Nostalgia

I got another one of those e-mails today. You know, the ones that talk about watching Howdey-Doodey and Green stamps, etc, etc, and how wonderful the world was when we were growing up and didn't have viedogames or seat belts.

Remember?

Remember laughing and making fun of the kids who had polio and had to wear heavy braces and akward crutches? We had to put up with them in class because there was nothing wrong with their minds, just their bodies, but face it, most people with disabilities were kept "out of sight"

Remember no seat belts? I remember a girl I had been friends with since first grade, she was a homecoming princess our senior year. Then on Mother's day, the car she was riding in hit an oily patch and spun out. She wasn't wearing a seatbelt. She was still in rehab and didn't get to graduation. She did make it to college. And by then, people in wheelchairs weren't as unusual as when we were in grade school.

Remember getting your tetnus shot on a regular basis? When was the last time any of us did THAT?

Remember the days when (because of illegal red-lining) there were NO minorities of any color in your neighborhood? In California, in the mid-60's four of the largest real estate firms in my area were charged with discrimination. Certain areas were understoon to be "off limits" to minorities. Even if they had cash to pay for the home.

Nostalgia may be a longing for "the way things used to be" Take a hint: They never really were that way.