Ok I'm still figuring this blog stuff out so please forgive me. Also I don't really like to blog unless I have something to say or to talk about - I'm sure you all really don't want to hear when I'm eating a bagel or how someone cut me off in traffic - that's why I have a FB and Twitter account lol So Karyn what are you going to talk about?
Recently I was talking with my brother and we were recalling things about our childhood. Places we used to go as kids, people we hung out with, etc. One thing we talked about are the places in our neighborhood that were a treat for us growing up. Giappo's deep dish pizza was one of them and cake from Linn's bakery with the AMAZING (yes it was that good that I needed to capitalize it) buttercream icing. Now yes this might sound like the whole bagel issue, but what it led us to discuss was how much our neighborhood has changed over the years. Now not to sound like Father Time, but when we were growing up we could ride our bikes whereever as long as we were home by the time the street lights came on. Even then sometimes we'd get the block kids together and have a game of kick the can (If you don't know this game, it's on Wikipedia). We played in the sprinkler when it was hot cuz we had no air conditioning; if we got thirsty we drank from the hose and it didn't matter that it tasted like metal - you know what I'm talking about. Don't let your mother catch you saying that you were bored cuz she'd make you do work. My father would take my younger brother and I up to the forest preserve by the house and we'd just wander for hours on end. I remember one time my brother chased a gardener snake with a stick so fast that I think the snake was more scared of him!
When I look around now I'm saddened by some of things that I see; kids running around with no supervision, kids unable to ride their bikes in certain areas for fear of gangs and other violence. Neighbors not knowing or caring about who lives next to them, people not mowing their lawns because they just don't care. Noone writes a letter anymore cuz it's easier to send a text or an email, noone buys books anymore cuz they can download them, kids don't want to play outside because they'd rather play their video games or because it's too hot, or they can't because it's too dangerous.
My brother used to make fun of me all the time because I've always said that I wanted to live in a small town similar to the one that my father grew up in. However down there they say yes sir, no ma'am, and well by golly they even say hi to perfect strangers. I remember my sister telling me that the one time that she stayed down there to visit my cousin and they were sitting on the porch when he said hi to someone that was passing by. She asked if he knew the person and when he said no she asked why he said something - his response? Cuz it's the polite thing to do.
I miss sitting on the porch with my family and neighbors at night (which my dad referred to as letting the stink blow off lol). I love the feel of a book in my hand, the way the pages feel, cracking the spine of a new book, dog earing the pages instead of using a book mark. I love writing letters, but unfortunately I have noone to write them to (and no cracks about prisoners liking letters cuz I'm not goin there). I love that my son still loves to play in the hose and still loves to play with play dough.
Now do I think technology is the devil? Of course not I'm the first one to admit that I love the fact that I can make my house cold enough to hang meat on a 100 degree day, and I love the fact that I can connect with people from around the world. I think it's amazing the things that you can find out on the net and I sure as hell wouldn't want to go back to some of the things that my parents had to grow up with. However I do think that things might be a bit better if we did get back to some of the simpler things in life. So the next time you see someone you don't know - say hi. It's the polite thing to do.
