Isn’t It Amazing?
In my time on Earth, I have witnessed some amazing things.
Before I Begin
A bit of age information.
I am 83, born in 1939.
My mother was born in 1899 and had an eleventh grade education.
My father was born in 1894 and had a sixth grade education.
Amazing Common Things
Isn’t it amazing that my mother, without the help of the government, knew that a 400 degree oven was hot?
Isn’t it amazing that my father, without the help of the government, knew that if you started spending more money than you earned, you could get into trouble?
Isn’t it amazing that on a warm summer evening a family used to sit on their front porch and speak to people strolling down the sidewalk?
Amazing Education Things
Isn’t it amazing that during the Great Depression and with money being extremely scarce, my parents insisted that my six sisters remain in school?
Isn’t it amazing that neither I nor my sisters could spell as well as we should have because we just asked Mama, who could spell just about anything with her eleventh grade education?
Isn’t it amazing that my father, with a sixth grade education, could read a newspaper faster than the typical high school graduate of today?
Isn’t it amazing that given my family’s financial resources, or really lack thereof, all of my six sisters and I graduated from high school and three of us graduated from college?
Amazing Child-Rearing Things
Isn’t it amazing that, even though my parents never owned a home and never owned a car after the Great Depression hit, all seven of their children owned their own homes and owned two cars?
Isn’t it amazing that I mowed lawns with a push mower from when I was twelve until I was fourteen and then I took a 26 hour a week part-time job, and I never blamed my parents because I wanted a little bit of cash?
Isn’t it amazing that even though my family had a long stretch of hard times, as my sisters and I grew older we remained very close and our parents were very dear to us?
Amazing Childhood Things
Isn’t it amazing that, at one time, boys could play baseball on a field not really suited for baseball, using a ball covered with electricians tape, without nine on a team, without umpires, and without parents standing around yelling?
Isn’t it amazing that with a very small piece of chalk, children could play hopscotch on the sidewalk?
Isn’t it amazing that there was a time when a boy walked somewhere, he would amuse himself by kicking a rock along in front of him?
Isn’t it amazing that there was a time when children played games outdoors and actually talked to each other?
Amazing Conclusion
Good parenting and little money is far superior to the other way around.
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