Do you check your stats? I do and am always surprised how really old posts get hits years later. This one from 2014 got quite a few hits the other day. I am reworking it as it seems to fit today.
Do you sometimes think the wheels are coming off our lovely planet as you watch the evening news?? We are regaled with tales of wars, anger, hate,violence and skyrocketing prices. There are times I think that I am just glad I am old and am really glad I am not of childbearing age. Yes, I am concerned about my younger family members. Truthfully, it is scary. However----it has been much worse in the past and we not only have gotten through but have prospered.
When one learns of the Spanish Flu of 1918, the Great Depression (before I was born) and the horrors of WWII (I was a wee child)--- what we are facing now while very hard is still doable. The difference is that in those days they pulled together during those tough times while we fight among ourselves as well as with everyone else.
The following story was told to me by a friend's mother that I often use as a yardstick for what bad times really are.
Mrs. C was a young child living in rural Florida and Thanksgiving was coming. She and her siblings were getting excited for they remembered what previous Thanksgivings had meant and the wonderful meals they enjoyed. It had been a long time since they had enjoyed anything but the most meager of meals. Their father was on the road trying to find work and their mother did washing and ironing to make ends meet. This was the great depression.
The afternoon before the big day, the kids gathered around their mom as she was hanging clothes on the line.
"Mama, what are we going to have to eat for Thanksgiving?" They excitedly asked.
"I will pulled some Pokeweed, wild onion and Dandelion for salad and we will have vinegar and sugar for dressing. " She said trying to smile. The sugar was an added treat.
"Is that all?" The kids asked fearfully for that is what they ate most nights.
"I traded for some cornmeal and will make some johnnycake. I know you love that." She added.
"But Mama, aren't we going to have any meat?" they begged.
She took a long breath and was about to speak but then she looked up and saw a large turtle inching down their long driveway.
"And here comes the meat." She said delightedly.
Sure things are much better these days and remembering that story plus the horrors, losses and uncertainties of WWII fought on two fronts reminds me how far we have come and how grit got us past situations much worse than today's.
Whenever I get down about world events, I think of that last 5 word sentence and smile as the past comes to mind and I remember the Greatest Generation. They set the bar high but not too high to be reached.
Now if we could all learn to pull together like they did instead of scattering like self centered cockroaches in all directions, we will make it. I have no doubt.
Any stories handed down in your life that get you through tough times???
When one learns of the Spanish Flu of 1918, the Great Depression (before I was born) and the horrors of WWII (I was a wee child)--- what we are facing now while very hard is still doable. The difference is that in those days they pulled together during those tough times while we fight among ourselves as well as with everyone else.
The following story was told to me by a friend's mother that I often use as a yardstick for what bad times really are.
Mrs. C was a young child living in rural Florida and Thanksgiving was coming. She and her siblings were getting excited for they remembered what previous Thanksgivings had meant and the wonderful meals they enjoyed. It had been a long time since they had enjoyed anything but the most meager of meals. Their father was on the road trying to find work and their mother did washing and ironing to make ends meet. This was the great depression.
The afternoon before the big day, the kids gathered around their mom as she was hanging clothes on the line.
"Mama, what are we going to have to eat for Thanksgiving?" They excitedly asked.
"I will pulled some Pokeweed, wild onion and Dandelion for salad and we will have vinegar and sugar for dressing. " She said trying to smile. The sugar was an added treat.
"Is that all?" The kids asked fearfully for that is what they ate most nights.
"I traded for some cornmeal and will make some johnnycake. I know you love that." She added.
"But Mama, aren't we going to have any meat?" they begged.
She took a long breath and was about to speak but then she looked up and saw a large turtle inching down their long driveway.
"And here comes the meat." She said delightedly.
Sure things are much better these days and remembering that story plus the horrors, losses and uncertainties of WWII fought on two fronts reminds me how far we have come and how grit got us past situations much worse than today's.
Whenever I get down about world events, I think of that last 5 word sentence and smile as the past comes to mind and I remember the Greatest Generation. They set the bar high but not too high to be reached.
Now if we could all learn to pull together like they did instead of scattering like self centered cockroaches in all directions, we will make it. I have no doubt.
Any stories handed down in your life that get you through tough times???
A great post Patti, I'm glad you shared it again. To be honest, it took me a little by surprise as it seems to fit current times a lot better than 2014 (I just don't remember things being that tumultuous then, what do I know). Anyway, my dad--who did grow up in the Depression--would've loved that meat story! I feel like we're getting a little too entitled with each generation. And not to make this political, but yesterday on Meet the Press, a historian noted that if Fox News had been around during Watergate, Richard Nixon would've stayed in the White House until 1977. I truly think that godawful "entertainment channel" is the Great Divider. PS. I don't check my stats like I used to, but the one post in my blog wth more hits than any other is one I did about the passing of Ralph Waite. It pays to have a celebrity's name in a post, I suppose!
ReplyDeleteDoug,
DeleteSadly times were bad then also. Obama was trying to right the ship after the Bush years. We had recession, war in Afghanistan, and Bush had rolled back the environment protection acts.
Lately I have been getting a lot of hits (actually only about 20 or 30 but that is a lot for me) on really old. random posts like this one. Have no idea why..
An interesting look back to 2014. I don't remember things being as divisive or chaotic as they are now. I think things just keep on getting worse and worse. Climate change and over-population, the rich and powerful wanting more and more, and a pandemic.. it's a path we've been on for a long time.
ReplyDeleteI haven't checked stats in years. If I remember, maybe I'll check!
Robin,
DeleteEach era seems to have its own insurmountable odds to deal with. But we do. Things don't get a whole lot better but we try--at least most of us try. Greed never seems to go away.
If you do check you stats, think you will be surprised.
Turtle meat for Thanksgiving? What a hoot! I loved this story. Thanks. Gigi Hawaii
ReplyDeletegigi,
DeleteThanks, so glad you enjoyed. Actually turtle is quite tasty, even better when it is your only choice.
You know I had to go look, and my top post other than recent ones is from 2018, shortly before I retired. No idea why that would have so many hits.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad was a young man during the depression. He told us stories of walking the rail line stopping at various farms looking for work. In the winter he worked at a sawmill for $100....for the entire winter!
I do agree that we need to re-learn the lessons of community. I'm not sure what it will take though.
Eileen,
DeleteYour Dad's tale was not all that uncommon. It was really a rough time financially for a lot of people. Just wish we could learn to work together like we once did.
I think the major current problem is our inability to pull together and put aside political and ideological differences. But it was like that in 2014 too with the intense Obama hatred and all the lies about him. Now however, even the worst falsehoods are passed along and believed. Nothing terrible that a politician says or does seems to shock anyone or disqualify him/her. It's frightening. Great post.
ReplyDeleteMargaret,
DeleteTotally agree how we have become somehow accepting of lies and bad behavior as OK. Some have even become immune to the slaughter of children. Hopefully we are at a dawning now.
Gosh Patti, I could really feel the desperation in that Thanksgiving menu. My parents were just starting to raise their family during the Great Depression but being farmers, we ate like kings. Patches and hand-me downs were the norm.
ReplyDeleteFlorence,
DeleteWe always ate well also for which I am hugely grateful. Like you, hand me downs were the fashion of the day. Sigh, I only had older brothers:)
Don't know that I'd like to butcher the turtle. Ouch.
ReplyDeleteOne Thanksgiving, I'd gone to visit my future husband in small town Kansas. But his Mom had emergency surgery in K.C. for a huge abdominal tumor. Around driving back and forth to see her in the K.C. hospital, I stayed for my visit, but put together a Thanksgiving dinner of 3 different pieces of meat found in their freezer for the two of us and his Dad. This was when 7-11 and QuikTrip were not open 24 hours a day.
The coolest Thanksgiving was when my son and I went to Florida and visited an alligator farm run by local Indians. They were open Thanksgiving day AND had a huge feast for tourists. Genuine Indians' food AND gator tail and frog legs besides the usual stuff. Nothing like Thanksgiving with the Indians. Linda in Kansas
Linda,
DeleteI saw a neighbor once butcher a large snapping turtle. I felt bad for the turtle as his heart kept beating even when he was in pieces.
Lucky you to have had Thanksgiving with the Indians like our ancestors did though not sure our ancestors had gator tail:) Still I have had that and it is really tasty.
Yeah, I look at my hits, at least the more recent ones. Why some get a lot and others seem to fizzle? It's all a mystery to me, only google knows the answer. Regardless, I like your historical perspective.
ReplyDeleteTom,
DeleteI know most hits come from a picture or a key word in the title. Lately though, I have been getting hits on several old posts like this one and just don't know why. Just glad someone is reading them.
My memory of days past seem stronger in some ways that current events. I remember the Great Recession and how Obama helped right the ship of state. Wish he could run again. Or maybe Michelle?
ReplyDeleteDjan,
ReplyDeleteOoh, ooh, do you suppose Michelle would run? Would love that and really think she would win and be a great president.
This was a great story Patti.
ReplyDeletePeg,
DeleteSo glad you liked it.
I've noticed that - older posts being read again. Who knows what triggered that reader's decision?
ReplyDeleteI know. I am always surprised when one post will get 20 hits in one day like this one did. Why?? Maybe turtle lovers:)
Delete"If we could all learn to pull together..." is the most important sentence here.
ReplyDeleteRiver,
DeleteYes, why is it always the simplest thing is the hardest for people to do?
I just remember the tough times my mother had faced when my father abruptly abandoned us when I was a child that I could only fully appreciate when I became an adult. If she could manage that situation for all those years, any problems I encountered seemed small by comparison.
ReplyDeleteJoared,
DeleteWow, your Mom set the bar high. You had and excellent role model.
My father was a minister and started out very poor. We were paid often in pigs and chickens. I will always remember seeing my dignified dad wringing the heads off chickens and my mother plucking their feathers.
ReplyDeleteAnnie,
DeleteAnd thanks to them, you ate well.
I was born in 1933 ...just as the depression was being taken on by FDR. My 4 sisters and I had been so lucky to have wonderful parents that
ReplyDeletekept up a very good front despite dad's job and having his pay cut in half. Also we had mom's Victory Garden and very seldom had meat but didn't even know what we were missing. I actually had never had steak until I was in my teens ! (now I'm back to my youth.and have cut meat way back!)
Ginnie,
DeleteSometimes it takes wisdom to realize what we thought was deprivation in our youth was actually good for us.:)
What a great story. We do need to pull together. I am happy to report I always ate the usual American meats for dinner. I know my mother had quite a variety as a child such as turtle, squirrel, etc.
ReplyDeleteSue,
ReplyDeleteWe did too but I did have lake turtle once and it wasn't bad. Like everyone says, "Tastes like chicken.":)
What a wonderful post. Now I have to g oo look at my stats.
ReplyDeleteMage,
DeleteSo happy you enjoyed. Think you will be pleasantly surprised at the random hits on old posts.
My daughter and family are visiting right now and my son-in-law was just discussing his view from what he's read that the world is now hopeless. Climate change will cause more and more catastrophes and can't be reversed at the rate we've been doing. America is one of the biggest consumers and polluters in the world. Most plastics are not recycled. I told him to stop. It was depressing me. We can only do what we can do. I hope we can do enough for the sake of our grandchildren. Sigh... But anyway, after almost 3 years of not seeing my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter, I can only be happy.
ReplyDeleteKay,
ReplyDeleteI know, it is very worrisome to us to acknowledge the world condition but it is appalling when we think what we are leaving the youngsters to clean up.
So glad you are enjoying children.
Thankfully, I grew up pretty poor. Single mom, the household included my grandmother and uncle. My mom was so frugal and my grandmother lived during the depression and got/ingested lots of stories of that time. I have tried to pass those storied and thoughts down to my son and his wife. Gently reminding them, things might not always be as rosy and easy as we have it now. My mom did not waste anything. I confess, I try to live by that standard and sometimes really fail. But, I worry about the future, the food and water supply, well, face it, I worry about almost everything and keep my fingers crossed for future generations.
ReplyDeleteKim,
DeleteThank you so much for stopping by and commenting. Welcome.
I know what you mean. We never had a lot growing up but nothing like what the depression folks went through. Sometimes it is good to remember and appreciate just how good we have it today.
Yes, this is still appropriate. I do wish the internal bickering would stop. I know I'm guilty of looking down on those who do not think like I do but I just wish there was more of a middle road we could all head to.
ReplyDeleteBarbara,
DeleteTotally agree and just hate all the bickering and closed minds today. I'm fond of the middle myself.
yupe I've done my share of dumb things relating to cars but worse with computers. Hoping now to get back into blogging after my wife's passing from Alzheimer's, Ray a. K. A. Troutbirder
ReplyDeleteTB,
ReplyDeleteGood to see you back blogging. You have been missed.
It did give me a wee bit of comfort to know that even guys can have Duh moments.
Sometimes, I think "pulling together" is beyond us. Bob says we're just too old, but we can't remember another time when there has been so much polarity and so much opinion and gossip taken as truth. Yet, when I hear about the endeavors of my oldest grandchildren, I have hope that the young generation may lead us toward truth and perhaps encourage cooperation to get a job done. I rarely look at my stats but when I do, I think that I'm getting hits by bots on old posts. Or, someone is posting one of my photos on Instagram, and others are reposting, so the same post is getting re-hit over and over.
ReplyDelete