Soon To Be Forgotten…

   Every once and a while I will still find boxes and envelopes hiding in the back of a closet or tucked between the rafters in the attic containing items from years and years ago, a history of a soon to be forgotten generation. Looking through those items often will bring back memories of a time that now seems so distant and so very different from the world we currently attempt to navigate each day. We were a different generation, still having our own challenges, but most of us who were part of that time are now seeing and feeling a very different place.

   Thinking back, we were a generation that would almost always walk to school each day, regardless if the weather were sunny, raining or snowing and then, at the end of the day, head back home at the end of the day, hoping that Mom had put out a glass of milk and a cookie for an afternoon snack.  

  We were a generation that, after having our snack, would sit down at the kitchen or dining room table and do our homework, so that we could spend the last few minutes of daylight outside, racing up and down the driveway or climbing a favorite tree. And as the sun set, Mom would call out the window telling me that dinner was ready. Being the smart one that I was, that was my clue to come inside.

   Speaking of being outside, one of our favorite games that most of us played was hide and seek. And it was more fun to play it when it got dark. Poor little Kathy. She could never find any of us hiding behind the trees or under the stairs to the porch. She would get so angry that she would stop playing and go inside.

  We were a generation that liked to collect things. I think one of the all-time favorites was marbles. For us, marbles were like a form of money. We would trade them if someone had a color or a size that we did not have. Jars of marbles line the floor in the bedroom. Over time collecting marbles evolved into “playing marbles”, but I admit I cannot remember how the game was played. I think there was a circle drawn on the floor of something like that.

   We were a generation that loved sweets, sugar, a lot of sugar and I think one of the favorites of the time were M and Ms, a little chunk of “real” chocolate covered in a colorful sugar coating with and M stamped on each piece. For me, the really great thing was that the owner of the company, at the time, lived down the street from us, so……..there was never a shortage in the house.

   As I was looking through some boxes I had uncovered pushed to the back of the closet, I came across lots of early photos and a couple of well-worn scrapbooks, picture of the early school days, kids playing on the playground and several other pictures of learning to ride a bike without the training wheels.

   Back in the day, there was no such thing as a computer, a cell phone, and televisions were still too new and provided very little entertainment. I mean, come on, the pictures were in black and white a various shade of gray.. So many days were we were forced to be creative and make our own fun and fine thigs to do. We made our own toys or searched for the nearest mud puddle to make mud pies. We might hunt for frogs in the local pond or go down to the local store to see if the owner would give us a free piece of candy.

   Those of you reading this and are of a similar age know that we are part of a generation the will never return and the only way we can remember it is through memories, sharing our experiences with friends and family and exploring the boxes and folders that contain some of the picture, some of the letters and writing we may have saved and once and a while a dream or two that pops into our head while we sleep.

   But there is a lesson here. A single generation does not last forever and we need to understand that we do not live forever. Over time ideas and beliefs will change as new people take charge. Times change. (Look at the color televisions of 2023.) Life and its experiences change and sometimes it forces us to change. But what we cannot forget are the memories and joys of our lifetime and sometimes it is important to share the spirit we held with those who will come after us.