School Days, School Daze Part I

School starts next week for my kids. The had a full 2 months of vacation this year! However, I think that they haven't really experienced summer break like those of us over 30 did.

For example, many of us old farts did not have satellite or cable television unless we lived in larger metropolitan areas. The rest of us had to entertain ourselves by other means. Here in the rural south, we used to go to lake a lot... to swim, fish, water ski. We would hang out and go camping. We would help out our family and neighbors with yard work, many times not expecting a reward and extremely grateful when we did receive one.

Many of us who had cars (and I am not talking about the showpieces kids drive today but the 10-15 year old junkers that needed oil whenever we stopped for gas) also had jobs in order to pay for the necessities such as gasoline, alcohol, and cigarettes. (Yes, I am talking of the ancient days of lore.) We flipped burgers, took orders, mucked stalls, mopped floors, delivered feed, washed cars, plowed fields, helped with the family... you name, someone was doing it. And we had fun doing it because, especially during the summer, we were working side by side with friends.

Furthermore, most of us were paid either a flat rate or a minimum wage that was half of what it is today. We didn't care because we had cold hard cash to spend.

When school started, we still worked. The only difference was we were expected to also maintain the highest grades possible. We had an active vocational program then, one where the students who were not interested in college could excel in their talents... be it agriculture or carpentry, auto body repair or cosmetology.

Now I have one in high school, and see such a different world through her eyes. Many of the kids she goes to school with have no idea how to do anything. The expect to be paid for everything they do including making decent grades. Only a few that I have met in their workplace environments actually take pride in the job. Most simply exist in that space, waiting till its time to clock out. They drive cars that I would love to be able to afford and wear new clothes every week. They cuss inf front of us old farts (something we would have died before doing when I was their age... not to say we didn't cuss... we just knew when and where was appropriate). Curfew is a joke, and sleeping around is consider the norm rather than taboo.

I am just in shock! I am trying my best to keep my kids from becoming jaded, lazy, non-performers but it is difficult. It seems I am constantly telling them to help around the house. I am constantly telling them to get a job if they want money. I probably have been painted as an evil witch to their friends, but I don't care. There are lessons that they will need to function in the real world... like job ethics, the desire to excel, the importance of money, the benefits of failure, and the rewards of success.

When I go to the store to purchase the needed school supplies, I will once again be taken over by memories of my childhood... but I will also be humbled by my new position as teacher.

Grocery Store Nostalgia

I was prowling around online earlier today trying to find out exactly what kind of fish I had bought at the store (a croaker) and how to fix it when I came across a blog written by a rather cool butcher from New York.

I live in the South, and his ramblings took me back to the 1970's.

Before I begin, let me say that this used to be a much more rural area. Many families, mine included, would buy either a bull to raise or a side of beef from a local farmer. We all had gardens and freezers, not to mention the canning cellar. Grocery stores were for when we either ran out of something or we could not grow it... but that is another post.

We had one chain grocery store in town when I was a kid, and it left a lot to be desired. My mother and grandmother usually took me to the locally owned stores to go shopping. Each one had a butcher, and he would slice and dice whatever kind of cut one could come up with to buy. You could see him through a glass window at the back of the store by the meat cooler. He would be dressed in a blood splattered white uniform with a little envelope shaped hat, hacking away at huge sides of beef or pork.

There was a little buzzer over the pre-packaged hamburger and chops. My mother or grandmother would ring the bell whenever they needed something special. The butcher would wipe his hands and come out, always with a smile. Mom or Mawmaw would explain what she needed, and the butcher would say he would be back in wink. I was fascinated just watching him cut the meat. If there was a specific weight, he NEVER had to go back and do it again. To me, it was magic. How did he know?

In a few moments he would return with the fresh cut meat wrapped neatly in the white butcher paper. Sometimes he would ask if we needed twine. I was always amazed that no matter how bloody he was, the package was perfectly white without one single spot!

Then again, there are a lot of things about the old family grocery stores that I miss now when I take my kids out.

In other places, these things may still exist... but not here with out three chain grocery stores and only one "home owned" store. (The one home owned store was bought by a foreign family a few years ago and has changed. Insert deep sigh.)

I remember the Brach's Candy bins where you could mix and match a pound of candy. (I loved the butter rum creams!)

People could call in their orders. When they came in, the bag boy would bring it to the front for them!

There used to be bag boys who would unload your cart, bag it up, then take it to the car and unload it for you... without being asked!

The racks by checkout were filled with not only gum but penny candy! There were also candy cigarettes (shich never caused anyone to smoke unless a kid ate too much and ended up having steam from the gigantic sugar-rush pour from their ears) and Marathon Candy Bars... wonderful, gooey Marathon Bars with the yellow ruler on the back of the package.



Marathon Bars... the perfect snack for school because you could use it for math class and then eat it in the afternoon. The perfect ruler for a kid!

I feel that I am fortunate because I have the memories. Maybe it was because "modern conveniences" were a little slower coming to my hometown. Maybe it is because we were a difficult town to convert. I don't know.

What I do know is that I miss those days, especially when confronted with the self-scanner check lanes at Walmart or having to take out my own groceries the other day. It just seems to me that we are all so busy that we have forgotten how to enjoy life. Or maybe we have forgotten that all jobs are important and human contact is something we all truly need.

My family does not have as much as others, but I pray that somehow I can give my children the same kind of memories I have... of interaction with others and the knowledge that having the biggest and bestest does not give you the best memories of childhood.