When Magazines Were Used For More Than Reading

I am eternally grateful that I was afforded the opportunity to have an amazing relationship with both of my grandfathers. They were both born in the summer of 1923, within two weeks of each other. Both of them grew up on farms during the height of the Great Depression. They would both find their way into the grocery business in later years. Each of them was an extraordinary storyteller in their own right. I would hang on to every word of their tales of the good old days, I still do.

The Good Old Days

It was harder times and longer days when they were young. Times that made men out of boys. A time farther and farther removed from now, before many of the things that we now take for granted. Television, computers, central heating and air conditioning, indoor plumbing. Things were simpler then and nothing was taken for granted, or wasted.

Back before there was Amazon and before Walmart there was the Sears and Roebuck catalog. The granddaddy of them all, where you could buy almost anything, even a house. There was an air of excitement throughout the household whenever the latest issue arrived. Making its way from the sitting room to the kitchen to the outhouse. Yes, nothing was wasted and there was no place that sold Charmin. Maybe on this point their good old days tales weren’t so good!

Finding Time To Think

To a young boy hearing these stories though it seemed like a magical time, save maybe the outhouse! Riding horses, milking cows, swimming in the creek, what could be more exciting? Growing up in the 1980’s and 1990’s, life had already become hectic. Between sports practices, paper routes and keeping up with favorite TV shows, there never seemed to be enough time. Time for relaxation, time for family, time for prayer.

As an adult now I realize that walking to school, plowing fields with horses and milking cows every morning would have been extremely hard work. A little sweat never hurt anyone though, right? I have found that jobs that break a sweat actually give a person a lot more time to think and pray. Digging a hole, working with animals or sitting on a tractor don’t occupy the working consciousness the same way sitting behind a computer or in front of a TV does. The mind can wander, and think, and talk to God.

Running Behind To Get Ahead

We live in an age where we have more conveniences than ever before, but less time to call our own. Sunday Church is forfeited for athletic contests, drive thru meals in the car pass for family dinners. We’re always on the go, always running behind to get to the next event. Humans today suffer from more stress, anxiety and depression then at any other time in history, and for what reason? A bigger house, a better car, the latest electronics?

My daughter recently completed a few days of standardized testing at her school. Clearly not thinking my question through, I asked her if she had enough #2 pencils for the test. With a quizzical look, that only a seven year old can give, she said, “why would I need pencils Daddy?, we do everything on our tablets!” And there it was, I was officially old, telling tales of old days. Apparently scantron sheets went out with the dinosaurs. I proceeded to tell her that when I was a kid we did not have tablets or smartphones, everything was done with paper and pencil. To which she responded, “did you grow up in a log cabin?”

Nostalgia…

No, I’m not quite that old, but the conversation got me thinking. I’ve now become nostalgic for my own childhood. When THE phone hung on the kitchen wall and the television was still a square box. When the Sunday paper weighed a ton and my brother and I could safely walk home from school. What will my own grandchildren think about my childhood tales of the good old days? Will they even be believable?

Maybe it’s because I have an old soul. Or maybe because I’m enamored with history, but Grandpas’ stories were awfully inviting. While I am certainly grateful for all of the luxuries and conveniences we now enjoy, there are still some days I wish I could teleport back. Yes, even back to the days when magazines were used for more than reading. Something’s better than nothing and that Sears’ catalog nailed to the outhouse wall might be a welcome sight!