The Way It Was...

                                             

                                       The Way It Was…

                                         Men working doing hard labor

Call me crazy, that doesn’t matter…truth be told, before man set things into motion, shaping the so called, “future of man”; the world was a better place to live! Frankly, nothing has ever been the same since! It was a slower, peaceful, safer world; no wars, or violence; certainly none of the horrific crimes we’ve witnessed in the news nowadays.

There weren’t any wars to take fathers and sons away from families. People didn’t have to lock their homes and possessions up like Fort Knox from intruders, because back then, people didn’t break into your home, nor steal from you; if anything neighbors tried to helped each other. Life was slower, simpler and cheaper to live…men worked hard to care for their families every day. Families helped each other.

Stay-at-home Moms meant something then…she didn’t have to hire someone to keep her kids, cook her meals, or clean her house, she did it herself, and raise their children; did all her housework, and then some! Why, it was nothing for Mom and her children to do yard work and tend the animals; work in the garden and can food for future use. Today, for this kind of physical work to be done by some women, there had better be gold being dug out of those rows instead of potatoes; because that’s the only way you’ll see this happening again!

Yeah, we knew how to use a garden hoe…and we knew how to raise a garden. Every family on my street, (Shallowhorn) back in the day, and all around us had gardens. We’d give each other greens, potatoes, squash, okra, whatever…we made do! I will never forget Mrs. Clara Bass our neighbor (now deceased.) Her garden was right behind ours and the two moms talked while working there and shared! That’s the way it was…we never went hungry, nor without!

Dads went to work for minimal wages, and ya’ll know that was $1.75 an hour or less. But, Dad held down that job because he knew he had a family to take care of. Of course, he didn’t have to pay nearly four dollars for a loaf of bread! But, somehow, his family didn’t go lacking…the Lord provided! Unlike men today when you hear, “I ain’t working nobody’s job for $6.25 an hour! And, you know what…they don’t, but they can certainly get around to robbing and stealing from others who did get out there and work! Scripture says in part: “If you don’t work you don’t eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10.)

Families were families then…you know, a Mom, a Dad and, the children, who all lived under one roof. It might not have been fancy, or big, but it was home and Mom kept it clean and neat! Yeah, it was hard and some had it harder, but we survived…we lived and we loved it! These are the hard working, calloused hands…older men and women you see today who know how to treat others, respect their elders; have good manners and are honest hearted; love their neighbors, live the golden rule…and love their God and Jesus! Yeah, because they were raised and not just left on their own…they had a chance to experience life…the way it was….

           Article from: At Home with Loretta T. newspaper column.

 

Best Wishes,

Loretta