THE LIGHTER SIDE
By Jane Dovidio-Gagliardo
With all that has transpired this past week, I thought it would be good to lighten things up a bit. So let’s recap for a moment. We’re in the middle of a Pandemic, a Presidential battle that seems will never end, unrest among some very hateful people, and the news that just won’t quit. Our Capitol was attacked, and our democracy was threatened. Now wait, that’s not the Lighter Side. Lol. That’s just my way of hoping you will now enjoy the LIGHTER SIDE of this week’s blog. Take a very deep breath and just, for a few minutes, forget all of the aforementioned, follow my words, and join me in this whimsical journey into the past.
Remember when you were young. When we would ride our bikes up and down the neighborhood until the streetlights came on? Despite what we didn’t have or what was going on around us, we found all kinds of things to do to fill our days and had lots of fun doing it. There were no technological toys. No worldwide communication to let people know that you had to pee or had a headache. The only communication was your Mom yelling your name to come eat or come in for the day or your Dad’s very loud whistle you would faintly hear to the degree the mild breeze would allow. It was a time when we drank out of the hose, waded in the big puddles after a summer rainstorm and played Jacks and Hop-Scotch until the sun started to set… or until the street lights began to light up. I remember putting my brothers’ baseball cards on my friends’ bike tire so we could hear the clacking of the card strumming on the spokes of the bike tire. Now that card today would have been worth millions… if I had only known! Lol. There was usually only one or two bikes in the neighborhood; and we shared them, because who could afford, with a family of six, for everyone to have a bike. So yes, we shared.
I remember when I heard and saw the first transistor radio. It was so small you could hold it in your hand. Lol. It was amazing. Or the first time I saw the TV screen of a colored TV. Only one family in my neighborhood had one and we would stand at their picture window and look in to see the color on the screen. My friend Foster wound open the window so we could hear the sound, because God Forbid you let anyone in the house without your parents’ permission. It was a sin to do that. Lol. And Halloween. We didn’t have money for costumes. We made our own. An old work shirt or a bunch of your Moms make up and Volia’ you had a costume. Because really it was about the candy and how much more you could get than the gang of kids you were going out with. And I don’t remember my mom ever going out with us. No, we went out trick or treating with our friends and had the most fun. My Mom would tell us “As soon as you have half a bag of Candy bring it back so she could give it out to the kids coming to the door.” Back then, who the hell had money to buy bags of candy to give out. Lol.
My point here is although we are seeing extremely tough times right now, I’m sure our parents thought those were tough times, as well. There were also challenges and obstacles in their lives. But we all got through them. As humans we just got through them because the options were not good. And, you know what, as bad as things look and might feel right now, we will again overcome and rise victorious over challenges as human beings always have since the beginning of time. The reality, whether we like it or not, the challenges of our past help us to build a stronger foundation for the building and sustaining of our future.
So, I leave you with your own precious thoughts of memories past and share, with you, this LIGHTER SIDE words of inspiration: “What you do today, can improve all of your tomorrows.” (Unknown) Stay Safe. Stay Strong. Stay Fearless.
