I understand that in order to create a habit, action must be taken.  Since I am trying to get into the habit of keeping a blog (diary) again, that means that I have to actually write entries now and then. WOW! What brilliant reasoning!

One of my grand daughters likes to ask me to "tell me about the old days when you were a kid, Farfar". (By the way, "Farfar" is Swedish for "father's father" or, therefor, "grand father").  She enjoys hearing about how much progress we have made in the time it took me to get from her age to mine.  I don't know whether she thinks that it took an extremely long time to come from the days when I watched merchants come to our house in horse drawn wagons containing an amazing assortment of fruits and vegetables.etc., or whether she is surprised at how fast it all happened.  I have heard her wonder out loud what things will be like when she is getting on in age.  To be honest, I find myself wondering the same things.

So I tell her about how we could go out and not have to lock up the house.  How even kids could travel almost anywhere around the city without every one worrying if they have been kidnapped or killed.  I tell her about the "Happy Days" era when life was easy going and laid back.  I don't do it in such a way as to frighten her about how dangerous some of life is today, but I do point out that things were a bit easier then and that what we've given up in some of our freedoms to run around and play without worry, we have gained in many of our new technologies.  She has a tough time envisioning a world without color t.v. (or any t.v. for that matter) , and no video games, ipods, c.d.s, v.c.rs, fax and copying machines, microwave ovens, malls, and so forth.  I have told her about playing marbles, yoyo contests, playing jacks, hopscotch, jump rope, hide and seek, run sheepy run, kick the can, eddie eye over, street ball, and a few other things.  Then, of course, I had to tell her what most of these things were, as it seems that few kids do any of these things any more.  I have told her about how a bunch of the kids in the neighborhood and myself would get up early on the week ends and go around the local school grounds collecting pop bottles to cash in at the local grocery stores to collect enough money to take the bus down town to the local theater where we bought a candy bar or an order of popcorn to eat while watching this week's serial movie, the news, previews of coming attractions, several cartoons, and then at least one (many times two or three) movies.Then, after all that, we still had enough money to take a bus home, and still have time usually, to play before supper.  I think that what amazed her more than anything else, was the fact that our folks let us do all of this, without worrying about us.  Nostalgia!!!  Sometimes I really miss the "good old days".  Then I go in and microwave myself a frozen dinner and enjoy a program or two that I had the t.v. Tivo for me a night or two ago while I was watching something else.  Give and take, give and take.  I guess there really must "needs be opposition in all things".  Even on these levels.

sooner,

Badger Bill