Green Beans And Mule Farts

Back in my day I used to listen to stories that began with “Back in my day” now instead of listening to them I find myself telling them.

You all have either heard or told the old “Back in my day stories” where you walked to school in the snow, you remember that winter it snowed four foot and they never closed down the school and yes you walked, and to make matters worse it was uphill both directions.

Now days it seems the temperature drops below forty degrees and we bundle the kids up like the Michelin Man, carry them to a pre heated car, drive them to school, and have them either email, text, or call us when it is time to pick them up.

Yes it is true that kids these days have it made, because back in my day, by the time I sent a letter to Mom it would be a week later before I got a reply back telling me that it was only forty degrees and I could walk home.

There was no email, texting, cell phones or a computer system that fits into the palm of your hand, we are spoiling the next generation, don’t get me wrong I think technology is great, but are we actually teaching our kids anything about real life or has it come down to allowing technology to do the thinking for them?

Each generation makes it easier for the next, because we don’t want our kids to have it as hard as we did, and with each generation comes new gadgets and technology that the previous generation tries to comprehend.

Back in the day everyone it seems was a farmer, they planted crops, hunted and fished, raised and slaughtered their own animals, went to bed early and got up early to work hard for a living.

Then after many years of this lifestyle gadgets and machinery were invented to make things a bit easier, no more walking behind a mule guiding a plow when you had a fine tractor that does the job much faster.

Why sniff mule farts when you can have exhaust fumes blow in your face from the stack, but that design has been improved upon also.

I bet it won’t be long that a whole farm can be managed from a laptop, or one of those fine smart phones.

This is all well and good but by making it easier for each generation are we really teaching the next generation anything?

Back in my day we grew green beans in the garden, today’s kids think green beans come from the store, how many of them actually know that those beans have to be grown and shipped there first.

How many kids in this upcoming generation will be able to go out and raise a garden, hunt and fish for food and take care of their families if it was entirely up to them to help out?

Back in my day I knew I could do almost anything, although I have been proved wrong on many occasions, now I pray that the next generation will actually be able to do what it takes to survive.

What do you remember from back in your day that the kids today have never heard of?