Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Country Gal by Vanita Blundell Sept. 1, 2008

September is the time years ago that kids started to school. I think that I started to first grade after Labor Day, but then with the use of air conditioning they decided that we could begin earlier. When Mom and Dad went to school, they had to pack a lunch. I asked Mom what she got in her lunch- She said that in the early fall if she was lucky she would get a piece of fried chicken. Usually there was piece of bread or a biscuit and what ever else her mom had handy for a sack lunch. Sometimes there might be a piece of fruit when it was available. She said that some kids would only have a biscuit and it was hard. I asked her about how they wrapped up their lunches. Did they use wax paper or what? Now we have a variety of things to use to keep our food fresh and clean. She said that she thought that they did not wrap up any of the items in the lunch. I would have thought that the sandwiches would have dried out so much you could not eat it. But times were so different then. Can you imagine what a health inspector would think if he saw a someone eating a lunch that had not been in a refrigerator and it was not wrapped- The lunch would have been carried in tin lunch box or a paper sack that had been used many times. It is a wonder that the human race has survived. Now the kids go to school and get breakfast and a hot lunch. My generation is spoiled and my kids’ generation is worst. If we actually had to survive as my parents had to, I am not sure we would make it. Milking cows and raising chickens, not for pets, but for the sole purpose of eating them. Having chores that had to be done each and every night. There was very little time to play, let alone practice ball. I can just see the farmers that sacrificed to let their kids attend school would tell them that they could spend an extra hour or two after school so that they could practice the sport of their choosing. Kids had chores that had to be done before the sun went down. The sports were played during recess.
Sports were something that you did when and IF you had the time. Now it appears that the whole world stands still for a sport activity. I guess that I am getting old and realizing that getting a good education is so much more valuable than being able to hit- kick- bounce or throw a ball better than anyone.

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