A POEM THAT WAS US

 

         A little house with three bedrooms,
         One bathroom 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,
         But nothing could 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,
         And 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
         Slower in some ways
         I love the new technology
         But I sure do 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.

         With all today's technology
         We grant that it's a plus!
         But it's fun to look way back and say,
         HEY LOOK, GUYS, THAT WAS US!