Cool Links and Stuff
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Plainview Links click on the pictures
Hale County History and Geneaological
Information at the Library
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Cool Websites to Visit
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More great links to visit . . . .
Click the picture above to view a video of a classic
car show in Las Vegas -- circa 1966.
When Life Was in Black and White
Cars We Drove in the Fifties & Sixties
Click the picture to see if you are a Genius!!!
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OLD PERSON PRIDE
It's the Old People who know our great country is protected, not by politicians, but by the good Lord Himself who loves us all. |
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And then it's winter . . . .
You know . . . time has a way of moving quickly
and catching you unaware of the passing years.
It seems just yesterday that I was young,
just married and embarking on my new life with my mate. And yet in a way, it seems like eons ago,
and I wonder where all the years went.
I know that I lived them all...
But, here it is..the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise... How did I get here so fast?Where did the years go and where did my youth go? I remember well...seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like...
But, here it is...
my friends are retired and getting gray...
they move slower and I see an older person now.
but, I see the great change...
Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant...
but, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks
that we used to see and never thought we'd be.
Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day!
And taking a nap is not a treat anymore ... it's mandatory! Cause if I don't on my own free will .. I just fall asleep where I sit!
And so . . .
now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did!!
But, at least I know, that though the winter has come, and I'm not sure how long it will last...this I know, that when it's over...its over....
Yes , I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't done, things I should have done, but indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done.
It's all in a lifetime....
So, if you're not in your winter yet...
let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think.
So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life please do it quickly!
Don't put things off too long!!
Life goes by quickly. So, do what you can today,
as you can never be sure whether
this is your winter or not!
You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life . . . so,
live for today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember . . .
and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!!
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Now that I'm older,
here's what I've discovered:
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A little house with three bedrooms, one bathroom and one car on the street.
A mower that you had to push to make the grass look neat. In the kitchen on the wall we only had one phone, And no need for recording things,
someone was always home.
We only had a living room where we would congregate, Unless it was at mealtime in the kitchen where we ate. We had no need for family rooms or extra rooms to dine, When meeting as a family those two rooms
would work out fine.
We only had one TV set, and channels maybe two, But always there was one of them with
something worth the view.
For snacks we had potato chips that tasted like a chip, And if you wanted flavor there was Lipton's onion dip. Store-bought snacks were rare because my mother
liked to cook,
And nothing can compare to snacks in Betty Crocker's book. Weekends were for family trips or staying home to play, We all did things together -- even go to church to pray. When we did our weekend trips depending on the weather, No one stayed at home because we liked to be together. Sometimes we would separate to do things on our own, But we knew where the others were without
our own cell phone.
Then there were the movies with your favorite movie star, And nothing can compare to watching movies in your car. Then there were the picnics at the peak of summer season, Pack a lunch and find some trees and never need a reason. Get a baseball game together with all the friends you know, Have real action playing ball -- and no game video. Remember when the doctor used to be the family friend, And didn't need insurance or a lawyer to defend? The way that he took care of you or what he had to do, Because he took an oath and strived to do the best for you. Remember going to the store and shopping casually, And when you went to pay for it you
used your own money?
Nothing that you had to swipe or punch in some amount, Remember when the cashier person had to really count? The milkman used to go from door to door, And it was just a few cents more than going to the store. There was a time when mailed letters came right
to your door,
Without a lot of junk mail ads sent out by every store. The mailman knew each house by name and knew
where it was sent;
There were not loads of mail addressed to "present occupant." There was a time when just one glance was all that
it would take,
And you would know the kind of car, the mode
l and the make.
They didn't look like turtles trying to squeeze out every mile; They were streamlined, white walls, fins, and really had some style. One time the music that you played whenever
you would jive,
Was from a vinyl, big-holed record called a forty-five. The record player had a post to keep them all in line, And then the records would drop down and play one at a time. Oh sure, we had our problems then, just like we do today, And always we were striving, trying for a better way. Oh, the simple life we lived still seems like so much fun, How can you explain a game, just kick the can and run? And why would boys put baseball cards
between bicycle spokes,
and for a nickel red machines had little bottled Cokes? This life seemed so much easier and slower in some ways, I love the new technology but I sure miss those days. So time moves on and so do we, and nothing stays the same, But I sure love to reminisce and walk down memory lane |
The History Lovers Calendar
Click a Day to See Its Trivia
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How Wasteful the Older Generation Was ...
The woman apologized to him and explained, “We didn’t have the green thing back in my day.” |
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I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are it's going to be impossible to buy a weeks groceries for $20.
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Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won't be long until $5,000 will only buy a used one.
- 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.
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When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 50 cents a gallon?
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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 movie has a 'hell' or 'damn' in it.
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Also, it won't be long until couples are sleeping in the same bed in the movies. What is this world coming to?
- Pretty soon you won't be able to buy a good 10 cent cigar.
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I read the other day where some scientist thinks it's possible to put a man on the moon by the end of the century. They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it here in Texas.
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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 than the president.
Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person. Her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know. Information Please could supply anyone's number and the correct time.
My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer, the pain was terrible, but there seemed no point in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy.
I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear.
"Information, please" I said into the mouthpiece just above my head.
A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear.
"Information."
"I hurt my finger..." I wailed into the phone, the tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.
"Isn't your mother home?" came the question.
"Nobody's home but me," I blubbered.
"Are you bleeding?" the voice asked.
"No," I replied. "I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts."
"Can you open the icebox?" she asked.
I said I could.
"Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to your finger," said the voice..
After that, I called "Information Please" for everything.. I asked her for help with my geography, and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math.
She told me my pet chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts.
Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary, died. I called,
'Information Please," and told her the sad story. She listened, and then said things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was not consoled. I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?"
She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, 'Wayne , always remember that there are other worlds to sing in."
Somehow I felt better.
Another day I was on the telephone, "Information Please."
"Information," said in the now familiar voice. "How do I spell fix?"
I asked.
All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest . When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston . I missed my friend very much. "Information Please" belonged in that old wooden box back home and I somehow never thought of trying the shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me..
Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then.. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.
A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle . I had about a half-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information Please."
Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well.
"Information."
I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying,
"Could you please tell me how to spell fix?"
There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have healed by now."
I laughed, "So it's really you," I said. "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?"
'I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your call meant to me. I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls."
I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.
"Please do", she said. "Just ask for Sally."
Three months later I was back in Seattle . A different voice answered,
"Information." I asked for Sally.
"Are you a friend?" she said.
"Yes, a very old friend," I answered.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this," she said. "Sally had been working part time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago."
Before I could hang up, she said, "Wait a minute, did you say your name was Wayne ?" "
Yes." I answered.
"Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called. Let me read it to you."
The note said,
"Tell him there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean."
I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.
Never underestimate the impression you may make on others.
Whose life have you touched today?
May you find the joy and peace you long for.
I loved this story and just had to share it. I hope you enjoy it too.
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