To the Editor-

I grew up in the 50’s and 60’s. We had a small home, 2 bedrooms 1 bath. We didn’t have the prettiest house, and we didn’t have a fancy car. Because we were
poor, we weren’t able to buy new furniture. Often times, my father would come home with something he found on the side of the road. My mother would cover it with blankets, and we were glad to have it, because it meant we had something to sit on.

We had rules. No feet on furniture, always call your elders Mr. or Mrs. Soap will always be in our house and it is to be used frequently. You will not backtalk teachers or police officers. Ever. You will always respect others belongings and never go through their cupboards. If we wanted a drink we were to ask. To this day I still follow those rules. Even though we didn’t have much for material possessions, we had many things that the younger generations don’t have today. Freedom to play outside without having to worry about being abducted. Freedom to go to the mall, theatre and out to eat without worrying about being shot at.

The security of having a job that you can retire from and be able to live a comfortable life. Job security. Family dinners. 2 week family vacation. A 40 hour work week. Today, we seem to be going in cirles, just to keep up the pace of a seemingly spinning out of control world. Something is very wrong. Somehow we lost sight of what’s really important and how fast it can be taken away from us. When I think about those years, I realize I took it all for granted.

Connie Schweitzer

Stevens Point