Today is my daddy’s Birthday! He would have turned 77 years old. That seems so unreal to me…..because I have an image in my head of a very YOUNG man. He was just 29 years old when he passed away.
I was thinking about how things have changed through the years, especially 47 years.
For instance….Neil Armstrong walked on the moon for the first time. If I remember correctly we were visiting at my Grandma’s house when that happened.
My Mom and Dad didn’t own a car with air conditioning…..now that is standard in most all cars.
Kids didn’t have to be in car seats or wear seat belts.
Grocery Stores had cash registers that had buttons not scanners. Price tags….not bar codes.
No more party lines, or rotary dialed telephones. He never even saw the push button phones that came and went. Now a lot of people do not even have a land line anymore. Even the Pay phones are just about obsolete. If you did find one…it wouldn’t be a dime!
My Daddy was a FORD man. From what I can tell the average car price in 1965 was about $2,350.00. That was a lot of money back then….I’m sure that is why He and Mom had used cars. He would have loved to have seen all the changes that have taken place in the auto industry.
Gasoline was about .31 cents a gallon. Now we have Gas stations…not service stations….and you pay at the pump….with plastic.
An average house was about $21,000.00…although I know they paid less. Mom talked about cutting costs by replacing iron railing for the stairway instead of wood. They had hardwood floors instead of carpet…now Iron rails and hardwood flooring is expensive. They also opted to not have central air, only central heat. Air conditioning wasn’t standard in homes.
A postage stamp was .05 cents. Now we can send a letter practically free….with e-mail. But it doesn’t have the charm of a handwritten note.
He had a turn table with BIG speakers and a diamond head needle to play his record Albums…..not an I-Pod.
He enjoyed an occasional ice cold Coca Cola from a bottle…not a can.
Home cooked meals were an everyday thing….now eating out is an everyday thing!
Hand written paychecks and pay stubs were the norm. Electronic paychecks, bills paid on line with automatic drafts are now the norm.
Every area of our lives have changed with technology in one way or another.
It’s pretty fun to think about the changes when you take time to just sit and reflect.
However, some things never change….Like remembering our loved ones on their birthdays!
Always in my heart…always on my mind.
No matter how many years go by!
I've Gone Country 
Posted by Jan on October 17, 2012 at 7:46 am
I thought of him all day yesterday too. It is sad to know all that he missed and all that you kids missed not knowing him. Your Mom did a wonderful job keeping his spirit alive for you. She deserved so much credit which I am sure she is getting in heaven.
Aunt Janet