Do you remember when

[Guest]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> 2002: Growing pot belly </div></div>

Hey! I resemble that remark!

And while we're at it ....hair? What hair?

[Guest Randy Berger]

Jack, I remember the scissor man coming around to sharpen all the knives and scissors. There was also a guy who would fix pots and pans.

Dial a phone number?? You used to pick up the phone and ask the operator to connect you.

How about visiting all the neighbors at Christmas to see their tree and especially their train.

I lived within walking distance of five aunts and uncles and all my cousins.

Identifying yourself at Halloween so the folks would know who they gave candy to.

YFAM, Randy Berger

[Dave@Moon]

Sorry guys, but some happy/positive person stuck me with a virus that shut my computer down for the last 2 days.

(DizzyDale, deleting that post was a good idea! )

[color:\\"green\\"]<span style="font-weight: bold">Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't the cynical malcontent be the one who insinuates that the present is somehow <span style="font-style: italic">[color:\\"red\\"]worse</span> [color:"green"] than the past?</span>

I dunno, must be me.

RJ's post immediately put me in mind of one of the seminal moments of my then growing maturity in the 1970's: the first time I watched an entire Johnny Carson show. The main guest that might was Richard Pryor, who was at his very upbeat best. I laughed so hard I litterally <span style="font-style: italic">did</span> have to change my underwear to go to bed later.

After his segment, Johnny' next guest was a 110 year old woman. It was a typical Carson interview of an elderly person,, fond reminiscences and cheerful memories. The lady was very charming, and couldn't have had a rosier outlook on life.

Richard Pryor, who I later learned usually actively engages in the converstion after his segment, and who five minutes ago was genuinely effusive, sat quietly. His posture became worse and worse during the segment.

The woman, who grew up in the South and had a distinct Georgia accent, was asked by Johhny Carson what kind of activities people pursued for enjoyment in her youth (which would've been during the late Reconstruction). She began to effusively list barn dances, family get togethers, trips to the beach, river boat excursions, etc. (She must have been from a wealthy family.)

Mr. Pryor's scowl darkened measurably. The camera was still on him, probably because the director expected him to jump in. He did.

During a pause in this woman's listing of cheerful activites of the past, Richard blurted out VERY LOUDLY "<span style="font-weight: bold">LYNCHINGS!"</span>

You can imagine the rest. Johnny handled it very diplomatically (discussing the wrongs that were occurring at the same time), the lady was shaken but recovered, Pryor pretended to cheer up (unconvincingly) and the audience was a little flatter in their responses for the rest of the show.

You can look at that moment two ways. I'd argue that the pessimist would say that a Hollywood star destroyed an old woman's last moment of glory. A hardened pessimist might say that he did it egotistically. I think, knowing what I do about Richard Pryor's family life and background, he did what he had to. He did it for his kids.

There's a tendency to forgive and forget the past. I know I don't think much about Dachau whan I'm looking at a Mercedes SSK. But the past is there, and if it isn't acknowledged the lessons we learned from it are gone.

There's good and bad in all, but overall life today is <span style="font-style: italic">much</span> better than it was. The United States is closer to the ideals Thomas Jefferson set out for it then it ever was, or than ever could've have been imagined a generation or two ago. Whether you like Air-Heads, Pop Rocks or Nik-L-Nips!

[Guest JT]

Howard, that was lol!

[Guest Skyking]

Howard, that was a great finishing touch to the list..lol

[Guest]

Dave old boy, Richard Pryor's outburst was nothing more than the action of a boorish, ill mannered hop head. Obviously, in spite of his fame and fortune, he still never rose out of the gutter from whence he apparently came. There was no reason for what he said, if what you posted as having been said by the elderly lady was accurate. Certainly there were lynchings in the South but there were racist killings of black people in the North at the same time.

I suppose you feel Pryor's remark was appropriate. That figures.

As for your observation in green bold type. Cynical maybe, but not a malcontent.

Malcontent covers a broad spectrum of unhappiness.

hvs

[1937hd45]

Howard, Was Richard Pryor the guy that burned his face off smoking crack cocaine?

[Dave@Moon]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I suppose you feel Pryor's remark was appropriate. That figures. </div></div>

Didn't say that.

But when there's an uncomfortable moment between a black person and myself, I remember Richard Pryor....and what he taught me, for his kids.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Excuse me for being nostalgic for better times.

</div></div>

It's all perspective. </div></div>

Said that, though.

[Old Crabby]

Don't forget the 3 stages of man: 20-35,tri-weekly. 35-50,try weekly, 50-65,try weakly.............

[Guest]

Yes Bob, same guy. And apparently some sort of role model for Dave.

hvs

[Dave@Moon]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Richard Pryor statement: "I feel great about accepting this prize. It is nice to be regarded on par with a great white man ? now that?s funny! Seriously, though, two things people throughout history have had in common are hatred and humor. I am proud that, like Mark Twain, I have been able to use humor to lessen people?s hatred!"

</div></div>

http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/specialevents/marktwain/pryor_bio.html

The rest is up to you.

[R W Burgess]

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Hey Pop, You're right! Deleted! BTW, good stuff Howard. Wayne

[Guest HeyPop]

What a shame.. what started out to be an innocent attempt at a nostalgic look back at a time in some of our lives when life was simpler and happy was turned into a thread of "blah, blah, blah" because of one needler that doesn't ever have anything simple or happy to say about anything. I've learned to ignore most of his replies to just about anything that was posted that may have related a happier time in our lives because he obviously never had a childhood.

My happiest moments during that time period was playing pitch and catch in the front yard with my father when he came home from work or on a Saturday afternoon no matter how tired he was or busy. Getting the last bit of change he might have had in his pocket to ride over to the geneal store for some rope licorice or a coke. Coming home with a flat tire on the bicycle he and I made from parts we found at the junk yard and having him show me how to fix it. Getting my first car and "rebuilding" the thing fom the ground up with him showing me "everything he knew". How I wish he was still around when the grandkids were born or when I got my first Model A. Great times and super memories... Thanks for the reminder!

[Dave@Moon]

What a shame.. what started out to be an innocent attempt at pointing out that times are <span style="font-style: italic">actually</span> better today than in that idealized past has brought out the...

Ahh, screw it. Pessimism wins this one.

[48LCCOUPE]

No, thank you Mike.

[Guest]

What a shame.. everybody is out of step but Dave.

[48LCCOUPE]

EH? Thats Canadian for HUH?

Oh, the other Dave.

[Guest]

Right Dave, not you. The other one. The man on the moon. ~ hvs

[R W Burgess]

Come on guys! I'm having trouble keeping up here. I'm not getting any younger now, you know. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> W.

[Guest Skyking]

I don't know how anyone can say these times are better!

[48LCCOUPE]

Better technology, better communication, better health care possible (not neccesarily available), better working conditions,no cold war?.........

Overcrowding, terrorism, global warming, pollution, crime rates, drug proliferation, less local communication (neighbors,grocery clerk, mailman(person)), more two parent working families, more turn key kids, .........

It was simplier if not better back then. And I vote simplier IS better.

[6219_Rules]

My vote is that there were fewer people.... <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I think both view points are valid. Dave pointed out how far we have come as a society and people, and JR showed us how things were when simple things made life pleasant. I do not see a incongruity here. You know, I still feel the way I did as a kid when I look out my window at the trees, and sky, or take a walk...there is so much to enjoy. Life does intrude with its taxes and horrific news reports spewed out with about as much feeling as dog food commercials, still it is instantaneous communication...we know now what is happening in real time where in the past it was old news even new.

I saw something, I think it was an historic note on a new technology, a traffic hot air balloon that allowed the paper to report what cause traffic problems the very next morning. Probably a joke but it reminded me of the Scientific American report in 1896 (I think) on the future of the horseless carriage. It seems it cut pollution incredibly since it did not leave stool in the streets. The numbers were incredible per year for cities like New York, not to mention the odor.

The promise of technology which lead men like H.G. Wells to believe that Man had finally loosed the bonds of bestiality for enlightenment...the fullfillment of the promises of the Age of Reason. Until he realised, as so many did, that it also brought terrible consequences....World Wars...atomic weapons...etc. Interesting how things advance. But we still enjoy the things people have enjoyed for millenia...a walk together, hand in hand with someone you love; a drink of something truly wonderful; a quiet moment away from the rush of life...the scent of roses wet with dew ... freshly mown grass...

I still think this thread was a marvelous moment to savor...like sitting here at my desk and watching the clouds skuttle past bare trees on a chill north wind. This feeling...this moment.,..is the greatest joy in life. Feeling alive and connected. Everything else is just packaging. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

[Rawja]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I don't know how anyone can say these times are better! </div></div>

Ummmm, how 'bout:

Antibiotics, Civil Rights, Microwaves, life expectancy, OSHA, Social Security, Medicare, Viagra, Velcro, computers, the internet (and this excellent discussion forum), Gene therapy, CAT scans, inexpensive jet travel, palm pilots, cell phones, 100,000 mile tune-up intervals, radial keratotomy, radial tires, polio vaccine, fluorinated water, CDs, MP3s, VCRs, DVDs, Big screen TVs, satellite communications, weather forecasting, fresh vegetables year-round, the ADA, food stamps, SSD, CNN, plastics, desktop publishing, video conferencing, LEDs, air conditioning, the pill, the ERA, the EPA, the FDA, the NHTSA, the interstate highway system, air bags, seatbelts, safety glass, waste water treatment, drinking water standards, and of course MTV and Pokemon.

As much as I may pine away for the imagined "simpler" times of my youth, there is no comparison in the quality of life between today and ANY "yesterday" you can choose. If you are a "minority" of any description, the comparison becomes extremely stark.

We live in a country with almost 300 million people, and when one child goes missing the media goes into a full-tilt frenzy. Child abductions are not a new thing, neither is pedophilia, serial killers, mass murderers, burglaries, rapists, terrorism, corporate malfeasance, corruption, or greed. The difference is that today there is a tremendous profit motive involved in scaring the public whether it?s via ?stay tuned ?till eleven for the shocking details? or from buying an un-needed security system.

Guess how many trick-or-treaters I had this last Halloween?

Two. (and they came together in one shot).

Guess how many actual cases of children being killed by Halloween candy poisoning there have been in the last 40 years?

Again the answer is TWO. (both were determined to be deranged family members doing the poisonings by the way).

When I was a kid, we would trick-or-treat till we couldn?t walk and/or carry anymore. Those days are long gone thanks to the hysterical warnings we receive from the media.

We are no less safe than we have ever been, and as a matter of fact are safer in almost every way, but our perception is hopelessly skewed.

It may bother you that Dave peed on the ?Good Old Days Parade? by reminding us that it had a very, very dark side that we choose to forget or were blissfully unaware of, but it remains a valid set of observations nonetheless.

[R W Burgess]

Rawja, The main thing I notice in your list is more "stuff", some of it good very useful "stuff", but stuff none the less. That's what bothers me is all the products that manufacterers think we should have, or can't do without. Heck, I don't even want to go to WalMart anymore. I keep telling my wife, "Where do you expect to put all this new "stuff" when the house is still filled with the old?" Palm pilot? I haven't a clue what that does or how that would help me in my life. Probably just another gimmicky devise for me to lose? <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Wayne

[6219_Rules]

A great point, Wayne. It was what I tried to get to but failed in elucidating...we have been inundated with material things. That is not where life is good. You find that within yourself.

A Palm Pilot WAS a simple tool to hold addresses, notes, some email and allowed for quick access to that data. It has become a pocket PC with all the features a desktop has, but with less memory. I use a Palm because my memory is poor...until I forget to bring it, then it is just one more thing to clutter my desk. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

We need to buy less, and use better judgement on what we buy. I look at all the junk that accumulates in my house once a year, and donate most to Good Will. If I don't pick it up or use it in a month, it is superfluous.

But he is right...life has never been so good or so safe. Safety...security...is an illusion in any case.

There is no such thing. However we are relatively safer than people in the 40s.

But at a price...a heavy price. I completely concure with RWJ on the state of our hysteronics.

We have made major inroads on child abuse and death, and while it still occurs, our society is FINALLY protecting the child. Do you remember in the 60s when people started to hesitantly talk about child and spouse abuse? Sure everyone KNEW about it...it was private and embarrassing.

A man could beat his wife because that was between the husband and wife...it was no one elses affair! Today we have no privacy. We have given it up to shine the light on such evil...to rescue those who had no hope before. Divorce is up again...relationships are disposable and open, a real oxymoron if ever there was one...Open Relationship (a MAJOR pet peeve with me), but we now protect and rescue those who were once in the shadows away from society's notice.

More and stronger laws to protect us from the violence and thoughtless evil of people....and less freedom from the prying eyes of government. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> yadah yadah yaaaa.

Is it just perspective? I wonder. But I still maintain that the simple pleasures we remember are availble even today because they are not bound to 'things' but to experiences. Good friends...good times...beautiful days...peaceful nights. These are the moments we really cherish.

[Guest Hal Davis (MODEL A HAL)]

LYNCHINGS? Yes, there were lynchings. Dave, maybe you would like to look up the stats on just how many lynchings occured. I'm sure there were many, and I'm not proud of that.

BUT.... I would also like for you to look up just how many whites have been gunned down by black gang members soley because of their skin color. What about that family that made a wrong turn down a dead end street, only to be gunned down because of some "turf" violation? I wouldn't be a bit surprised if these numbers didn't exceeded the number of lynchings a long time ago. It just doesn't get labled a "Hate Crime" when it happens the other way around.

[Guest imported_jmarsicano]

Here is an email that came across my desk by George Carlin, the comedian.

-Joe

Isn't it amazing that George Carlin - comedian of the 70's and 80's -

could write something so very eloquent.

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but

shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more,

but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and

smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees

but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet

more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too

little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too

tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have

multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much,

love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to

life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but

have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered

outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not

better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the

atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan

more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We

build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies

than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small

character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days

of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These

are d ays of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one

night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from

cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the

showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can

bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share

this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not

going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because

that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. Remember, to

give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only

treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but

most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes

from deep inside of you . Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment

for someday that person will not be there again. Give time to love, give

time to speak, and give time to share the precious thoughts in your

mind.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the

moments that take our breath away.

[Dave@Moon]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I don't know how anyone can say these times are better! </div></div>

And this group is having a hard time recruiting younger members into the club.

Shocking.

[Dave@Moon]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Guess how many trick-or-treaters I had this last Halloween?

Two. (and they came together in one shot). </div></div>

In New York City. In a relatively populous but safe suburb here we've resorted to giving away full-size candy bars to try and keep the trick-or-treater total to over 20. It didn't work this year.

Pessimism's been winning a lot lately, hasn't it?

[Guest Skyking]

I can't believe George stated all that without using the "F" word. But everything he stated is exactally what I mean. We are living in a too fast paced era. Nothing now is fast enough. Communication is so fast that most things are fouled up. When I had my house built in 98' everyone had cell phones, but yet deliveries were wrong, details were wrong, it seemed the right foot didn't know what the left foot was doing. There's an old saying, "YOU DON'T MISS WHAT YOU DON'T HAVE"...........Now if I didn't have this computer, I'd probably be doing something useful at this moment....

[ex98thdrill]

Yep, Howard I'm thoroughly convinced.... Doing drugs will destroy you're brain... for what little you have of one. I never touched the stuff, and you never touched the stuff, and the one who did sure has made it obvious. But for the purposes of entertainment, I won't mention any names.

Hey, I feel a draft coming, are you going to join the Canandian Antique Automible Club??

Howard, Wayne, Pedro, even if they lift the age restriction we're still off the hook because we all served.

All kidding aside, I like today's technology, but when it comes to a hobby, I'll take an old car over a new car any day of the week. I like today's technology in restoring an old car, but I hate today's technology when you have to fix a new car.

Technology made a big difference in my time in the dessert being a lot more bearable, but to a degree things were better back then too. There are good and bad in the past and present, but neither the past or the present will ever be perfect. This is where common sense and the ability to keep the proper things (and people) in the right perspective make a difference.

Many of us wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for technology, but the simpler times of the past seemed nice.