I was in a hospital bed; it was 6:30 a.m.; the day before had been miserable to the maximum; I had a needle in my arm, a blood pressure monitor around my upper arm that felt much like a python testing for firmness of its next lunch; I was terribly hungry and incredibly thirsty. My colonoscopy would commence in approximately 15 minutes.
Yep, good times. Living the dream. Well, I would be living the dream, literally, once the anesthesiologist said those magic words: “Take a big, deep breath and let it out slowly.”
All would be much better after those 10 little words. But — and this is the one with only one “t,” I was not quite there yet.
In the very next “private” cubicle, separated by an almost transparent curtain, there was a man. I could not see him, thank you very much, but I heard him say to the nurse who was getting him lined up for the same procedure as mine: “I sure wish it were the good old days. Life was so much better and easier then.”
Well, when I am waiting for a medical procedure following a day of that dreadful “colonoscopy prep,” his statement just signaled my feeble dehydrated brain cells into gear. What could I do but go with it?
That happens often in my world. I started thinking, “What is meant by that — the good old days’?” Does it mean like last week, or the 1920s, or maybe the 60s? I did not know the age of my almost friend in the next cubicle and I certainly for once had the good sense not to just yell over, “Hey, guy about to be reamed, what do you mean by the good old days, could you be a bit more specific?” I figured that might be close to inappropriate, and it has been established long ago how I always strive to be appropriate. Or not.
Anyway, I was off and hurtling through my gray matter. Since I was born in 1948, and my “neighbor” was there for the same procedure as I was, I assumed he was near my age. So I began with the 1950s and worked my way through the decades. I will now share with you some of my thoughts – organized by selected decades because of time and space here. If you discover you are not be interested in my ramblings, there is always CNN and Fox waiting with more electric post-election breaking news. Disclaimer: after returning home, I did look up some of the specifics for the following information so I could be accurate. Please note that the lists included here are extremely limited because it is my list, hence my interests, I suppose. It is just to get our minds rolling.
Want more details? Wells County Public Library and Google — have at it.
1950s
Pros — The median price of a home was $7,354 for approximately 1,000 square feet. Cinderella premiered (included in my feeble attempt to be eclectic). TV went from black and white to color. Elizabeth became queen (included for the Anglophiles). The first artificial heart valves and open-heart surgery. Brown vs. Board of Education and the escalating Civil Rights Movement
Cons — Korean War. McCarthyism (warrants a look). Nuclear weapons. Polio epidemic. Legal racial discrimination (do the research, do not take my word for it.) Wages average $50 a week.
1960s
Pros — Peaceful protests. The first-ever televised political debate. Mantle and Maris. Bob Dylan’s first album. The Beatles on Ed Sullivan.
Cons — Medgar Evers, JFK, Malcolm X, MLK, and RFK assassinations. Vietnam war escalates. “Duck and cover drills” in schools. Smoking was encouraged. Sugar in everything. Kids sleeping in the back windows of cars
19990s:
Pros — Relative peace abroad. Rapid developments in technology – cell phones for everyone. Federal budget surplus. Harry Potter. Prosperity grew in the U.S. and in much of the world
Cons — Gun violence. Oklahoma City bombing. Columbine High School shooting. World Trade Center Bombing. The Gulf War.
2010
Pros — Streaming and “going viral.” Superhero movies. The start of going green. Smart phones. The first decade without a recession since the 1850s
Cons — Opioid deaths. Expanding wealth gap. Minimal job growth. Growth in consumer loans. Turmoil in the U.S. and around the world
Present day
Well, if you are alive and older than 12, you already have your own thoughts here. You can jot down your pros and cons of where we are right now. Wouldn’t it be a great discussion? What would you include in politics, family, economy, health, safety, equality? Where do you think we as a nation, as a world, are heading? COVID-19, diversity, civility, trust/distrust, alienation, divisiveness, truth/lies … hard to know where to begin, isn’t it?
So, after giving it some thought, when do you think it was “the good old days?” Perhaps the whole discussion hinges on who you are and where you were during your life. For me, I had what I considered an idyllic childhood – much of which I spent blissfully ignorant of anything beyond Bummies, Street Fair, school dances, Elvis, Beach Boys, the Psi Ote pool, and friends. The “greater world” was not prominent or even evident in most of my youth. Growing up I figured whatever happened, my dad and mom would take care of it — and no matter what, I would be loved and safe.
While that was the “reality” for me and others, it was not and is not the “reality” for so many today. What are we going to do about that? What are we willing and able to do to make these days “the good old days” for kids, well, for everyone living right now?
Here’s the Thing: Memory comes with an impressive filter. If we ever want these days to be “the good old days” for anyone, it might behoove us to have a discussion — a real discussion — we all remember what a discussion entails, I hope. Honest sharing and debating of possibilities and ideas about what this would even look like, who would be included, who would be excluded. We have a great deal of hard thinking and hard acting ahead. Yesterday’s election results could be a clue to where we must begin. Making life better for everyone is not an enigma; we know what to do.
As strictly a side note: The colonoscopy is over and I never ever have to do that particular procedure again … guess that is just one of the many perks of being “elderly.”
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Editor’s Note: This is one of a series of articles written by a group of retired and current teachers — Ken Ballinger, Billy Kreigh, Marianne Darr-Norman, and Anna Spalding. Their intent is to spur discussions at the dinner table and elsewhere. You may also voice your thoughts and reactions via The News-Banner’s letters to editor.
