun set in the evening. After a long, hard day of playing we fell asleep listening to the grown-ups talk in the front room, stepping gingerly across creaky floorboards.

Growing Up in the 60's

Growing up in today's society seems so much different than it did 40+ years ago. The main difference between yesterday and today is definitely technology. There were no home computers in the 60's, no satellite television, no Wii, no cell phones, no Facebook, no email, no Twitter, no 24-hour news, etc. I can remember the days when TV went off the air at midnight and the station played "The Star Spangled Banner" at the end of the viewing day. Guess what? We actually had to interact with each other, instead of our video games and electronic gadgets.

I am the one in the middle, 1968.

It was a different world, a simpler world.

Remember hearing the Ice Cream truck come down the street and running outside just in the nick of time?

Remember those Toni home permanents and pink curlers that your Mom used to put in your hair? My hair was straight as straw and the home perms never lasted more than a few weeks.

Remember watching Saturday morning cartoons and eating Captain Crunch cereal? I loved watching the Flintstones and the Jetsons. And don't forget Captain Kangaroo.

Remember Moon Pies and ice cold bottles of Coca Cola that you bought at the corner grocery store, straight out of the cooler? We would return the glass bottles for a refund.

Remember having to share a room with a younger sister?

Remember watching The Ed Sullivan Show, Wonderful World of Disney and Mutual of Omaha's, Wild Kingdom? And of course, all the classic comedies, such as Andy Griffith Show, I Love Lucy, The Beverly Hillbillies, etc.

Remember the plain, black rotary telephone? We didn't even have a phone until the late 60's. I remember when the Princess phone became popular, in pastel colors. It was all the rage at the time.

Remember road trips and stopping at Stuckey's for souvenirs and a bite to eat, before the fast food chains and the Interstate highways took over?

Remember playing jacks and marbles in the dirt outside and drinking gallons of Kool-Aid in the summertime?

Remember shopping for new school clothes in August, which meant dresses for the girls, and a brand new pair of saddle shoes?

Remember the boxes of laundry detergent that came with a towel inside? And Mama hanging out the clothes to dry? And S&H green stamps that could be redeemed for all kinds of cool stuff?

Remember actually playing outside with the neighborhood kids?