THE WAY IT WAS – PART TWO

I brought up some things yesterday that had been the norm during the 1950’s. Earlier than that, very few people owned their own homes.  Almost everyone had to rent.  And what they rented was not all that great.  I know my in-laws lived in what I would have described as real dumps.  They laid their own linoleum floors and were always moving around trying to find a better place.  Not a good way to live.

My parents had rented for many years, but then they were finally able to buy their own house.  I remember going to look at the houses for sale.  One was really nice, but it cost $2,200. and they could not afford that one.  They settled on one that was not quite as nice, but still was o.k.  It only cost $2,000.  Payments were $16 a month.  My daddy borrowed the money from the group he worked with because I remember going by to make the payment every month.  He had a good job and was a good man.  Trustworthy, stable, and always taking good care of everyone.  There were my parents and three of us children.  Besides that, he had always taken good care of his mother.  As he said to me one time, she had no one else to take care of her so it was his job.  And he had done that since the age of 5 or 6.  His father had walked out and found someone else and my daddy was hung with providing for his mother.  If you would like to read more of that story, then order my book,  The Real Story for $10 plus $2 postage from Bet at P.O. Box 2249, Benton, AR  72018.   Enjoyment, pure enjoyment.

All us kids were expected to do well in school.  We were not straight A students but pretty close.  We did not get scholarships or anything like that, but we had a very good public school education.  That was back when they taught the necessary three R’s, if you remember, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.  And we learned well.  All of us went to work upon graduation from high school.  I already had a job before I graduated.  Friday night was graduation and I went to work at 8 on Monday morning and was thrilled.  Was a great secretary.  Had a lot to learn, but learned well.  Worked for several years before starting a family.

My brother had worked from the time he was 14 or so.  He stuffed papers at the local newspaper office and delivered items and worked at general stuff.  Then he also had a full time sales job when he graduated from high school.  By that time, he had been working in sales for a local company for several years.  Now, it was just full time instead of part time.  

My sister also went to work early.  In fact, when I was 14, my brother took me to a friend who was hiring for a candidate’s run for governor.  He hired me on the spot thinking I was 16 and I made enough money that year to pay for my own school clothes.  Then my sister, cousin and other friends and myself all got a job during the next governor’s race and had a really great summer.  At that time, everything that went out of the office had to be typed individually, so they needed lots of typists.  We all learned typing in school and were very good on those manual typewriters, so we were well paid and again, bought all our own school clothes.  Life was a lot of fun.  Challenging, full of education, and happiness.  Because we made it that way.

No one in my home argued a lot or had a lot of problems.  We just simply got along because we had to.  There were too many of us not to. We had chickens in the back yard and only one car, and rode the bus everywhere we went.  Wouldn’t have traded that life for anything.

I also have another book entitled #2503 which was our address.  My brother and sister wanted me to write about our growing up years and that was the title I chose.  Probably not a good one, but we all like it.  Same price and same address if you want that book also.  In fact, if you would like 3 books, they are only 3 for $25 plus the postage.  A third book is about the 1940’s and all the changes due to the World War II years.  Exciting, scary, and educational once again.  You will definitely enjoy all these books.  Thanks,  Bet

THE WAY IT WAS

Everyone seems to be so surprised when we talk of how things really were back then.  And I don’t mean a long time ago.  Did you know that in the early 1950’s most people had never used a shampoo?  Or a hair brush?  We washed our hair with soap and rinsed with vinegar or sometimes coal oil and used a comb.  I was so glad to have a hair brush because I had terribly tangled hair and that comb just about did me in.  When the tv came along, people could see those commercials and began to buy those things they saw.  The radio had been an opener for a lot of things, but the television made it even more so.

Also, in this awful hot weather, be thankful for that air conditioner, no matter how well it works.  We grew up in the 40’s and 50’s with a fan if we were lucky.  Most people just spent a lot of time on the porch fanning with a funeral home fan or wiping their face with a handkerchief.  And this, again, is not that long ago.  Oscillating fans had been on the market only a short time and a family usually only had one or perhaps two.  They moved the fans from one room to another, depending upon the need.  For instance if my mother was cooking, she had the fan to blow  in the kitchen.  Same way with washing dishes.  Then when the children were put to bed at night, they had the fan until they dropped off to sleep and then the parents would have it the rest of the night.  And by the way, due to the hot weather, all children had what was called heat rash and cried a lot over that.  I don’t ever want to see that one again. 

After that, the window fan and the attic fan came along and that was a real change for the better.  I remember the men putting the attic fan in our house and the breeze blowing in the window all night long.  That was truly wonderful.  Why, you could plan on being able to sleep the whole night through.  And the window fan was great for the kitchen area or the room where mother ironed.  It helped a great deal in the hot, humid weather. Of course the windows were always open to allow for that cool breeze.  How wonderful it was! 

I don’t want to live like that again.  I really like the way I live now.  I like the air conditioning and the being able to sleep and the sitting in my chair reading the paper without sweating like a hog.  I really like all this.   Do you?  If you don’t want to go back to living like that again, be sure and DO NOT vote for Mr. Obama because he will put us right back there.   With his monetary policies, we are moving backwards every day. 

If you enjoy the things you have in this country, vote for the Republican, whoever it might be.  And be sure you VOTE!!!  It is very important. Remember that every time you turn on that air conditioner.  Make that vote count this time.  

GREEN GREEN GRASS

I was making my usual run around town today trying to get all those errands done and happened to notice how pretty the yards looked.  Most were very green with lots and lots of flowers.  That got me to thinking as usual.

Not too long ago, no one had a pretty yard.  You cut the grass if it needed it.  No one ever trimmed.  Bushes were cut when absolutely necessary.  But most people had to borrow tools to do this.  Flowers were planted, but usually just the same old things such as bulbs that would outlast everything else.  There was not much choice.  Few greenhouses to buy from anyway.  Most of the flowers were either given to you or were already in the yard.  

And the grass was usually almost brown as soon as hot weather set in.  No one and I do mean no one ever watered their grass.  That was mostly unheard of.  You had to be rich to even think of such a thing.  What a waste.  Besides, there were no sprinklers and a lot of people did not even have a water hose. If they did, they would have just used it to wash their car.  Or wash off the porch once or twice a year.   You just had to wait until it rained and if the grass and flowers were not already dead, they might come back out after a good rain.  

No one fertilized their yard either.  That didn’t come along until even much later.  These were just expenses simply not heard of before.  It was not something necessary anyway.  So no one thought much about it.  

Now we all take those things for granted.  We expect to have a nice thick green yard.  And lots of flowers if we want them. And fertilize at least a couple of times a year.  

I still think raking the leaves in the Fall was the most fun thing of all.  It was such fun to rake all day so that all the leaves were in one big pile.  Then all the kids in the neighborhood came over to jump in the pile of leaves.  That in itself was a real luxury.   Those were really fun times.  Then, if you were old enough, you could help burn those leaves. We had so many leaves that they had to be burned in stages over the next few days.  If we were lucky, our mother would let us cook potatoes down in the bottom of the pile of burning leaves.  These were absolutely terrible to eat, but we all smiled a lot and thoroughly enjoyed them.  All the kids wanted a potato.  

Life really wasn’t too bad when we didn’t have as much.  It was pretty nice – sometimes. But I wouldn’t want to go backward to another time.  Think I’ll keep my green grass.  

OUR LADY OF FATIMA – PART 9

After the miracle of the sun at the Cova, the children were hounded constantly by others.  People came from everywhere to ask them questions and to pry into their thoughts.  Many came to learn the secret, but the children would always remain silent.  The three children had originally pledged themselves to silence and secrecy regarding Our Lady and the apparitions, not because they had been instructed to do so, but simply because they were sure this was what God expected of them. 

They did have one friend who helped them immensely. The pastor in a nearby village had met them earlier and the children were immediately drawn to him.  They were free to visit with him often and to ask him any questions they wanted.  His counsel gave them much peace regarding all their difficulties and for this, they were most grateful.  However, the priest realized it was not his words that consoled them, but the acts of the Mother of God who was always in their hearts.

On May 13, 1917 at the time of the first apparition of Our Lady, the children had been told that Jacinta and Francisco would  both go to Heaven soon, but that Lucia was to stay in the world.

At that time, Francisco did not see Our Lady, but was told that if he said many Rosaries, he could see her.  By now, Francisco had seen the beautiful Lady and talked about it many times.  He spent much of his time saying the Rosary. He prayed constantly to console Our Lady and Our Lord. Later on, he said, ‘I liked to see the Angel so much, but I liked Our Lady much more.  What I liked best about the apparitions was seeing Our Lord in that light that the  Blessed Virgin put into our hearts.  I love God very much.  He is so sad because of so many sins. We must not commit even the smallest sin.’

The children lost all interest in play, preferring to spend their time in prayer.  Neither Jacinta nor Francisco were interested in school because it seemed a waste of time.  They preferred to spend their time in the presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist.

Both children had made their first Confession in the year of the apparitions, but their First Communion was put off for another year. Francisco failed the catechism test and had to wait longer to receive the Eucharist.  When Jacinta received Jesus in the Eucharist, Francisco was so upset that he stayed outside the church sobbing.

According to the children, Our Lady appeared to them several more times during the coming years. And their prayers had great power for intercession. One story is that of a man who was lost and Jacinta suddenly appeared to him and led him to the right road for home.  When the man told his story later, Jacinta had no recollection of it.  Lucia’s mother became gravely ill and was miraculously cured through Lucia’s faith.

In 1918, the whole Marto family was sick with the dreaded flu.  The father was the only one able to take care of the rest of the family.  In Lucia’s family, everyone became sick except for Lucia and she took care of the rest of her family.

Francisco became ever sicker over time with high fevers and loss of strength.  Our Lady appeared to both Francisco and Jacinta, telling them she would come for Francisco soon and then for Jacinta not long after.  Jacinta was told that she would go to two different hospitals and would suffer a great deal to save more souls.

Francisco improved and would walk to the Cova,  kneeling at the stump to pray.  Then he suffered a great deal more for the love of Our Lord and Our Lady.  Francisco begged to receive Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist before he died. This was arranged.  He made his final Confession and received Our Lord.  The next morning,  April 4, 1919,  he died peacefully at the age of 10 years. 

I STILL WANT IT BACK!!!

I wrote yesterday about things I wanted back in my world.  And then I remembered I also want my food left alone.  I want my tomatoes back!  I used to just love those wonderful tasting fresh tomatoes we got from the backyard every year.  And everyone I knew grew a few of those in their backyard or bought them at the farmer’s market.  Sometimes even a neighbor would give you one or two of those huge, almost split in half tomatoes from their garden.  My mother-in-law grew the most wonderful tomatoes ever.  She would throw her coffee grounds on the tomato plants every day and they grew like mad.

Well, anyway, I want my tomatoes back!  These things they sell nowadays have no taste except sour sometimes.  They are not pretty.  They have no good smell anymore.  And do you know why?  Because someone messed around with the seeds and they took all the acid out of the tomatoes. Now I don’t know how that was supposed to help the environment or whatever it was they were helping. Probably something weird like all that other stuff is.  But they ruined the tomatoes. You cannot buy the old type seeds anymore and so we are all stuck with this made-up tomato that isn’t worth eating.  Even a BLT doesn’t taste like it used to.  And I used to just love them.

I used to can a lot of tomatoes every year, too.  But if you want to can tomatoes nowadays, you have to add acid to them in the form of lemon juice or some such thing. Absolutely and positively ridiculous!  Over and over again.  Ridiculous!

I still want my food back.  Quit messing with the food in this country.  Leave it alone.  If I choose to be unhealthy, that is my choice.  If I choose to be fat and ugly, that is my choice.  If I choose to be healthy, then that is also my choice.  But leave the food alone.  Quit fixing everything for everyone. It is my responsibility to care for myself.  Not someone else’s.

God made the food. God provided just exactly what He wanted us to have and He didn’t need for it to be fixed or altered or changed in any way.  This is His world.  This is His plan for us.  Everything was provided for us, period.  He had his reasons for putting the acid in the tomatoes.  He had his reasons for doing each and everything regarding the foods.  So quit fixing everything for us.  Leave it alone.

Thank You, Dear God for everything you have provided for us forever.  Please take care of us.

SOME DAYS

This has been one of those days when I should have just stayed in bed.  Nothing went right all day long.  Real bummer.  But somehow I will survive.  I always do.

Even the weather did not cooperate much.  It was cloudy most of the day and humid and sticky.  I mostly just stayed inside.  Wasn’t worth the effort to go out anyway.  Nothing out there but bugs and more bugs for me.   I did go to the dollar store and the bank and the post office and that worked out pretty well.  Nothing to report on and that is a blessing.   And I did empty out my box of Valentine candy today so guess that is a step forward.  But now I will be looking for another piece of chocolate after my meals.  I really do enjoy those.  Both.   The meals and the chocolate.

My children were all busy with their families.  One was watching tournament baseball because she had children playing.  Glad that was her and not me.   I have done my share of ball fields.  Don’t miss that one at all.

Another was traveling.   Glad I wasn’t doing that one either.  Have done my share of traveling and have no desire to do it anymore.  I have been all over the world and thoroughly enjoyed all of it.  But now I can see it all in my mind and I am happy with just memories and not having to wait in lines and sleep in plane seats and wish I was home.

Another was buying feed for his cows.  He really enjoys all that. Glad that is him, too.  Don’t want any more animals.  I think I had at least 51 dogs over the years.   Every time one passed away, we had another within a couple of weeks.  Never a letup from that.  And, did I tell you that dog fleas really like me.  I must have something really special about me because all bugs really appreciate it when I come around.  Had to even wear a flea collar around my ankle one year just so I didn’t itch all the time.  Drove me nuts.  Glad that is all over.  I never go out into the woods or even into the fields.  So I couldn’t have a cow anyway unless he stayed in the back yard.  Neighbors might not like that one.  Oh well, can’t have everything.

My grandchildren are all busy, busy.  Don’t wish I was their age either.  It is nice to sit back and watch them progress in their lives.  Everyone seems to be doing great and for that I am most grateful to Almighty God.   He has more than blessed this family of mine.  I thank Him every day.

Well, that is about all today.  Hope tomorrow is a much better day.  Nothing seriously wrong, just stuff.  Always stuff and more stuff.  For instance, was going to cook a ham today and have it for tomorrow night, but forgot to put it in the oven.   I didn’t want to heat up the kitchen tomorrow, but guess I will have to.  So it will be cooked tomorrow to have tomorrow night.  Hope I don’t forget again.  But I’m still watching Scooby Doo around here so it is easy to forget a simple thing like cooking a ham.

Oh well, another day.

HAVE A NICE DAY!

I hear the phrase, Have a Nice Day at least once or twice each day.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all really did Have a Nice Day.  I’m talking about if we all were really, really, really nice for a whole day.  Just think what that would do to this worn out old world.  I’m sure if you are like me, you are just simply sick and tired of all the stuff on the television and all the stuff in the newspapers and all that other stuff about how awful this whole world is.

People are killing each other wholesale across on the other side of the world.  Even in this area of the country, there are numerous killings every day.  And they are reported on the television constantly.   And right after that one is the story about the pornographic problems with grown people abusing children.  That is also on the television and in the newspapers constantly.  What is the matter with people.  Something most certainly is.  I mean, this is not really normal behavior.  Period.  And everyone knows this.  

So, to get back to the nice day, wouldn’t it be nice if we as individuals tried just for one whole day to be nice. All day.  To everyone we meet.  No matter who or where.  If you think this is a good idea, make a point of smiling at the people you pass in the grocery store and in the post office and even in the local WalMart.  And besides that, hold the door for the person behind you as they come in or out.  And then, speak nicely to the clerk.  You don’t have to carry on a big conversation, just simply smile and act NICE.  

And then in your own home, try really hard to be extra nice for one whole day.  When the kids drive you crazy, smile or laugh at their jokes, or you might even have to sing to overcome the noise.  But do it!  When you drive, make a point of letting that car turn in front of you or allowing someone to pass you when they need to.  Just pay attention and let those little niceties cover you up for just one whole day.  

If there is someone at work that drives you nuts, try to be extra nice on that one day.  When you pay the parking attendant, smile and say thanks.  It doesn’t take a whole lot just to be nice for a whole day.  

Just make a point of being extra nice to everyone for one whole day.  Then you can really smile and say HAVE A NICE DAY! because you mean it.  

Might even do that again some day.  It might be sort of fun.  

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 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

 

STILL BEING GOOFY

I have a very sore arm and shoulder today.  I broke this shoulder several years ago and have pins and rods in it.  Usually it causes no trouble at all, but today, I am pretty sore.  I’m not sure if I should tell people I hurt it while playing tennis yesterday.   Or maybe I could say I was doing extreme Yoga.  Perhaps I could even say advanced Tai Chai.   I know, I could say I was playing tournament Volley Ball.

Who would know?

I really hate to say that I threw it out scratching my back.  Sounds sort of goofy.  Oh well, the usual.