Fun to tell the grandkids

Nice to Remember:
HEY,  WASN’T THAT US ?  
A  little house with three bedrooms 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 model 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.
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Tags: 40s, 50s, oldies, remember