Nostalgia
Ever hear someone say it was better in the old days?
I have.
I’ve been guilty of saying it myself.
But, was it?
When I was a child there was no such thing as personal computers and calculators. Everything came out of books, and maths had to be done in your head.
Holidays were about joining up with other neighborhood children and making your own entertainment. I remember for a long time, as a child, we didn’t have television.
It was down to the meadows near the creek to pick blackberries, swim in the water, or raiding new housing estates for offcuts to build a cubby house.
Not like today with television, video players, movies on demand, personal computers, game boys and a plethora of other entertainment choices.
Were we better off back in the old days?
We were in the sun with no idea that sunburn led to cancer and death. Sunscreen was unheard of, so in that regard maybe not.
In the old days, the only telephones were in the house and were expensive to use. You could have a colored phone so long as it was black and made of bakelite.
It was a long time before we had plastic colored phones or even wall phones. Those were also the days of telephone boxes, the only way the make a call when away from home
Now every man and his dog has a mobile phone/computer while on the move. I know, the dogs keep crashing into me on the street.
And then I also remember my father saying it’s not like the old days, so I had to wonder what he meant.
Perhaps it is an oft-used but less understood lament for a time when we remember we were happy and carefree, those days before mortgages, children, maxed out credit cards, and the children’s mobile phone bills.
Thrills, Spills, and just a dash of Romance 
Good post, the only thing I could add was there seemed to be more time to do things than there is today, or is that because I’m aged and take longer to do things. Have a great day and thanks for the follow.
LikeLike
Hi Charles,
Your poem really strikes home-it is amazing how time is often clouded by our sense of nostalgia. In that backward glance there is a slow dawning that maybe it wasn’t as good as we had convinced ourselves into believing. At the same time, though, nostalgia can make us recall the good times that at the time we had not realized was good. I particularly liked your reference to picking blackberries in the meadow by the creek. It made me remember my own childhood running behind the lane with my cousin, stopping to reach up and touch the sunflowers swaying in the warm summer breeze. Thanks for sharing this poem.
Best,
Jenny
LikeLike
When I look back, I think that it was a more innocent time, but perhaps it was because I was more innocent then.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great post! I think it has to do with that feeling of simplicity and unplanned activities. It was more carefree. I do miss that. I have to say though I do love my technology
And the ability to connect with others all around the world.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We used to raid a building site for off-cuts too… building cubby houses and go-karts… I wouldn’t swap my childhood for a modern childhood, but our children will talk about the “good old days” too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
What I remember was playing out in the street from around 7 years upward. My grandchildren couldn’t do that now – if they didn’t get lured away they’d get run down.
LikeLiked by 1 person
All the new days are going to be the old days some day. 🙂 I guess everyone misses their youth – but no one can stop the wheels of time. Always better to enjoy the present and laugh off its quirks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Some things were definitely better in the good old days – less traffic meant safer roads, and more walking so better health. We talked to each other in person, not via email, there were more trees, the hole in the ozone layer wasn’t even an idea. But would I like to back there, sometimes I think it’d be nice, but I think the reality would be much less palatable.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Excellent article, I enjoyed the read, and I agree with your article. I was born in 1956, I remember each and everything you said. Being that I liked your article I am going to reblog this for you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on Truth Troubles.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The good old days..I think that will always be the cry… I hear my children reminiscing but we can take positives from all those times as well as from today and there will always be negatives but life is what we make it…Thank you for the follow 🙂
LikeLike
My dad used to say, “Ahh, the good ol’ days–then known as ‘these trying times’”
LikeLiked by 1 person
I enjoyed reading your blog and thank you so much for the follow. I will be doing the same for you. Have a blessed day. Shirley
LikeLiked by 1 person