Do you remember when....

[oldgoat]

Do you remember when it was not unusual to see kids out playing in the streets, riding bikes, skipping rope? Do you remember when you could go to the park and see the oldsters sitting on the benches and having conversations? When, if you were driving by people would wave at you, just because...
Guess I'm getting old, I had the pleasure of driving thru downtown Mineral Wells today and saw those very things, it brought back alot of fond memories...

 

[Libralabsoldier]

I saw that this past weekend as I was moving back into my house in Apache, OK. It still exists, you just have to find it.

 

[truckinbutch]

I miss those days . We still 'howdy' the neighbors with a wave as they drive by and they 'howdy'back .
When strange vehicles slow down in front of the house we reach for an always close to hand pistol until we determine their purpose .
Last Saturday afternoon one of these stopped at the edge of our drive and a lady started walking to our door telling my wife that
she just "had" to listen to her religeous beliefs for a few minutes .
When she refused to take my wife's no for an answer my wife put the dog on her .
BY GOLLY!!! She could move pretty fast back to her car for an ignorant person in a long dress
Most fun we had had all week

 

[Libralabsoldier]

I have a better solution, but then again, I am an agnostic soon to be biology teacher. The last person who told me that they "had" to explain their religious beliefs to me....I told them only if I can read selected passages from Stephen Hawkings "A Brief History of Time".

Works every time...that or I pull out my reprint of the Malleus Malificarum.....

 

[Noodle]

I'm a Christian, but I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how people think intruding in the lives of others to preach their beliefs is going to benefit anyone. I don't go that route and don't encourage anyone else to do so. Please don't think that all Christians or others of another belief engage in those practices. When someone comes to my door to try and engage me in their beliefs, I dismiss them immediately. I don't see agnostics coming to my door, thank goodness, and I try to return the favor. - Noodle

 

[truckinbutch]

We have lived our lives in such a great community that I don't care what it it is : death in the family , sickness , injury , wedding , birth , hay you are trying to get up ahead of a sudden storm ; the entire community is there to help .
No neighbor questions religeous conviction and we darned sure don't need some stranger coming uninvited amongst us trying to tell us how we need to change our way of going to fit their view of life .
Our Christian ethic is nondenominational .

 

[Libralabsoldier]

The old folks in the town recognized us, and were happy that we were coming back.

 

[pippinwhitepaws]

christians with guns ready to shoot strangers....and you don't see the dichotomy.

whew.

i see now why arizona has lost it's home town flavor..too many people running away from the behaviors described end up here....no wonder their paranoid and anti social.

 

[Libralabsoldier]

It is not like that where I live. We have a higher percentage of NAs, and it is just a town full of good people.

 

[MEinWV]

All you folks should go to youtube and listen to "Americana" by Moe Bandy.

"Today I took a detour down a backroad, to a little town whose name I can't recall. There were old men on benches playing checkers, children playing hopscotch on the square. And high above the statue of an unknown soldier, Old Glory was waving in the air"

It is a really great song!

It is what this post by oldgoat is all about!

Thank You oldgoat!

God Bless America!

 

[Noodle]

But to get back to the original topic, I truly can see a difference. I grew up in two towns; one had 200 people and the other 5000. I loved the town of 200 where my grandparents lived. Nine miles away was the town that I eventually grew up in with 5000. In the 50's and 60's, when I grew up, in both towns it was totally different than today. We kids were turned loose in the mornings and told to be home by dark. During those hours we explored neighbors, where we planted flowers, baked cakes, left and went farther afield to see new baby horses, humans, picked strawberries, watched old women quilt, had iced tea in back yards, rode horses, and picked blue robin eggs up in the cotton fields. When we got home in time for supper, we shared the day over the dinner table and went to bed cleaned and peaceful. The next day we repeated all the above, but in another part of town. We had our chores to do, but when they were done, if we were good kids, we could go visit friends and neighbors.

Today, parents can't let loose of the sight of their kids for five minutes or they'll be accused of child abuse.

 

[truckinbutch]

christians with guns ready to shoot strangers....and you don't see the dichotomy.

whew.

i see now why arizona has lost it's home town flavor..too many people running away from the behaviors described end up here....no wonder their paranoid and anti social.

Ready to shoot strangers ?......NOT ! Being prepared to repell uninvited guests that mean us harm or wish to enforce their will upon us ........YOU BET'CHA !!
When we are living a comfortable existence in our own quiet , longstanding community what right do you have to invade our space to
further your own agenda or perpetrate a crime upon us ?

 

[pippinwhitepaws]

hey...god's will...ever here that one before? no...your will is all that counts.

 

[oldgoat]

Thanx for all the replys...MEinWV, I was thinking of that song when I started the thread, but couldn't remember the name, told you I was getting old...lol
I'll always remember the times when we could ride a bike all day with our friends and get home in time for supper, having an adventure to tell about at the table...even if all we did was play sandlot baseball.

 

[lonesomebob]

When the crusaders come to preach to me , I ask them to recite the pledge of alegianct to me , usually they go away. Hate to shoot at little old ladies. Bob

 

[warsawdaddy]

Maybe I'm gettin' too old also.But when other denominations come to my house,very rarely,I'll listen if it's not more than 2-3 min,because,even tho I am of a different faith,I know they are doing what they believe in,and I'll respect that.The only ones I do not listen to are the ones at the airports,hairy ,they wear that white gown looking thing and have their hair done up,they look like a piece of garlic.But other than that,to each thier own.

 

[Libralabsoldier]

We have some interestingly odd things about our town too....every day at noon the tornado siren gets tested. Every day at about two an old (late seventies)NA gentleman rides down the street on an old riding lawnmower, to the little liquor store on the corner from my house, and buys two tallboys and rides back home, drinking one of them.

The chief of police, the main paramedic, and the mayor are all in the same family....

 

[ivan salis]

the saturday morning crack of dawn door banger parade of "religious" folks need not stop by my place --if they do they get to see my almost 200 year old "family" bible that I'm the guardian of --- it has lots of information and stuff so called "modern bibles" are missing -- only once years ago did they made the error of "bothering" me at my home --- I broke out my bible -- next to theirs on the hood of my car side by side --then --- I asked them do you know what is the punishment in the bible for knowingly teaching from a altered bible? --that your name be striken from the book of life --thats what --where are the missing books from your new "altered" bible ? --- now that you know the fact that your bible has been altered --- teach no more falsehoods from it and be gone from my sight . --- worked like a charm--- never seen or heard from em again .

 

[Old Dog]

I remember when as an un announced visitor,
a person would stop at the bottom of the drive and step out of the car.
Stand in full view of the house for a couple minutes before walking up to the house.
Just a common courtesy for not calling first.
always bring something for the lady of the family like a jar of preserves, or some tomatoes.
and NEVER overstay. only come in when invited,
and never take it personally if you end up leaning on the wood pile to have the conversation with a neighbor.
It wasn't considered impolite if you weren't invited in,
It was another courtesy. Personal or otherwise... business took place outside the home, never inside.

I remember as a kid my Pop (Grandfather) doing these things while I was with him.
and I am still old fashioned enough to still do them today.

 

[Old Dog]

the saturday morning crack of dawn door banger parade of "religious" folks need not stop by my place --if they do they get to see my almost 200 year old "family" bible that I'm the guardian of --- it has lots of information and stuff so called "modern bibles" are missing -- I asked them do you know what is the punishment in the bible for knowingly teaching from a altered bible? --that your name be striken from the book of life --thats what --where are the missing books from your new "altered" bible ? --- now that you know the fact that your bible has been altered ---teach no more faslehood from it and be gone from me. --- worked like a charm--- never seen or heard from em again .

My Brother Norm answered the door wearing nothing but cowboy boots and a smile ,
when he asked "Can I help you, Ladies?"

They never came back.