I want to share with you an article I read recently. This is especially appropriate at this time of financial instability in our nation.
This information compares the financial conditions in our country in the year of 1955. See if you recognize any of these comments made during that time.
‘I’ll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it’s going to be impossible to buy a week’s groceries for $20.’
‘Have you seen the new cars that are coming out next year? It won’t be long before $2,000 will only buy a used one.’
‘If cigarettes keep going up, I’m going to quit. A quarter a pack is ridiculous.’
‘Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging a dime just to mail a letter?’
‘If they raise the minimum wage to $1, nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store.’
‘When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 29 cents a gallon. Guess we’d be better off leaving the car in the garage.’
‘Kids today are impossible. Those ducktail haircuts make it impossible to stay groomed. Next thing you know boys will be wearing their hair as long as the girls.’
‘I’m afraid to send my kids to the movies any more. Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying Damn in Gone with the Wind, it seems every new movie has either hell or damn in it.’
‘I read the other day that some scientist thinks it’s possible to put a man on the moon by the end of this century. They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down in Texas.’
‘Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball? It wouldn’t surprise me if someday they’ll be making more that the President.’
‘I never thought I’d see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric. They are even making electric typewriters now.’
‘It’s too bad things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet.’
‘It won’t be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone to watch their kids so they can both work.’
‘Marriage doesn’t mean a thing any more. These Hollywood stars seem to be getting divorced at the drop of a hat.’
‘I’m afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business.’
‘Thank goodness, I won’t live to see the day when the government takes half our income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to congress.’
‘The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather, but I seriously doubt they will ever catch on.’
‘There is no sense going to Lincoln or Omaha anymore for a weekend. It costs nearly $15 a night to stay in a hotel.’
‘No one can afford to be sick anymore, at $35 a day in the hospital, it’s too rich for my blood.’
‘If they think I’ll pay 50 cents for a hair cut, forget it.’
After reading all of these remarks, I wonder what those persons would have thought of cell phones, blackberries, computers and all the other electronic equipment of today. This sure takes you back a ways, doesn’t it?
2-25-2009
#423
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Games, Friends Rekindle Past
Two recent events have caused me to revisit my past. My daughter Gayle and her husband were going to Duncan one evening recently to watch their granddaughter Hannah play a basketball game at the Simmons Center there. They invited Starr and me to go with them since we had not seen Hannah play.
Hannah is playing on the nine and ten year old team. She is a scrambler, to say the least. As I sat there and watched the game, my mind traveled back to the times when we had children playing at the school here. David never cared much for basketball, but he did play football all during his high school years.
Harold’s first love was basketball and he played on the team that went all year without a loss and advanced on to win the state championship in their class.
As I was recalling the games we had attended, I was reminded of all the excitement of attending the games the year Harold was a senior. When the team went to Oklahoma City for the playoffs, few businesses in town remained open. Someone laughingly remarked, “Whoever is the last to leave town, be sure to turn the lights off.”
Many former graduates of Waurika schools made arrangements to be in Oklahoma City during those final games. Some lived nearby, but others traveled quite a distance to be there to attend and cheer on their hometown team.
Those were good times.
The second occurrence that brought back many good memories involved a visit last week from a couple we knew in Dallas. This man worked for my dad when Daddy managed an icehouse in Dallas.
As time passed Al found Lydia, the love of his life, and they were wed. At that time Mother and Daddy had a garage apartment that happened to be vacant, so they moved into it as newlyweds.
During their visit last week Al told me, that as a bride, “Lydia could not boil water, nor cook an egg.” He said my mother had helped Lydia learn to cook, as well as giving her many housekeeping tips.
Al said every morning around 6:30, Mother would go into the garage and bang the broom handle against the ceiling of the garage and that was Lydia’s clue that the coffee was ready at Mother’s.
One of the things we learned was that the first week Al worked at the icehouse, he worked on Sunday. Sometime during the next week, he asked Daddy if he would pray with him. So, he said they went into Daddy’s office and closed the door. Daddy asked what did they need to pray about and Al responded that he had made a promise to God that he would never work on Sunday because he wanted to be in church.
When he told Daddy this, my dad said, “Why Al, why didn’t you let me know? We don’t have to pray about that. You can be off every Sunday from now on.”
At some point Daddy told Al he had no chance of advancement working there and helped direct him to a better job.
In time Al became a very successful person in the insurance business field and has now turned the business over to two of his sons who are operating it at present.
The only problem with our visit was that it was much too short, we still had a number of things to discuss, but perhaps we will have the opportunity to do so at a later date.
2-18-2009
#422
Hannah is playing on the nine and ten year old team. She is a scrambler, to say the least. As I sat there and watched the game, my mind traveled back to the times when we had children playing at the school here. David never cared much for basketball, but he did play football all during his high school years.
Harold’s first love was basketball and he played on the team that went all year without a loss and advanced on to win the state championship in their class.
As I was recalling the games we had attended, I was reminded of all the excitement of attending the games the year Harold was a senior. When the team went to Oklahoma City for the playoffs, few businesses in town remained open. Someone laughingly remarked, “Whoever is the last to leave town, be sure to turn the lights off.”
Many former graduates of Waurika schools made arrangements to be in Oklahoma City during those final games. Some lived nearby, but others traveled quite a distance to be there to attend and cheer on their hometown team.
Those were good times.
The second occurrence that brought back many good memories involved a visit last week from a couple we knew in Dallas. This man worked for my dad when Daddy managed an icehouse in Dallas.
As time passed Al found Lydia, the love of his life, and they were wed. At that time Mother and Daddy had a garage apartment that happened to be vacant, so they moved into it as newlyweds.
During their visit last week Al told me, that as a bride, “Lydia could not boil water, nor cook an egg.” He said my mother had helped Lydia learn to cook, as well as giving her many housekeeping tips.
Al said every morning around 6:30, Mother would go into the garage and bang the broom handle against the ceiling of the garage and that was Lydia’s clue that the coffee was ready at Mother’s.
One of the things we learned was that the first week Al worked at the icehouse, he worked on Sunday. Sometime during the next week, he asked Daddy if he would pray with him. So, he said they went into Daddy’s office and closed the door. Daddy asked what did they need to pray about and Al responded that he had made a promise to God that he would never work on Sunday because he wanted to be in church.
When he told Daddy this, my dad said, “Why Al, why didn’t you let me know? We don’t have to pray about that. You can be off every Sunday from now on.”
At some point Daddy told Al he had no chance of advancement working there and helped direct him to a better job.
In time Al became a very successful person in the insurance business field and has now turned the business over to two of his sons who are operating it at present.
The only problem with our visit was that it was much too short, we still had a number of things to discuss, but perhaps we will have the opportunity to do so at a later date.
2-18-2009
#422
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Hard to Keep Up with Changes
In our world today change is one of the most notable conditions. We are all aware of the financial changes our country is undergoing now. All during my childhood and adult days, the wise words were for us to save: Save money for a rainy day, save resources and so on. Be thrifty.
Now, the word is spend: Spend to energize the business and financial organizations. This can be very confusing to people like me. If we go out and spend our assets wildly, what happens when we run out of money? Have we helped anyone, including ourselves? Surely, others are as confused as I am about this.
Most of us are aware of the extreme climate changes that prevail today. Our temperatures in the eighties at times this past January are indicative of that.
Who could have imagined all the electronic changes with new equipment and tools with which to work? It’s mind-boggling, to say the least.
One personal change I have experienced is my sleep patterns. When my children were babies, I would have given most anything to get a night of sleeping eight hours, or even four hours. I soaked up every opportunity I had to catch a few winks during the day.
Up to the time my children began school, I still had them to take an afternoon nap, or at least to lie down and be still and quiet. Often, they had a book to read or look at, but they were allowing me a little time to relax. Getting little sleep for an extended period of time, for me, usually results in physical illness.
Naps have become a given during the day; they are no longer optional. Even early mornings, soon after I have awakened from sleep, if I sit down to read the paper or watch television, I fall asleep in my chair. I used to think if I took an afternoon nap, I would not be able to sleep at night. However, I have found this to be untrue.
I’ve heard about short “power naps,” that energize some persons to get up and go to work. Not so with me, I can sleep for two or more hours in the afternoon and then go to sleep at my regular time in the evening.
My mother usually had my brother and sister to lie down after lunch in the summertime when we were out of school. She would lie down with us. She loved to have one of us comb her hair and she would often fall asleep during that time. Sometimes we would get up and go out to play after she fell asleep.
I’ve found that I am able to relax much more quickly at night if I read for a while before turning out the light. Even though I go to bed at my regular time, it may be 45 minutes to an hour before I settle down to sleep.
Quite often I hear people say they cannot sleep at night, but I am grateful to be able to sleep, even when I dream.
2-11-2009
#421
Now, the word is spend: Spend to energize the business and financial organizations. This can be very confusing to people like me. If we go out and spend our assets wildly, what happens when we run out of money? Have we helped anyone, including ourselves? Surely, others are as confused as I am about this.
Most of us are aware of the extreme climate changes that prevail today. Our temperatures in the eighties at times this past January are indicative of that.
Who could have imagined all the electronic changes with new equipment and tools with which to work? It’s mind-boggling, to say the least.
One personal change I have experienced is my sleep patterns. When my children were babies, I would have given most anything to get a night of sleeping eight hours, or even four hours. I soaked up every opportunity I had to catch a few winks during the day.
Up to the time my children began school, I still had them to take an afternoon nap, or at least to lie down and be still and quiet. Often, they had a book to read or look at, but they were allowing me a little time to relax. Getting little sleep for an extended period of time, for me, usually results in physical illness.
Naps have become a given during the day; they are no longer optional. Even early mornings, soon after I have awakened from sleep, if I sit down to read the paper or watch television, I fall asleep in my chair. I used to think if I took an afternoon nap, I would not be able to sleep at night. However, I have found this to be untrue.
I’ve heard about short “power naps,” that energize some persons to get up and go to work. Not so with me, I can sleep for two or more hours in the afternoon and then go to sleep at my regular time in the evening.
My mother usually had my brother and sister to lie down after lunch in the summertime when we were out of school. She would lie down with us. She loved to have one of us comb her hair and she would often fall asleep during that time. Sometimes we would get up and go out to play after she fell asleep.
I’ve found that I am able to relax much more quickly at night if I read for a while before turning out the light. Even though I go to bed at my regular time, it may be 45 minutes to an hour before I settle down to sleep.
Quite often I hear people say they cannot sleep at night, but I am grateful to be able to sleep, even when I dream.
2-11-2009
#421
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