<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div dir="ltr"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div dir="ltr"><span style="color: rgb(63, 71, 133); font-family: "Comic Sans ms", "Lucida Casual", Textile, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.3em; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Wasn't This Us?</span><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><div>Author unknown</div><div><br></div><div>A little house with three bedrooms,</div><div>one bathroom and one car on the street.</div><div>A mower that you had to push</div><div>to make the grass look neat.</div><div><br></div><div>In the kitchen on the wall</div><div>we only had one phone,</div><div>And no need for recording things,</div><div>someone was always home.</div><div><br></div><div>We only had a living room</div><div>where we would congregate,</div><div>unless it was at mealtime</div><div>in the kitchen where we ate.</div><div><br></div><div>We had no need for family rooms</div><div>or extra rooms to dine.</div><div>When meeting as a family</div><div>those two rooms would work out fine.</div><div><br></div><div>We only had one TV set</div><div>and channels maybe three,</div><div>But always there was one of them</div><div>with something worth to see.</div><div><br></div><div>For snacks we had potato chips</div><div>that tasted like a chip.</div><div>And if you wanted flavor</div><div>there was Lipton's onion dip.</div><div><br></div><div>Store-bought snacks were rare because</div><div>my mother liked to cook</div><div>and nothing can compare to snacks</div><div>in Betty Crocker's book.</div><div><br></div><div>Weekends were for family trips</div><div>or staying home to play.</div><div>We all did things together --</div><div>even go to church to pray.</div><div><br></div><div>When we did our weekend trips</div><div>depending on the weather,</div><div>no one stayed at home because</div><div>we liked to be together.</div><div><br></div><div>Sometimes we would separate</div><div>to do things on our own,</div><div>but we knew where the others were</div><div>without our own cell phone.</div><div><br></div><div>Then there were the movies</div><div>with your favorite movie star,</div><div>and nothing can compare</div><div>to watching movies in your car.</div><div><br></div><div>And there were the picnics</div><div>at the peak of summer season,</div><div>pack a lunch and find some trees</div><div>and never need a reason.</div><div><br></div><div>Get a baseball game together</div><div>with all the friends you know,</div><div>have real action playing ball --</div><div>and no game video.</div><div><br></div><div>Remember when the doctor</div><div>used to be the family friend,</div><div>and didn't need insurance</div><div>or a lawyer to defend?</div><div><br></div><div>The way that he took care of you</div><div>or what he had to do,</div><div>because he took an oath and strove</div><div>to do the best for you.</div><div><br></div><div>Remember going to the store</div><div>and shopping casually,</div><div>and when you went to pay for it</div><div>you used your own money?</div><div><br></div><div>Nothing that you had to swipe</div><div>or punch in some amount,</div><div>and remember when the cashier person</div><div>had to really count?</div><div><br></div><div>The milkman used to go</div><div>from door to door,</div><div>And it was just a few cents more</div><div>than going to the store.</div><div><br></div><div>There was a time when mailed letters</div><div>came right to your door,</div><div>without a lot of junk mail ads</div><div>sent out by every store.</div><div><br></div><div>The mailman knew each house by name</div><div>and knew where it was sent;</div><div>there were not loads of mail addressed</div><div>to "present occupant."</div><div><br></div><div>There was a time when just one glance</div><div>was all that it would take,</div><div>and you would know the kind of car,</div><div>the model and the make.</div><div><br></div><div>They didn't look like turtles</div><div>trying to squeeze out every mile;</div><div>they were streamlined, white walls, fins</div><div>and really had some style.</div><div><br></div><div>One time the music that you played</div><div>whenever you would jive,</div><div>was from a vinyl, big-holed record</div><div>called a forty-five.</div><div><br></div><div>The record player had a post</div><div>to keep them all in line</div><div>and then the records would drop down</div><div>and play one at a time.</div><div><br></div><div>Oh sure, we had our problems then,</div><div>just like we do today</div><div>and always we were striving,</div><div>trying for a better way.</div><div><br></div><div>Oh, the simple life we lived</div><div>still seems like so much fun,</div><div>how can you explain a game,</div><div>just kick the can and run?</div><div><br></div><div>And why would boys put baseball cards</div><div>between bicycle spokes</div><div>and for a nickel, red machines</div><div>had little bottled Cokes?</div><div><br></div><div>This life seemed so much easier</div><div>and slower in some ways.</div><div>I love the new technology</div><div>but I sure do miss those days.</div><div><br></div><div>So time moves on and so do we</div><div>and nothing stays the same,</div><div>but I sure love to reminisce</div><div>and walk down memory lane.</div></div><div><br></div>————————————————-<br><br>Me and friends . . . back in the day. Proof that I wan’t always anti-gun.</div><div dir="ltr"><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/Van_Nuys/Van_Nuys_1958.jpg">http://www.tomandrodna.com/Photos/Van_Nuys/Van_Nuys_1958.jpg</a></div><div dir="ltr"><br><div dir="ltr"><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">http://www.MoscowCares.net</span></div><div><br></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div><br></div><div>“A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met.”</div><div>- Roy E. Stolworthy</div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>