Some things I miss in life!!!

When I was little... We had one of these.  Sure you couldn't take it with you, but it didn't interrupt your life every thirty seconds either.  Instead of "Texting", you actually had to have a conversation with someone (The horror!)  You got the phone free from the Phone Company when you got hooked up for service and it was bulletproof.  Drop it on the floor no problem.  No batteries to re-charge ever.  Best of all if it was suppertime, all you had to do was lay the earpiece on the table.  One step silent mode.  Leave a message at the beep.... F%^k that, call back if it's important Sucker!!!!!

Wing windows as they were called, could be adjusted for precisely the airflow that you wanted, from a "Slight breeze" right up to "Gale force."  They were easy to operate, didn't blow air in your face, and I don't think I ever remember one breaking (Unless someone used a rock on it.)  When these existed people actually considered air conditioning to be a luxury.

As long as we're talking about cars, who remembers these things?  We   used to have manual control knobs on the heater.  They were easy to adjust, and operated on little doors inside the Dashboard connected by bicycle cables.  They never broke, and if they did a drop or two of oil on the cable usually fixed the problem.  No electronics were involved, no $300 parts to replace.  I like that you can work all the windows nowadays from the driver's seat, but the old hand crank never ever broke.  (Bonus,) When you went "Parking" with your girlfriend, the window crank knob made a handy place to prop your foot up on.

I guess you could still get a manual transmission if you special ordered it.  It's just another thing that was so much simpler that it never broke.  It wasn't really that big of a deal to have to shift it, and it saved about six or seven miles to a gallon of gas. One last car related one.... Donut sized spare tires suck!!!  If I have a flat somewhere out in the Countryside, I don't want to be stuck with a fifty mile per hour speed getting back to town.  If it's Sunday afternoon, I want a spare tire I can drive to work with the next day (Without feeling like a loser.)  Design a car that has enough trunk space for a real tire for G%d's sakes!!!




We actually still have a "Percolater" coffee maker at our house, and use it sometimes.  The coffee is about a "Gazillion" times better tasting.  You can actually use it on a campfire, or even in your fireplace if the power goes out in a storm!  Oh, and the smell... That glorious smell of a percolator brewing in the early morning.  Go F$%k yourself Mr. Coffee!!!

When was the last time you saw somebody write a check?  I remember when I could go to my local store, and didn't even need an "ID" to write one.  It was as good as my word.  (I had a problem remembering to write them down in the register, so I even had ones that made a carbon copy when I wrote the check.)  We used to actually get paid with a check, are you old enough to remember that?  When payday came, you knew at the end of the day that you got paid!  You didn't have to go online to see if the money transfer went through, Checks didn't have to have "PIN" numbers, they didn't involve identity theft, and after work you could take your "Paycheck" to the store, buy something with it, and they'd give you actual cash for the balance without any "Service fees" whatsoever!

There's something extra special about receiving a handwritten letter in the mail.  Younger folks will probably never experience the excitement of opening that box and finding one.  It meant that someone cared about you!  In my twenties, I had a girlfriend that used to put her perfume on letters she sent me.  Try that with an E-Mail!!!  I still have some love letters, my Great Grandfather sent home to my Great Grandmother. I'll be able to pass them on to my Son someday.  This connection to our past will soon be lost forever!  They say cursive handwriting is also going to be a thing of the past soon.

We used to have a really old house with a great big front porch.  They don't make houses with big front porches anymore.  We had this couch sized porch swing, and used to spend hours sitting there in the evenings.  Neighbors would actually come by and talk to us.  Sometimes they would come up on the porch, and we'd have a conversation.... Sometimes they'd bring "Libations" with them, and we'd have a party!  How well do you know your neighbors?



We have to remember that with technology, comes things that aren't necessarily "Advancement".  We've gained a lot in our lives, but we seem to be losing things also.... Things that matter.  It seems to me that the challenge is not to fall for what big Corporations tell us we "Have to have", just because it's the latest and greatest gimmick that they've come up with to sell us more of their s^#t.  We need to be aware that we're losing our connection to one another in the process.  Our lives shouldn't become more complicated, simply because we're being told that it has to be so.  Maybe it's time we start sending a message with our purchasing choices that we need simpler lives.  We survived the "Good old days" without "Kindles", 'Smart phones", or big screens.  I know people who will be in the middle of a conversation with you, but if they get a text... They'll walk away and start texting back.  Sometimes the only apology you get for this is a raised index finger as if to say that little box in their hand is way more important than I am..... F%#k that!!! I don't accept it, it's rude!!!  Let's get back to caring about one another more than we care about our gadgets.