50 years ago

Fifty years ago daddy worked. Made good money too. How does a salary of $400 per month sound? He had been making that for 2 years. Was still earning $400 per month 9 years later. Mama stayed home with us kids. It was hot in June. We didn't have to make sure the windows were raised. They only came down from early May until October when it rained. We owned one oscillating fan. I never wore shoes in the summertime. My greatest fear didn't come from terrorists. My fears came from honey bees on the clover in our front yard. I didn't go in the back yard. We had the meanest rooster on the planet and he didn't like me. I reckon my city was at full employment. You either worked on the farm, at the Textile plant, the sawmill, the railroad, or you were a member of the merchant class. If you didn't work at either one of those places you moved up north. Times were great, weren't they? We had a TV set with a very small picture tube. Black and white. channels were 6 or 13. Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Greenjeans in the morning and Cousin Cliff or Benny Carl in the afternoon. During the week the weather lady would write the highs and lows for the day with chalk on a drawn map of the state of Alabama. And give us our chance of rain for the day. Not very scientific. At night you could watch Highway Patrol with Broderick Crawford, Perry Mason, and Father Knows Best. On Friday nights you could watch boxing. Times were great, weren't they? We sat out on the porch and shelled every bean and pea known to man. We actually ate at the same table and talked to one another. Never locked the doors. Even when we went on vacation. The radio was on most of the time. I liked the Daily Farm Report. You could hear chickens cackling and cows mooing. I enjoyed the Around The Town News as well. I liked the jingle. Community News, Community News. Now life became interesting when you could hear Elvis on the radio. The DJ's even became more interesting. Not long after Elvis became popular, we had to have a record player. It probably didn't cost $10, but it played 45's, 33 1/3's, and 78's. 50 years ago wasn't bad. In fact, it was very very good. Daddy, mama, and my grandparents were there. Today, some in the family are getting old and feeble. Some of us are in nursing homes. Some are fighting cancer. Some in different stages of dementia. Some of us are doing great. We've been fruitful and multiplied. We're spread out all over the U.S. All from a little town in Alabama.