The "Good" Old Days

​Far too many people feel that they have little to be thankful for. Some think their world is rotten because the wrong person is in the White House. Others can only see the bad in things. Many seem to wish for a simpler time. They often look at the 1950’s as such an era.  To them it was a carefree time symbolized by Elvis, Eisenhower and I Love Lucy. The reality was a little different.

We hear a lot about all the problems today. Back then we worried about atomic war. I can remember being told to get under my desk and cover my head if a bomb went off.

You might miss today’s technology. Black and white televisions got three channels and you had to walk to the set to change them. To make a phone call, you talked to an operator. Computers were room sized machines. You might have enjoyed some of the cars but there were no seat belts.

You also would have to forego modern medical advances. Cancer was considered a death sentence. I remember the swimming pool closing due to a polio outbreak.
If you were a woman, your career choices would be very limited. You could be a nurse but not a doctor, an executive secretary but not an executive.

If you were black, the situation was much bleaker. If you lived in the South, you were subject to harsh segregation. If a white person killed you for being “uppity” no jury would convict them. Even if you lived in the North, you likely were stuck in a menial job.
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My grandmother used to say “Those weren’t the good old days, those were the bad old days”. She sure was right.