Years back it wasn't so difficult to live on the bare necessities because that's about all there was to make a go of things.
If anyone is curious as to why we continue to dig a financial hole, listen up.
I recall a day when as many people used public transportation as owned automobiles and travelled a good deal cheaper than today, although with a lot less convenience and comfort. That's how it was. It was no big deal one way or the other.
I remember when radio was about the only form of entertainment in one's household, except for a few folks I knew who had Phonographs and records for their listening pleasure.
I recall four and eight party telephone lines that came at a much cheaper rate than private lines and so, that's what lots of us had.
A trip to the neighborhood theater was a treat for now and then not a regular outing.
So what is the difference? Lots! WE had no cable bill or exhorbant telephone bill, nor internet charges on a monthly basis to eat-up our incomes. And each time a guy thinks he's on top of it all along comes something now to replace what came new just a few years earlier that costs an arm and a leg. Yeah, remember the 8-track, then cassettes, then CD's then Video tapes, then DVD's -- most was which were rendered worthless by a new and inovative gadget. So, what do we do? We buy the latest gadget and pitch the old.
How about that CB radio fad, first 23, then 40 channel to keep everyone buying something new to replace something that was still usable, but made obsolete by the introduction of "improved" replacement gadgets.
Really, now do we need this HD format? Not really. WE were doing okay B-4 greed got in the way as a means of making something else we've bought and paid for outdated.
How much money does the average family put out each and every month to stay afloat of the gadget society that, years ago didn't even exist?
I recall homes without central heat, no running water, not even electricity but, somehow, most everyone got by without them at a cost that would be zilch compared to today's expense of luxury. No, I wouldn't want to go back to those days but I am cutting back on some of the playthings I really do not need. I have decided that when this computer goes on the blink it will not be replaced, so there also goes my monthly internet fee which, believe it or not, I got along without most of my life. My thermostat is parked on 68 degrees and I have sweaters to wear if I get chilly. My old car is my last one. I will not buy another if it dies a natural or premature death. And my operators licence expires in two years -- I will not renew it. No, I won't buy a new HD TV set. If the powers that be insist on making me go without tv unless I cough-up more dough, so be it. I really don't care.
I recall a day when I went to the public library, took-out a couple of books, and curled up on the sofa at night and read to my heart's content. That is really how I obtained what practical knowledge I have; reading. And I loved it. And I spent little, even no money sometimes, for the joy of reading. I rode the streetcar (Using a weekly pass that was for unlimited rides and cost $1.25) to and from work and, believe it or not, took my dates out Saturday the same way and we saw nothing wrong with that. I walked to get most everywhere I needed to get and probably am healthier today because I did.
For fun a few guys and our gals got together once each week for a jam session with our guitars, fiddles and a host of other instruments -- spending no money, just enjoying one another's company along with making lots of music. Sunday was a day for picnics, a time to spread out a blanket on the turf of the local park, kick back and just watch the clouds floating across the sky and envying them their freedom of movement.
And we did it on a shoestring. Looking around me today I see why everyone has to labor so hard to keep afloat -- tooling around in fancy cars and living in spacious homes just for the kicks of it. Gone are the visits with others when we set-up the card table and shuffled the deck and spent an entire evening plying our talents in freindly games of Hearts, without spending a single cent. But then, few of us had a cent to spend.
We are trapped by our greed to have everything, to do everything, to go everywhere, to see everything when, in truth we overlook the real joys of life that surround us every day; our loved ones who also take little time to pause and smell the roses.
Gramps
