THERE WAS A TIME

There was a time when life was simpler than it is now. Not necessarily better, though I think it was.

Honor was in greater supply. People tended to mean what they said, do what they promised. When someone told you his name and where he came from, that was virtually always true. We didn't need 6 points of identification to prove who we were. Were there some who faked their identity. I'm sure. But those few did not cause us to be geerally distrustful of others.

There were no credit cards. If you wanted to buy something, other than perhaps a house or a car, you paid for it by cash or check...or you didn't buy it. We had less on average than people do today, but what we had was ours. There were no credit ratings. There were no mounting interest charges. There was no Xanex.

We bought insurance, but only for catastrophic events. We sustained ordinary normal losses ourselves. We paid out of pocket for general visits to doctors, and we only went to the doctor when we felt our natural bodily healing powers wouldn't take care of matters. And, oh yes, when we were ill with high temperatures, we didn't go out to see the doctor--he or she came to our home with that little black magical bag that seemed to fix everything.

Education and work were treasured. We were happy and felt privileged to learn more, we were happy and felt secure having a job. We were more focused on what we did have than on what we didn't have.

When the depression hit and wiped out most people's savings, they got up, went back to work, and rebuilt their lives. When the world and America were threated by the most monstrous evil in World War II, they left their jobs, they enlisted, they buckled down and fought with passion, over 400,000 gave their lives in Europe and the Pacific, and in 4 years we wiped that evil off the face of this Earth.

We were more independent. We did not expect others to take care of us, nor did we construct complex philosophical ideas to support social duties, obligations and responsibilities. What we did have was a sense of benevolence toward those in our neighborhood, those we knew. When another was in need, we went to help. Not because we felt obliged to, not because it was in our benefit to do so, but because we cared and it was the way humans should treat other humans.

Policemen walked the beat and were friendly and called us by name. Teachers wanted you to learn and did not threaten failure. If a student was not doing the work, not learning, parents were called in, not to punish the student but to help get the student back on track. Bus drivers smiled, store keepers gave you free pieces of candy. Older people were revered, their advice eagerly sought.

People did not rush about from one thing to another. Most of us didn't own cars, we walked more. We lived slower, quieter. We lived more in the now.

There was a time when life was simpler than it is now...and, I think, better.