Yessir, that and similar sentiments have been making the rounds for awhile. It's sort of a cliche. What they're really doing is mourning a time past - with the bad stuff edited out. Nostalgia -the good ol' days, when we walked to school barefoot in a blizzard, 5 miles and uphill both ways.
So, here are some real memories from one who was born the year and month Hound Dog hit the charts. Silver Beatles signed the first record contract on 7th birthday, Janis Joplin died 16th birthday. Rock historians can do the math.
Small houses, full of diaper smell, cartoons only on Sat morning B/W only. Construction project at elementary school with portable toilets labeled "Black" "White" Corrected for addressing the woman who worked for my mother as "Mrs."
Most families had one car. Dads drove to work, sometimes carpooling so Moms could get groceries or take children to doctor. This changed by the time I was in highschool.
Walked or rode a bicycle to school, mile and a half from 3rd grade thru 8th. No helmet, no pads but roads were not so busy, or cars so fast, and most householders were not so protective of their lawns as to object to kids passing thru.
Middle school - thought I would like to take mechanical drawing or woodshop. Sorry! Girls may not enroll in those classes. "You don't want to seem abnormal do you?" Girls must take home economics, sewing and cooking is creative too! Of course you could take Art or Band also. I chose Band and was told "Girls don't play drums." So Artitwas.
Art class - clay sculpture, made a female nude, expressing all my unbusted frustrations.
Art teacher told me to fold the figure's arms over the chest...
Highschool - Physically mousy and socially awkward. Academically unremarkable, but had a small dust up when a Mass Comm. teacher failed a paper I actually bothered to do. The reason? "This paper was not written by a high school student and erudite is not a word. Also, the TV program reported on is NOT the sort of thing a 16 year old girl would choose to watch. I know YOU did not write this paper - so it is an F."
Sorry, I did write the paper, and I did watch that debate show regularly. And erudite IS a word, Mr. Dumas.
Bright spot - Being unremarkable, I could pass unoticed. Got away with lots of stuff.
Read everything and thought about it too. 'Cept very few or my peers could give a shit about it , so I had no-one to talk to.
Fear running rampant at home. I wanna move out. That was BAD. "Why ,oh why did you go to school with that black eye? People will talk! It's not necessary to embarrass the whole family!"
Yeah, the good ol' days.
say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile.
--Kurt Vonnegut, American author
