Growing Up Americana

I grew up in Atwater California. I was raised during a time when most everyone treated each other with respect. We didn’t eat a lot of fast food because it really was considered a treat, not a food group. We drank Kool-Aid made from water that came from our kitchen sink. We ate bologna sandwiches, or even tuna (which was in a can not a pouch), PB&J and grilled cheese sandwiches, pot pies, but mostly homemade meals consisting of mainly meat, potatoes, vegetable, homemade bread and butter, and homemade and desserts.

We grew up during a time when we mowed lawns, pulled weeds, babysat, had lemonade stands, cars were washed in the driveway, helped neighbors with chores to be able to earn our own money. We went outside a lot to play games, ride bikes, roller skate, run with siblings and friends and played hide and seek, dodge ball and roller skates, basketball even built tree forts. We drank tap water from the hose outside… bottled water was unheard of. When our shoes wore out, from so much playing on asphalt, we had them re-soled and new heels put on. We polished them weekly. Pants ripped at the knees? That’s what patches were for.

We watched TV shows like American Bandstand, The Rifleman, Amos and Andy, Abbot and Costell, The 3 Stooges, Twilight Zone, The Late Show, Dobie Gillis, Mr. Ed, Bonanza, Lassie, Batman, and the Mickey Mouse Club. After school, we came home and did homework and chores before going outside or having friends over. And could only watch Disney, Wild Kingdom, and Ed Sullivan on Sunday nights. We would ride our bikes for hours. We had to tell our parents where we were going, who we were going with, and what time we’d be back.

You LEARNED from your Mom instead of disrespecting her and treating her as if she knew absolutely nothing. Cooking and sewing were common in households. What she said was LAW!! And you had better know it!!!

You took off on your bike for the day and parents rarely knew where you were going, but you had to be close enough to home to hear your Mom or Dad yelling to tell you it’s time to come home for dinner. When the street lights came on you had better be home. We ate around the dinner table and talked to each other as a family unit. In school we said the Pledge of Allegiance, we stood for the National Anthem & listened to our teachers.

We watched what we said around our elders because we knew if we DISRESPECTED any grown-up we would get our behinds whipped, it wasn’t called abuse, it was called discipline! We held doors, carried groceries, and gave up our seats for an older person without being asked.

You didn’t hear curse words on the radio in songs or TV, and if you cursed and got caught, you had a bar of soap stuck in your mouth and had to stand in the corner. “Please” and “Thank you” were part of our daily vocabulary!

Wouldn’t it be nice if it were possible to remotely get back to some of this way of life?

Brian Chandler Top Realtors in Parker, Castle Rock, Castle Pines, Lone Tree, Highlands Ranch Colorado. RealtorsInParkerColorado.com