I’m Old Enough To Remember…

Do you ever find yourself reminiscing about the earlier times in your life? These times we find ourselves living in today are really out there. More and more often, I get news overload, where the things being reported are beyond belief, the things being said, the things being done, the suggestions some are making and the realities of it all. It’s really quite something. When I think about it all I find myself questioning, am I getting so old that I’m just out of touch and so hell bent in my ways that I no longer have the right perspective on matters?

I remember Dad and me getting on an elevator back in the 70’s and low and behold John Travolta and three good looking lady friends of his were in the elevator. He nodded his head with a shit eating grin on his face, I nodded back. Nothing was said. When we got off the elevator I said to the old man, “I can’t believe that was John Travolta!” The old man, walking alongside while lighting his cigarette replied “who is John Travolta?” I remember thinking, geez Dad, do you ever watch TV or go to the movies. Well, my wife and I watched a little football on Thanksgiving and during the halftime show a woman started singing with a bunch of weird looking dudes dancing and dressed like, oh hell I don’t know what they were dressed like, for that matter that wasn’t dancing they were doing either so… I said to my wife, “do you know who that is and what the hell she’s saying?” She looked up at the TV, watched for a few seconds and then said “not a clue.” It was right then I knew, I am my father’s son. I mean, you don’t get to perform the Thanksgiving halftime show without being well known, popular and in theory, talented, right? I said to my wife, “man, she’s got one big bootie huh?” You know what my wife said? She said people have procedures done to make their butts bigger. I swear to God, that’s what she said. Now I am really feeling out of touch. What’s the goal? Do you actually want to be called a fat ass? LOL, I just don’t get it and I am now at a point in life where I don’t want to. Get it that is. We changed the channel.

I’m not going to bore you by listing all of the crazy things we see and endure nowadays, you know what they are. From government to politics to parenting to school and everything in-between these times we are living in are not so much crazy as they are flat out absurd.

I feel sorry for parents today and even more sorry for their kids. When I was a kid, I was out the front door once the cartoons were over and I didn’t return until the sun started to go down. What did I do, stuff. I rode my bike all over the place, went to friends houses, played baseball, floated down the creek in an inner tube, went to a movie, shot hoops at the school playground, caught grasshoppers in a jar, collected soda bottles and turned them into enough money to keep up with my candy and soda habit. I went hunting for anything that dared move. I climbed trees and picked blackberries until I got a stomach ache. I could go out in the yard with my toy front end loader, logging truck and skidder and stay busy for hours on end. I could sit on grandpa’s old saddle in the shop for hours fighting off the bad guys and running from the Indians. If I rode the bike over to the local drug store to get a cherry coke and was short on the cost, the guy behind the counter covered me. What did he have to lose? He knew where I lived and he knew my mom.

When I started dating it was a lot easier than it appears to be now. For one, when I finally got the courage to ask a girl out I knew for a fact she was, indeed, a girl. Big advantage right there. LOL. When it came time to pay the bill for dinner or buy the movie ticket there was no debate or even a conversation. I paid and in doing so it didn’t come with any promise of anything. In the early years of dating, her parents met me at the door and before I left there wasn’t any question as to what time I was to have her home. Contrast that to today. It’s more likely the parent (notice that is singular) isn’t even home much less knows who their daughter is going out with. Why even go out, just go in… <mad face>

I’m not trying to say everything was better or easier when I was growing up. Each generation had their own set of challenges to deal with. As we all grind our teeth filling up the gas tank today guess what? We did the same when the cost per gallon was 35 cents. Of course back then we didn’t even have to get out of the car and we got our windshield cleaned in the process. Y’all remember those days right? Remember the gas station attendant? He wore slacks, black boots and a freshly starched shirt with his name proudly embroidered on it. Oh well, things change.

I’m old enough to remember when you went out to the movies or flew somewhere, or went to dinner or ran to the grocery store, went to the barber, the doctor’s office, or to school for that matter you didn’t wear your pajamas. What’s my point?

The nonsense and filth we put up with today has gone completely off the cliff. Today we find ourselves fighting for the ability to speak freely, fighting for fair elections, fighting for equal justice, fighting for our kid’s safety, fighting to have them left alone and we’re fighting the teachers not to provide our kids with gender options. Say what? We have to demand our elected leaders do what they promised to do and struggle to fire them when they don’t. Today we are an eyelash away from having to have a license and register with the government if we intend on taking a poop more than once per day as allocated by the EPA. We used to vote on one day and get the results later that same day. Now it takes weeks and even months. We’ve got people in Government that are out right criminals and a media that has their backs. We are forced to accept so much bullshit nowadays it’s beyond even our worst imagination. When you think about what Nixon did with Watergate compared to what we are witnessing today you have to shake your head in disbelief. He spied on the Democrats and then lied about it. That crap is happening every day of the week now and, if the information they gain doesn’t get the job done they just rig an election and win anyway. They don’t bother debating or even campaigning, their focus is on early voting, drop boxes and programmable tabulators.

Sorry, I had promised you I wouldn’t bore you with all of the ilk and here I am, jumping in… Needless to say, I’m old enough to remember when a handshake got the job done and if the car didn’t start it was either not getting fuel or there was an electrical problem. Nowadays, I don’t even know if the car has spark plugs and if they do, I don’t know where the hell they are, much less how to get to them. We live in complicated times my friend and I’m beginning to think it’s by design.

As I wrap this week’s rant up I once again want to thank all my special friends for the hard work you’ve been doing on my behalf with the twits. Based on Elon’s tweet it appears I’ve got a good chance of getting my account back and being handed my free speech back. Y’all played a role in that and I will forever be humbled and grateful. Y’all are a bunch of damn good friends and people. I’d shake anyone of your hands and never look back wondering if our agreement would ever be in question. And, I am old enough to remember what it means to be a friend. I thank you all!

Now, I hope y’all had a nice Thanksgiving! With any luck and the ‘crik’ don’t rise, I’ll be back to the DG Educational Moments very soon! Before you know it you’ll be asking yourself, “Why did we want him back on twitter?” LOL Have a great rest of your weekend and week ahead.