09/08/2024
I grew up in Tampa, Florida (CPV), but never thought I was raised by low income parents during a time when most everyone treated each other with respect. We didn't eat a lot of fast food because it was considered a treat, not a food group. We drank Kool-Aid made from water that came from our kitchen sink with real sugar. We ate lunch meat sandwiches, or even tuna (which was in a can not a pouch), PB&J & grilled cheese sandwiches, hot dogs, homemade hamburgers, but mostly homemade meals consisting of mainly red. Beans and rice ( every Monday), meat, potatoes, vegetable, bread & butter, and homemade dessert.
We grew up during a time when we mowed lawns with a push blade mower, pulled weeds, babysat, helped neighbors with chores just because. We went outside a lot to play games, ride bikes, red rover, dodge ball, run with siblings, and friends & played hide and seek. We drank tap water from the water hose outside... bottled water was non existent. If we had a coke -it was in a glass bottle ... and we didn’t break the bottle when finished …
We watched TV shows like Bonanza, Leave It To Beaver, Gilligan's Island, Happy Days, Bewitched, The Brady Bunch, Little House On The Prairie, and I Love Lucy. After school, we came home, and did homework, and chores before going outside or having friends over. We would ride our bikes for hours. We had to tell our parents where we were going, who we were going with, and what time we'd be back.
You LEARNED from your parents instead of disrespecting them, and treating them as if they knew absolutely nothing. What they said was LAW, and you did not question it, and you had better know it!!!
When the sun was starting to set you had better be home. In school we said the Pledge of Allegiance, we stood for the National Anthem, and listened to our teachers.
We watched what we said around our elders because we knew if we DISRESPECTED any grown-up we would get our behinds whipped, it wasn't called abuse, it was called discipline! We held doors, carried groceries, and gave up our seat for an older person without being asked. You didn't hear curse words on the radio in songs or TV, and if you cursed and got caught you had a bar of soap or hot sauce stuck in your mouth, and had to stand in the corner. “Please, Thank you, yes please no thank you yes ma'am no ma'am yes sir, and no sir were part of our daily vocabulary!
You grew up to respect the others, ourselves, the Nation, and the flag.
Re-post if you're thankful for your childhood, and will never forget where you came from & the time you came from!
