When I was growing up

When I was growing up people meant what they said and said what they meant and you could count on a person’s word. Making a deal was done by a handshake and a glass of wine and everyone remembered the agreement two weeks later when money exchanged hands. Nobody specialized in legalizing fraud and it was common for people to work for a living and to do that with pride. Children were playing soccer, hide and seek or orienteering and did not hang out at the mall. Chatting meant to sit face to face to each other instead of miles apart banging at a keyboard. I ran a kilometer to the next telephone when my neighbor was hit by a car and his wife held his hands until the ambulance came.

We did survive without cell phones, never needed GPS to find out where we were and when we could not find a street we simply asked someone. The main transportation was the bus, bicycles and our legs. We were physically fit without working out. Convenience in a building meant having an elevator if the building was more than four stories high. You were out of luck if you lived in one with only four, especially if you lived on the top floor. It was safe for children to go to the playground because most people left them alone. Fighting was done with hands and fists and the next day we made up. Children only saw guns if they managed to position them selves under the cover having their parents think they are asleep during the 8:00 show. Words were not banned from the dictionary to be politically correct only to insult people in a more subtle, sophisticated and questionable way. When someone said something insulting you returned the favor, you both had a good laugh and shook hands.

Women had full figures, looked beautiful, were less stressed and were proud of them selves. Nursing a baby was fashionable and most children were taken care of. Tummy tucks, breast enhancements, liposuction and facelifts were unheard of and lines on our mother’s faces were called laugh lines and on our grandmother’s it was considered to be a sign of wisdom. When in trouble we went to see our elders free of charge, psychiatrists only treated severely disturbed people. Everyone had at least two good friends if not more and took the time to see them regularly.

Work was regularly scheduled and people had the opportunity to plan the rest of their time ahead. On call work was unheard of and nobody had to juggle three jobs to support themselves. Being unskilled meant you were working with a master who taught you everything he or she knew and if you decided to open your own shop and you did well he or she was proud of you and called you daughter or son. A man was able to support his family even if he had a simple job. What are now basement suites were family or play rooms where the family spent time together and the children played. Most people were able to afford a home. Being homeless meant to spend some time on mom’s or someone else’s couch for awhile, but not on the street. People actually cared about each other and asking questions meant you showed interest and no one called you an interrogator. There were not many things one would not share with a good friend or the bartender around the corner. Most things were curable by chicken soup, garlic, a hug, a good talk or a night at the town pub. If you survived the next day you were considered cured.