DEAR GOD: THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING AGAIN

We all live this really good life these days.  I don’t mean we are all rich or have everything, but if we try, we do have a comfortable life.  Before God allowed electricity to be invented, people lived an entirely different life than we do nowadays.  How would you like to go back to that time.  Not me.  I am spoiled and like it that way.

So when we were given the benefits of electricity, what would we ever use that for except for a light bulb now and then.  But then just look around.  Not only did people get a light bulb, but then other people invented all those ways to use those light bulbs.   Look in your own room or your own house and notice the lamps and the light fixtures and all those other necessary things of today.

And then think about the woman washing on a washboard and how after electricity, she could have a washing machine and after that, an automatic washing machine.  How fortunate for all of us.

And then, take a walk around your kitchen and look at all those marvelous machines that do everything in the world for you.  From the coffee pot to the garbage disposal and even the toaster.  Do you remember when all toast was made in the oven?    And it had to be planned so we wouldn’t heat the house up in the summer and we only had oven toasted bread in the winter.  That was a treat in itself.  Now, we just pop that bread  or whatever it might be in that slot in the toaster and it is done in a matter of moments.

But then in today’s world, we have these people running around telling us that we don’t need to use the electricity anymore.    I need to use my electricity. And I don’t see any reason why they should think they are in charge of how much electricity anyone gets to use. God gave us this great gift because it was in His time to give it to the world.  Simple as that.  God is in charge of everything, including even the most basic things.  He is the one who decides when we are given the computers and the internet and the automobile and all other amenities that we sometimes take for granted.  He is the one who uses the individual for His plans.  He knows what He is doing.  He will be the One who runs everything.  Not some person who decides they know what is best for this world.

It is God’s world.  I hope people will wake up and let God run His world.  All we have to do is live by His rules and this world can be a great place, one of peace and tranquility, and happiness for all.

You know,  I remember a time before all these problems arose during the 1960′s and that generation decided they knew what we should all do and how immorality should rein.  Remember the words – Forty years I loathed that generation and I swore in My anger, they shall  not enter into my rest.

Enjoy your electricity.   We are all so fortunate.  Thank You, Dear God for everything You have given to us.

DEAR GOD: THANK YOU FOR SO MUCH!

Well, another holiday weekend about gone and am I ever glad.  I never did care too much for Memorial Day which was called Decoration Day before.  It just never was my favorite time of the year.  Everyone was so somber and sad and I didn’t care much for that part.

My father was a printer at the local newspaper and there was a printer’s plot at the very old local cemetery.  So, every year, we had to attend this somber,  long memorial service for these dead printers.  The cemetery was so old that it had broken grave markers and everything smelled musty and moldy and old.  But my father was very respectful of those who had gone before him and so we went, like it or not.  And we better not have any other plans and we better not complain either.

Usually, it was humid and uncomfortable weather and we had to get all dressed up special for this occasion. That meant Sunday School clothes all the way.  And then we sat on these very old benches that had rusty spots on them.  The whole day was just difficult to deal with.  But we were brought up to always have good manners and be respectful and kind.  So we smiled nicely and spoke to all those older people that we saw once a year.

A Preacher would make a small sermon and say a few prayers.  And then came the really special treat of  a quartet that sang several songs.  They were usually much older people who could not carry a tune in a bucket and they certainly had no harmony between them.  But they had a juice harp to sound out the note and then they would all sing, sometimes together.  We sat glued to our seats, not daring to look at each other for fear we might have to laugh or cry, never sure of which it would be.

When it was all over, we had to stand around while our parents talked to all their old friends and visited for awhile.  However, I wouldn’t mind getting to do that one more time.  Might be fun to see all those people again and sure would be nice to see my parents again.

Miss them all. And all those like them who worked so hard every day to have a better life for everyone.  And all those who taught us children all the manners and niceties of life and reminded us to be ladies and gentlemen no matter the situation.

I know this holiday is for remembering all those who have fallen in the quest to save our country.  And I respect and honor that myself.  I miss a lot of that patriotism that was so prevalent in that day and time too.  I still honor the flag every day at my home.  And I truly respect all this country has stood for all the years.  I miss the moral fiber that always held everyone together, the honor for the parents and the respect for Almighty God and the other things that made us all one big family belonging to this wonderful country.  I remember it all very well.  And I miss all that, too.  I hope we can all get back to that very soon.

Happy Memorial Day!

DEAR GOD: THANK YOU FOR MY FATHER

I grew up in this really great typical family.  There was a mother, father, grandmother, sister and brother.  We lived a perfectly normal life in the decade of the 1940′s.  Everyone was treated fairly, both in praise and in reprimands.  And I am so glad I was placed there by Almighty God because it couldn’t have been any better.

My father was always the last word on anything.  He was very fair and very kind and very strict.  But he always was striving to make people happy and to feel better about themselves.  We had this neighbor who was always talking about his ‘hogs head cheese’ that his family ate when he was growing up. My father had eaten some of that before, too, down in the country where it was made.  So he talked with the neighbor and they both agreed that cheese was just simply great.

Next month or so, the neighbor family invited us over for Sunday dinner. And guess what!  They served hogs head cheese, the real kind, made out of real hog’s heads. The neighbor had made a trip to the country just to get that for us.  We had been taught all our lives to be nice and complimentary and kind to anyone, so when it came time to eat that hogs head cheese, all us kids smiled and swallowed – really, really hard.  I remember my brother looked a little green, but he didn’t say so.  And it was all I could do to eat mine, especially thinking about those hog’s heads.  But we ate it and raved over how good it was.  My father was raving over it, too, complimenting the neighbor for such a wonderful treat.  But, oh boy, we were really glad to get back home so we could brush our teeth and say what we really thought about that hogs head cheese.

Another time, our Great Aunt Mary was coming for a visit.  I had never seen her before as it had been so long since she had visited.  She and her husband were driving from California just to see us.  She had helped in raising my father and so he was really excited about her visit.  He kept talking about how he wanted her to make some of that great chili she had made for him as a kid.  He kept saying it had big chunks of garlic in it and we would just love it.  Well, after visiting for a couple of days, Aunt Mary decided to make some of that chili that my father was just raving about.  You know, the one with the big chunks of garlic in it.

My father watched while she cooked and he was so anxious to taste.  That night  at dinner, we had garlic chili with a little meat thrown in for flavor.  It had so much garlic in it that it was all we could do to swallow it.  But we did.  And we all complimented Aunt Mary for such wonderful chili.  I can still taste that garlic every time I think about it.  But we were kind and thoughtful and smiled a lot even if we did smell sort of funny that evening.

It was truly a great family full of all the things that families did back then.  And lots of fun and happiness.  You might like to read a little more about this family of mine along with living history about what was really going on in the world around us.  My book IN THE 1940′S  tells all that.  The War was raging all over the world and we were living with the rationing and the allotment checks since my father went to War and the air raids and everything else that was going on.  It was a very interesting time and if you like my writing, you will really enjoy this book.

Each book only $10 plus $2 postage.  Send check or money order to BET   P.O. Box 2249   Benton, AR  72018    Thanks, Bet

 

DEAR GOD: THANK YOU FOR KEEPING ME SANE

I really do have to thank Almighty God every day for keeping me sane – if I am.  Seems like there is always something going on.  This past week has been one of those weeks and every day has brought new challenges.

For instance, I found out just this morning that it is not a good idea to put your blouse on  and comb your hair and spray it and all that good stuff and then find out that the blouse is on wrong side out.  Obviously, this called for me to have to redo my hair and turn the blouse right side out and get it on again.   Stupid!  But that was a good start to another interesting day.  As usual.

Also, just read that a clear conscience is a sign of a fuzzy memory.  Boy, is that one ever true.  If I ever have time before I lose all that fuzzy memory, I plan to sit down and think through my whole life and see just how many mistakes I have made.  There are a whole lot I am sure.  Some deliberate, some honest, some just plain mean, and some because it was always someone else’s fault.  That’s the best excuse always anyway.  Have to move that one up front and start using it again.  If the politicians can use that one, so can I.  Works for them.  Why not for me.  Always remember, it is someone else’s fault, no matter what it might be. Only problem is trying to convince myself and others that this is true.  May not use it after all.  Sounds like a lot of work to me.  My mother always said, ‘Tell the truth the first time and then you don’t ever have to worry about what to say the next time.’

Decided to see about moving to another place  this past week.   Did all the research, talked to everyone about it and then asked God to please help me to make the right decision.  I knew that somehow because of the feeling I would have, I would know what to do.  I met the owner and walked through the house.  Then I walked through it once again.  So far, so good.  Then I went outside and walked around and still had a good feeling about everything.  Then I walked back into the house and immediately I had an overwhelming feeling of loneliness.  Don’t know that I ever had that feeling exactly like that before.  That is not a normal feeling for me.  I am always surrounded by people and never have a feeling of being lonely.  But this was what that house felt like.  I could almost touch the feeling because it was so strong.  I turned and just said I was not interested and left the house.  But it took me quite awhile to get over that strange feeling that I had experienced while walking through that house.  I just knew absolutely that that particular place was not for me.

The only feeling like that ever experienced by me was when I went to my grandparents house for a week when I was 4 years old.  My brother who was older  was also with me.  My grandfather worked for the railroad and we actually rode a train to their town and then they drove us back home a week later. I’m sure it was an exciting, wonderful trip, but all I wanted was to go home.  Back where I belonged.  I remember standing in the bedroom and crying to myself because of that feeling of homesickness or loneliness that I felt.  This was sort of the way I felt about this house I was looking at.  Except that this time, it truly overwhelmed me.  Just covered me up completely.

All this probably sounds stupid to some people, but I really trust in God to show me the way through my life.  I really depend upon Him every day to keep me on the path He has marked out for me.  And that new place was definitely not what He wanted me to do.  Oh well, just have to wait until He tells me what to do.

Meanwhile, I am still trying to remain sane in my everyday life.  Hope I make it.  Sometimes I wonder if I will.  First thing tomorrow is to watch for that tag on the blouse so I won’t put it on wrong side out or backward.  At least that will help get the day off on the right foot – if I remember which is my right foot.

DEAR GOD: IF THE TRUTH WERE KNOWN

I have read so much and heard so much lately about our rights that are being affected by the mandates with the insurance plans directed at us, that it makes me wonder just how everyone must feel.  As I have stated before, women have been targets for a good long while now.  My mother and grandmother were able to stay at home and do their primary job of taking care of family.  They also took care of neighbors if necessary and other families if necessary and all their relatives if necessary.  My father and grandfather and all uncles and other male relatives expected to go to work every day and make a living for all those at home.

Those at home might have included mothers, fathers, aunts, cousins, wives and children.  No matter, it was a way of life.  Women stayed home and took care of their primary jobs and men went out into the world and took care of their primary jobs.  And for the most part, everyone was pretty happy.

I have always blamed part of women’s problems on the automatic washer.  When that came out, women were no longer expected to spend a whole day a week doing the family wash.  And after the permanent press fabrics arrived, she didn’t have to spend another whole day a week ironing all those clothes for the family.  This left her with enough free time to actually watch that new fangled television set or to take her children for a walk or even to visit with a neighbor down the street.  This was a new freedom for most women.  And it was truly wonderful. Because, you see, the woman in the home is her absolute and positive own boss.  She can decide every facet of her life just to suit herself.  She might not decide to get dressed until noon if she wants.  And she might not have to wash dishes until she wants to.  And she can make up her own mind as to when and what she needs to do that day or the next or the next.   The results are all that matter.  As long as her home is clean and her children are clean and everyone is well fed and happy, then she is doing a great, grand and wonderful job as the wife and mother in her particular family.  She is free to cook what she wants to when she wants to.  And she can grocery shop when she wants to also.

Nowadays, some women are so cramped for time that they have very little choice about their lives.  They MUST cook this because of the time element.  They MUST grocery shop when they can squeeze in the time.  They MUST get up and at it early every morning, having no real time for themselves.  But then, they have been told and trained to be career women.  And someone forgot to tell them that they really had a primary job at home that should have and would have come first if they didn’t have to have a career.

But then, that is the way the world turned back then.  And now all young women think they have to  have a college degree in order to run out and get that all important job.  Then they can hurry to work every day and do whatever and whenever someone else tells them what to do.  At home, they could have done whatever they wanted to do whenever they wanted to do it.  But then, they wouldn’t have had that all important career.  Oh Darn!   Who cares anyway.

Except that the women of today think they must have that self -esteem packed away all safe and sound.  They have to have that competing language and that all important position in life.  I just wonder to myself how many young women would really rather stay at home and do their primary job.  How many of them would really rather just be a wife and mother if they had the chance.  I just wonder if the truth were known how many of them would gladly choose that primary job of caring for their husband and children over and above all that career choice.

Wouldn’t it be fun to  get up every morning and just be yourself every day all day long.   Wouldn’t it be fun to watch your children grow up instead of hustling them off to a daycare so that someone else can have this great lasting joy.  It would not be necessary to have a field trip every day.  Nor to be constantly hovering over your children.  It would be so wonderful just to let them be children and you be a mother and a friend and a wife to your husband.  Oh, that would be just great.

If only the truth were known.

DEAR GOD: THANK YOU FOR SHOWING US THE WAY

I have been thinking again and that is always a mistake.  But I started wondering about all the liberal demands upon our time and money. I think I probably heard something on one of the talk shows about how the proposed budget by the Republicans – which I am all for by the way – would take money out of the coffers that pays  for some of the free stuff that those liberals want.

I think  I remember that God said in the Ten Commandments ‘ Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbors Goods’.  Now, as usual, maybe I am wrong, but isn’t that exactly what those liberals are trying to do – covet our goods? Aren’t they actually asking for what belongs to us?  I think God also says somewhere that He helps those who help themselves.  So, to me, that is the final answer to everything.  Those liberals can get out there and help themselves and then they can also learn that God will  help them.

I heard someone say recently that they felt sorry for all those street people and all those in the Occupy movement.  I find that ridiculous.  I am all for helping those who definitely cannot help themselves.  But for those who can help themselves, they need to get a job and start now to take care of themselves.

My husband and I got up every morning of our lives around 5.  We got ready for the day by bathing, combing our hair. brushing our teeth, and dressing for the occasion of another work day.   Then we worked throughout the day and finally finished up sometime around 11 at night.  That is how we accumulated enough money to pay for rent, groceries, utilities, and clothing.  And that is how we afforded to raise all those numerous children that God gave to us.

That is what we thought was expected of us every day in our lives.  Isn’t that what we were taught in our growing up years?  Didn’t our parents do exactly that in their lives, too?  Mine sure did.  And they taught me well.  If I found myself out of a job at any time, then I immediately knew to clean up, dress up, go to the employment agency and get another job.  I was never out of work very long.  My husband got into sales by doing exactly that.  I typed until my fingers were nubs, but this was o.k.  We were progressing.  We were living our lives the way we thought we should.

And we were never asking anyone for anything.  We were responsible for our own lives.  No one needed to feel sorry for us.  We tried and learned and tried again.  Such is life in the fast lane you know.

So once again, I give thanks to my God for everything in my life and always for showing us the way to live a good, honest, decent life.

DEAR GOD: GRANT US YOUR PEACE PLEASE

I was proofing my book In The 1940′s again today.  As I said before, I am going to put it on a flashdrive so my children can have it when I become famous.  Today, I was reading about the end of World War II.  So many people nowadays think we were wrong to drop the atomic bomb.  They don’t realize the situation as it was at that time.

Roosevelt had died and Truman  became President.  The War in Europe was now over and everyone was waiting for Japan to surrender.  My father was in the Philippines and  had written that the men were  being trained for an assault on Japan.  Now, my father had sight problems and was 40 years old.  He said he was being trained for hand to hand combat including weapons such as a  bayonet.  He couldn’t have found the enemy without his glasses.  So obviously they were planning to use all the men on an all out assault. He also said there was talk that the men from the European conflict were going to be sent directly to the Pacific Front as they would also be a part of this massive drive into Japan.

The United States asked Japan to surrender.  The answer came back an emphatic NO.  They would fight until the last man was dead.  They were then asked once again.  Again they refused.  So the first atomic bomb was dropped.  It was a horrible thing, no doubt about that.  And one which no one who remembers anything about any of that time would ever want to happen to mankind again.

After the bomb, the  United States asked once again for Japan to surrender.  This time, the answer was another emphatic NO.  So the second bomb was then dropped.  And that was the end of the War.

We have wars now and the reports are in the papers every day about 3 or 6 or possibly 10 people killed.  At the time of World War II, the numbers were in the hundreds every day and sometimes in the thousands.  The Okinawan invasion had just occurred and it was reported that the Ocean was turned blood red from the conflict.  So no one wanted to see anymore men die.  Not from the United States nor from Japan.  The world was through with that War. It was time for it to be over.  And it finally was – but only because those bombs were dropped.  If it had not been for those bombs, we might have had thousands and thousands more men killed.  And for what- to prove how important someone was.  Or how important they could become if they could just conquer the world.  Same things are going on today.  There are always people like that out there, just waiting to cause more trouble for everyone else.

But with today’s technologies, things are not quite the same and hopefully never will be again.  Instead of blaming the United States for dropping those bombs, everyone should be grateful that we had such a weapon in order to put an end to that terrible, horrible carnage.  As Americans, we all still pray to Almighty God to Grant Us His Peace, Please.  We all long for that peace in our lives.

This book of mine is very good and tells a lot of the history of the War working it into everyday life.  It is also full of humor as all my books are.  Remember, my books are only $10 each plus $2 postage or a grand total of $25 for 3.  Look them up on booksbybet.com or on Amazon.  #2503 tells of growing up in the 1930′s and 40′s.  In The 1940′s tells of the life at that time in an ordinary family including father goes to War and all the ramifications of that.  Then The Wonderful 1950′s tells of the challenges of this changing world.  All of these books are suitable for anyone from 8 years old to 100.  Very enjoyable and fun to read.

LIBERAL IDEOLOGY

I am quoting here – ‘Liberals always think their ideas are the only ideas. They think whatever they want is what everyone else in this world wants, too.  They ‘assume’ everyone agrees with them.  Typical conquering attitude.’  You know what that word ‘assume’ means?  Makes an ass out of you and me.  Never assume anything.  Go with the facts.

‘In today’s world, the leading liberals usually make their point by talking too loud, too fast, and too often.  The would-be conquerors who started World War II also talked too loud,making constant speeches.  Some of those speeches lasted for hours.  They talked too fast for most of us to understand, usually to mask over their discrepancies of thought. And they certainly spoke entirely too often.

Those two wannabe liberal leaders attracted the same kind of  ’always ready followers’ that the liberals of today do.  The follower is usually hungry to join up with anyone on any subject and the leader who espouses extreme ideas always attracts his attention.  The idea itself does not really matter.  It is the charisma of the liberal leader, the speech, the inflection of his words, the almost hypnotic effect of his behavior that attracts the ‘always ready follower’.  When the liberal’s words are analyzed, it becomes instantly obvious to anyone with common sense that his ideas are completely ridiculous.  However, by the time common sense enters into the picture, the liberal has already attracted quite a following of those ‘always ready followers’.’

You recognize any liberal leaders here?  You recognize any of those ‘always ready followers’?   Take a good look and see your government at work today.  And those  people who follow along as though they were following The Pied Piper.  Just listen and watch.  Same scenario.  Same speeches. Same everything.  Promises of anything and everything mankind could ever want.  And you only have to be one of those followers to become that clone.

Hitler did it all.  Mussolini tried to do it also.  The Japanese leaders did it.  And look what they caused in this world.  Just search out any World War II landing or beach or island in the Pacific or country in Europe.  See what they did.  And then make sure it never, ever happens again in your lifetime.  Never, ever vote for another Democrat who espouses that same kind of scenario to get your precious vote.

By the way, the quotes are from my book entitled  IN THE 1940′S .  If you want to know what family life was really like during the 1940′s, then by all means order this book.  You will definitely enjoy every word.  All my books are only $10 each or any 3 for $25 plus $2 postage.   Great reading.  Full of history and humor.  Order from —-       BET   P.O.Box 2249, Benton,Arkansas 72018.

DEAR GOD: THANK YOU FOR THE RIGHT TO MAKE UP OUR OWN MINDS

To me, this is one of the most important things in life – the right to make up our own minds – about everything.  Almost nowhere in this world do people have this right.  And it is one we take for granted every single day.  We can like a product or not.  We can choose to buy it if we like it.  Or we can simply forget all about it.  We can decide who we want to like and who we want to talk to and who we want to be friends with and how deep that friendship might be.

For instance, I may not like my neighbor and I don’t have to feel bad about that.  He may not like me either and it doesn’t matter.  We can still be friendly.  That is our right.  This is one of those God Given Rights, the right to be ourselves.  And we have the right to live by our own convictions.  W don’t have to agree on politics or even the weather.  This is strictly up to us as individuals.  Be thankful you have this right.

I really did like George W. Bush as our President and thought he did a very good job considering what he faced both in his earlier years and after 9/11.  But then I was talking to a lady who was more liberal than I am.  I could not believe the venom that leaked  out of her mouth as she talked about George Bush and his Presidency. I could not believe the trash she had heard from the media and had believed. I searched and found the truth for myself.  So I could make up my own mind.

The day the Democrats took over the Congress was January 3, 2007.  That was the start of the 110th Congress. The Democrats now controlled a majority in both chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate.  This was in the middle of George Bush’ second term in office.  After that time, everything went downhill.  George Bush had set a record of 52 straight months of job creation!  The DOW Jones closed at 12,621.77, the GDP for the previous quarter was 3.5% and the UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WAS A MERE 4.6%   I haven’t heard anyone blame that on Bush!

But then, Barney Frank took over the House Financial Services Committee and Chris Dodd took over the Senate Banking Committee.  And that was the end of prosperity as we knew it at the time.  After Barney Frank and Chris Dodd got their hands on the financial and banking, we went straight down to a crisis.  They dumped at least 5 TRILLION Dollars of toxic loans on the economy from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac since they were in charge.

Meanwhile, Bush asked   17 TIMES  to stop Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because they were becoming financially risky for the U.S. Economy. But the Democrats did not listen and the country fell on hard economic times.  The DOW Jones fell dramatically.  The Unemployment Rate shot up to almost 10% at one time and the GDP lost its footing.   The banks were pushing people into loans they could not afford.  For instance, if a couple wanted a loan for a $100,000 house, they would be told they could afford one for $200,000, so why not.  They could do all this with no money down and live that good life beginning today. Everyone could qualify, too.  Just ask and it is yours.

We bought our first house for $10,000. In order to get a loan from the FHA, we paid $1,500 as our downpayment. This made us more appreciative of what we were buying and believe me, we weren’t going to take on more payments than we could afford.  We were lucky to be able to do that much, not more.

At that time, the Congress was voting the DEMOCRAT way.  And those Democrats fought against reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  If it was hurting our country, so what.  We can always blame it on Bush later.  Meanwhile, we can act like we don’t know what happened.  Well, what happened was a lot of crooked, under handed foolery that cost a lot of people their homes and their livelihood.

The media was falling in line as usual, too, praising the Democrats and bullying President Bush. When President Bush left office after two terms, the deficit in this country  was the lowest in five years, and we had low, low  spending. After that, the Democrats took over the spending and you can see where we are today.

Yay!  George.  Wish he was back again.  Maybe then, we wouldn’t have to contend with all this economic mess we have had to deal with since the Democrats took over.  Maybe we wouldn’t have to put up with any more people like Barney Frank and Chris Dodd.  Maybe, just maybe, there could be a time again when people are honest and forthright in their dealings with each other.

I sure hope so.  Meanwhile, Thank You, Dear God for allowing me to make up my own mind.

 

 

DEAR GOD: PLEASE HELP US

YOU know that YOU are the only ONE who really can help us at this time.  And we definitely need lots and lots of help this year.  We have taken some really wrong roads over the last few decades and have not been able to see the right way to walk anymore.  So, Please, Please help us.

In the 1950′s, life was pretty nice, at least in the early part of that decade.  But there were so many upward changes taking place.  I think we just sort of lost our way before the 1960′s arrived.  In the 1950′s, we had nice families, quiet and safe neighborhoods.  Why, our children could play all over for blocks around and we never had to worry about someone snatching them away or mistreating them.   Children were allowed to be children and to grow up in a nice atmosphere.

And the mothers were home taking care of their children and their husbands.  They were cleaning house and cooking and generally being in charge of the moral atmosphere of that home.  And they made that house a home every day for everyone in their family.   It was a good life.  It was a good time for most.

And the husbands, men of the family, were out making a living for everyone.  They were not expected to be a mother and father at the same time.  They were allowed to be the head of the household and the breadwinner for the family.  That was the way it was supposed to be.

But then, the television took over and presented a new way of life for everyone.  That, too, was nice.  After the dishes were done and the children were bathed, we  all had our family time at night before the boob tube and enjoyed being together.  It was a good time for all.  That television really didn’t make that much of a dent in family life – at first.  In my house, my husband shined his shoes for the next morning and the kids played at our feet while we watched the latest hit show.

The newscasts were really interesting every evening and every morning.  Those newsmen had to come up with more and more news to satisfy the demand.  And so then, they started with the opinion news.  Since we now had a ‘show’ to watch every morning and every evening along with the news time, there was more and more time to be filled.  So, the newscasters began to give their side of the story, no matter what the story was.  And people really didn’t mind that much, either.  It was good to get an opinion on a big story and then have time to think that through.

Of course, people began to talk about how much time the children were watching the television and this disturbed some, but it was not a big thing in my house. The children watched the main children’s shows for an hour or so and then it was time to turn it off and get busy for the day.   They always had a toy box full of toys and friends in the neighborhood and all those other important things to do as they grew up.   And they were not expecting me to entertain them for the day either.  They were quite capable of happily entertaining themselves.

But then time began to march just a little faster.  It seemed like we were all moving in double time.  Some things were just getting out of hand.

I remember that big hoopla about the Report on the sexual habits of adults at the time.  Everyone was really tuned in to that one.  And the newsmen harped on that issue for months.  Seems that everyone and I do mean everyone in the country was having an affair, at least one and maybe more.  Of course that was not true and it was discredited many years later.  But meanwhile, it had opened some doors that were meant to remain shut.

And this is only the beginning of the changes in our lives.  So, Dear God, I’m asking you to please help us to find the right road back to sanity.  Help us to return to the kind of life we should have.  Thank You, Dear God.  I know YOU will help us.