The Good Days

In the wake of these recent killings. mass terror attacks and just all around craziness of our world, I felt compelled to write something from my heart, so here it goes...

I grew up poor. We lived in an old home that my father fixed up as much as he could in between working two jobs. My mom stayed home with us. We were always clothed and our bellies full, but there is something to say about the way I was raised that made me a better person.
I did not grow up with the nicest clothes.
I did not have a room to myself. My shoes were used. My mother shopped at Goodwill.
My parents grew a garden of fresh vegetables. We ate whatever meat was on sale that week.
We did not own a TV. We did not play video games. We grew up listening to music, mostly on a record player. We knew our cousins and they were with us constantly. We did not go out on the weekends, we stayed home. We drank from the hose, we played outside till it was dark, and we ate what was given to us. We did not have a choice when it came to dinner time, you ate or you starved.
We were dirty but happy. We were blissfully unaware of what it was like at others homes because unlike today, we did not have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Blogger.
Your life was what you made it and it was based on what you were taught and not what you saw.
You respected your elders, and if you did not address someone by name or sir or ma'am, you got smacked in the mouth.
You were taught to respect the police and anyone in a uniform. You were told to make eye contact and to not disrespect anyone.
There was a sense of community. There was a sense of love without saying I Love You.
People showed up for one another.
People took care of each other.
We depended on one another for help and it was given and received without question.
When a neighbor took a trip to the store, it was yelling over the fence do you need anything.
No one cared what kind of car your drove or if you just bought a $500 purse. They cared that you were feeling well. They watched your home when you were on vacation.
They helped when you sick. They came to birthday parties and anniversaries and showers without a gift because they weren't needed, just being there was enough. You called and talked on the phone or showed up at someones house, you did not text or Facebook an invite.

I realize the times have changed. We are a different America. We are no longer worried about our neighbor but more about what clothes and shoes we should buy to make us appear more valuable to someone else. I am guilty myself. We no longer respect police officers, we think they are the enemy. We share stories on Facebook and give our opinions based on feelings, not facts.

This new generation, this new America, it's not okay.

Maybe we should stop sharing the hate videos and start sharing ones involving love and lessons.
Instead of spending days trapped on social media, we should be giving back to our community. Meeting one another, loving one another, not discriminating based on race. Teach our children what the flag means, what the police actually do for us, what a man in uniform has given so that we are free to run in our backyards and drink from a hose.