The Good Ol’ Days

People have this idealized vision of the past. I get it. I remember my childhood and the places my parents used to take us as kids. I have a lot of good memories from that time. But...

I really hate it when people talk about, “The Good Ol’ Days”.

The Good Ol’ Days implies there was a time when everything was better. Maybe it’s my age, but many people love to refer to the 50’s or early 60’s as the good ol’ days, when things were simpler. Were they?

My memories of those times usually involve fear. My elementary school jut celebrated 100 years and the principal gave us a tour of the place which seemed so much smaller than when I was a kid. When we got to the basement she asked who remembers playing dodge ball down there on rainy days? I told her I remembered the atomic bomb drills where we would get under our desks, or go to the school basement and wait for the bombs to drop. Did anyone really believe that by crawling under a desk or going to the basement would save us?

That guy in the leather jacket, the Fonzi type, would usually beat you up for your lunch money and then steal your bike. And don’t forget, a lot of people didn’t have rights, and those right are under assault again. Personally, I want everyone to have equal rights.

I’m not breaking any new ground here when I say, we are a nation of complainers.

People look at their towns and love to talk about how much worse they have gotten. All of the good restaurants are gone, there are too many people from other places living here, there’s way too much traffic, people are unfriendly, home prices are through the roof, food and fuel are too expensive.

People have this idealized vision of the past. I get it. I remember my childhood and the places my parents used to take us as kids. I have a lot of good memories from that time.

Just because I have fond memories growing up doesn’t mean I want to go back to those times. Yes, it was nice when one person could work and make enough to afford a house, raise the kids, and send them off to college. A lot of those things changed because of business people being greedy and wanting more.

I see a lot of groups on social media that are dedicated to “Dead Memories” showing photos of how things used to be. They show photos of old restaurants and go on and on about how great the food was, and it’s a shame these places are no longer around. If you dig a bit deeper you find that those same people who loved these places only went a few times a year.

And as these businesses started to look and feel old, and perhaps a bit run down, people comment about how they used to be so good, and then they went downhill.

Does anyone ever stop for a moment and think that maybe it’s because people like them stopped going to these places regularly that they went “downhill”? Maybe if they had gone out more often, patronized the local places that maybe those restaurant could have afforded to hang on?

Most people hate change, especially as they get older. They don’t wish to learn new things or try new places or foods. They want everything to be the same. But that’s not how life works. Things do change and in many instances they change for the better, although not always.

I grew up in Portland, Oregon and I get tired of people talking about how this town has gone to hell. “It’s horrible.” “We never go downtown.” “It’s dangerous!” “I’m tired of all of these Californians coming here and ruining the place.” ”It used to be so great. But now…”

And the media hasn’t done us any favors. They love to paint my hometown (or anyone’s actually) as a bad place and yet they always do it from afar. They may drop in for a day or two, shoot the places and people they have set up in advance to fit their pre-written story, and then they leave. And their word and images become what everyone sees across the country.

How tough is it to find people who will trash everything? Like I stated earlier, people are complainers. I think on some level they enjoy talking despairingly about where they live instead of taking the time, and making the effort, to see what it would take to fix things up and make it better.

Two years ago I moved to a new neighborhood and I have been amazed at how friendly my neighbors are and how much they help each other. The only neighbor I have yet to talk to is the guy who’s lived here most of his life, he lives in the same house he grew up in. I walk by smile and wave and he turns away from me. He refuses to acknowledge my presence. I found out he does that with most of the neighbors and usually tells people that he’s going to move someplace else. We’ll see if he ever does, or if he just keeps complaining.

I am not saying that things are great right now. In fact, quite the opposite. But returning to the “Good Ol’ Days” is not going to fix anything. In fact I fear it will make things worse.

Instead of complaining all the time about how bad things are, and wishing for the “Good Ol’ Days”, why not start working to make things better. Get to know your neighbors and see how you can affect change in your area. Change doesn’t have to be huge, it can start quite small. But if others see what you’re doing and step into help, that change can become huge.

Don’t depend on politicians or others (like billionaires) to make the changes you want to see because they aren’t going to do it. It’s long past time to get off our asses and get to work.

Go out and meet your neighbors, even the person down the street who ignores everyone, and find the things you have in common. Then work on those issues to make changes.

I have been around long enough to know that good, healthy change never comes from the top. It’s always ordinary people who create change, just like it’s always small businesses that create jobs and build our economy. It’s never wealthy people doing that. Which is why they work so hard to divide us.

Instead of longing for a time that never existed, work towards a time when people are taken care of and our lives are ruled by compassion and not dollars and hatred.

Fuck the “Good Ol’ Days!

Thanks for reading. Have a great week.

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