Pre Technology

Tonight I'd like to write a little about life  before all the changes in technology, transportation, and other conveniences to which  we have all become so accustomed .  I remember stories my mother told me about her childhood.  Things like using the phone in the closest grocery store in an urgent situation were quite common.  Very few people had phones.  On one occasion when her family was moving to another house my grandfather borrowed or rented a horse and wagon to move all their belongings.  Although there were cars on the roads they weren't many, and my mother's family had no access to one. 

All of that reminds me of the first calculators, electric typwriters, word processors and finally computers.  Most of the changes have involved speed: faster cars, airplanes, faster communication, not to mention travel to the moon. 

 When my mother was a child no one had medical insurance.  When treatment was needed people paid what they could afford. There were clinics and some places where one could obtain free treatment for minor illnesses such as colds, viruses, stitches for an injury. I always thought that people weren't afraid of crime in those days, but when I was older my mom told me some scary stories about crime in her neighborhood, and other frightening experiences. My mother's family had little variety in their meals, mostly potatoes and ground beef, or beans and franks no fresh fruit or veggies. 

So things have changed a bit for my family from what my mother experienced, and though things were better for my sisters and me,  we were not able to attend college until after we married.  My parents didn't finish high school, but they both worked very hard and my mom was a saver.  She hid money in her drawers for emergencies putting away a few dollars when ever she could.  Lay-a-way was something else that she used for large purchases. That disappeared  several years ago, but it seems to be resurfacing these days as people try to avoid the high interest rates these days. 

I think that all of us have been very lucky to live in such a time of amazing changes and progress, to watch history be made.  I do think I'm better off for all the progress that has been made especially in this country.  

Sadly, with all of  those advances, we have not learned to keep the peace.  With all the progress in communications, human rights, medicine and more we still have wars, serious crime, needless death, children in foster care, drug use and abuse.

Are things better?  I think so and the changes have brought both good and bad to my life, but am I glad that I have been able to see those changes.