when kennedy was in the white house
we were children in the sun
smokin' candy cigarettes
cowboys and indians with toy guns
~"joe" by Jude Cole, from the album i don't know why i act this way
Been thinking...
Funny how stuff was so different "way-back-when." I can't believe I'm old enough to remember a "way-back-when." But I do.
I remember the newscasts on Saturday mornings in between the cartoons with the spinning globe dancing around and around the TV screen. I remember Afterschool Specials and School House Rock. I remember when you turned off the TV, and it shrank to a little white dot in the middle of the screen. I remember black-and-white TV with dials to change channels -- one for UHF and one for VHF -- we had one for years, even after we had a color version. (Now, kids watch shows in High Definition television. They very seldom are interested in anything NOT in color...that's really old.) I remember if you turned on PBS too early in the morning you saw the color test screen and heard the sound test tone. And I remember when there wasn't such a thing as a VCR...let alone a DVD player. If you missed your favorite show or a movie, you'd have to pay close attention to the TV guide to see when it might be repeated. Forget seeing many movies anywhere except the cinema.
I was listening to the above verse from Jude Cole's song called "Joe" the other day and realized how different the world is today. I wasn't born yet when Kennedy was in the White House. In fact, only one of my sisters was. But I remember the stories. And I didn't come into the world too much later.
Would we encourage kids to "smoke" candy cigarettes now? I remember "smokin'" them. And it felt "cool," though I never took up smoking...too many allergies. I don't know that it was encouraged as much as accepted. We didn't know as much about the hazards of smoking.
Now I preach to my kids to stay away from cigarettes. I'd never buy them candy cigarettes.
And do kids actually play "cowboys and Indians" anymore? What seemed like a harmless game re-enacting the past has become un-PC. What about "cops and robbers"...or do we worry about the reprecussions of children poking fun at those poor unfortunate souls that really need rehabilitation not jail time?
But childhood games haven't really changed that much, have they? There are still playtimes of good against evil. Afterall, they brought back Star Wars -- a classic tale of good versus evil -- to introduce it to a whole new generation.
Our kids actually play CTU agents against terrorists...gee, wonder where they got that from?
Odd really...mixed messages...memories...
*sigh*
"Way-back-when"...it really is a "foreign country."
we were children in the sun
smokin' candy cigarettes
cowboys and indians with toy guns
~"joe" by Jude Cole, from the album i don't know why i act this way
Been thinking...
Funny how stuff was so different "way-back-when." I can't believe I'm old enough to remember a "way-back-when." But I do.
I remember the newscasts on Saturday mornings in between the cartoons with the spinning globe dancing around and around the TV screen. I remember Afterschool Specials and School House Rock. I remember when you turned off the TV, and it shrank to a little white dot in the middle of the screen. I remember black-and-white TV with dials to change channels -- one for UHF and one for VHF -- we had one for years, even after we had a color version. (Now, kids watch shows in High Definition television. They very seldom are interested in anything NOT in color...that's really old.) I remember if you turned on PBS too early in the morning you saw the color test screen and heard the sound test tone. And I remember when there wasn't such a thing as a VCR...let alone a DVD player. If you missed your favorite show or a movie, you'd have to pay close attention to the TV guide to see when it might be repeated. Forget seeing many movies anywhere except the cinema.
I was listening to the above verse from Jude Cole's song called "Joe" the other day and realized how different the world is today. I wasn't born yet when Kennedy was in the White House. In fact, only one of my sisters was. But I remember the stories. And I didn't come into the world too much later.
Would we encourage kids to "smoke" candy cigarettes now? I remember "smokin'" them. And it felt "cool," though I never took up smoking...too many allergies. I don't know that it was encouraged as much as accepted. We didn't know as much about the hazards of smoking.
Now I preach to my kids to stay away from cigarettes. I'd never buy them candy cigarettes.
And do kids actually play "cowboys and Indians" anymore? What seemed like a harmless game re-enacting the past has become un-PC. What about "cops and robbers"...or do we worry about the reprecussions of children poking fun at those poor unfortunate souls that really need rehabilitation not jail time?
But childhood games haven't really changed that much, have they? There are still playtimes of good against evil. Afterall, they brought back Star Wars -- a classic tale of good versus evil -- to introduce it to a whole new generation.
Our kids actually play CTU agents against terrorists...gee, wonder where they got that from?
Odd really...mixed messages...memories...
*sigh*
"Way-back-when"...it really is a "foreign country."
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