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Back in my day
Topics: Berry, Life, Family
Posted by admin Sun Mar 23, 2008 21:12:15 PDT
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We have all heard the saying at one time or another, typically from a father or grandfather. Experience has taught us that any story beginning with “back in my day” should be received politely but with skepticism. It’s not really the storyteller’s fault – time simply has a way of affecting hindsight. Sometimes it’s a positive influence — every time my grandfather told stories about his baseball days, he had more home runs and more championships. Sometimes the influence is negative, as a recalled trip to school evolves from two blocks of sunny sidewalk to eight miles of drudgery through 6 feet of snow and uphill both ways. Must have been a climate change thing – I had no idea Bakersfield streets used to be buried under so much snow 10 months of the year.

The thought recently occurred to me that I am now living the days of adulthood that I will someday recount to my son. In a sense, I am living “my days” now. Of course, he is only 2 years old, so I have many years before I can tell the tales.
Maybe it’s because I don’t trust my own hindsight or maybe I’m afraid all of those concussions will affect my ability to recall today’s life with clarity and accuracy. So, perhaps the best solution is to simply write a letter to my son now, all about life in the world he was born into. And so we begin:

Dear Son,

As you read this many years from now, you are probably living in an amazing world. Rather than bore you with hazy memories of my youth through dull and semi-accurate storytelling, I thought I would put it all in a letter for you. This will explain life from “back in my day,” back when you were just a baby.

Back in my day, gasoline cost over $3 per gallon and we were all furious about it. Inexplicably, we paid twice that amount for every gallon of coffee or bottled water, but for some reason we didn’t get upset about that.

Back in my day, personal dietary choices led to epidemic obesity and other health-related problems. Nevertheless, we would often order double cheeseburgers with extra cheese, super-sized French fries, onion rings, a chocolate shake and a Diet Coke. It’s OK though — the Diet Coke had some sort of compound that negated all of the calories and saturated fat from the rest of the meal.

Back in my day, the term “personal responsibility” was an oxymoron. In fact, ironically, the statement “I take full responsibility” was used by politicians, athletes and others as a way of completely avoiding responsibility. Doesn’t make sense? Join the club. You see, it was so much easier to blame society, government, police, teachers, incapable lawyers or even our mothers to avoid placing blame on ourselves.

Back in my day, politics was not about the exchange of ideas or representing the people. No, politics was a practice of catering to special interest groups and using the power of office to re-align districts to protect incumbents’ positions. Most opposing candidates didn’t have any original thoughts or goals, so they merely brought each other down in a flurry of negative ad campaigns. And they wondered why voter turnout was always so low? Amazing.

Back in my day, we had incredible technological advances, including the expansion of the Internet, cellular phones and portable e-mail devices. All of these innovations were designed to help bring people together, yet even as we used them, we continued to build higher walls and thicker doors. Somehow it all made sense at the time.

I hope I don’t give you the impression that I dislike this place, because that just wouldn’t be correct. The world is amazing and beautiful — it just does not always live up to its potential. Like watching a marathon runner stop 100 yards short of the finish, so much is just left undone.

However, even during the darkest times, change was in the air. Little by little, people were beginning to understand that loyalty, kindness and morality were more than trendy catch phrases. Families began to take walks together in the park, neighbors began to mingle again, and citizens began to question their government leaders. National tragedies brought us together and showed us our similarities far outnumber our differences. Violence in the streets began to wane as misguided youth finally realized it wasn’t worth dying for control of a particular street or a particular color of clothing. Maybe the dark days made us appreciate the changes even more. Yes, it took time, but we eventually began to grow out of our adolescence and into the world you see around you decades from now.

I’m sure all of this will be distant history in your world. The one constant in life is change — I know the world will continue to grow through these times and will emerge as a place that will make us all proud.

As I write this, you are laying on the sofa, fighting the flu. Two days ago, your mom and I were in a panic, as you developed a 106-degree fever that sent us into a scary new chapter of parenthood. Today is better though. We want the best for you, and we want you to know how special you are to us.

One other thing. Back in my day, you brought joy to our home, and your mother and I would do anything in our power to make sure you were healthy and happy.
Good to know some things never change.

Editor's note: After a long hiatus, we at The Southwest Voice are thrilled to welcome back longtime contributor Rob Berry.
 

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Comment From: pegconnelly

Glad you're back, Rob. We've missed you and your wonderful stories. I'm anxiously awaiting your next contribution. Comment From: sunnica

I wonder if you really know how good of a writer you are.