One of the notes that caught my eye was from someone who had been a child in the 1930's, during the depression. This person makes the point that the poor in our country today don't know what it is to truly be poor. I agree. Although I never went through the kind of stark deprivation this individual had to endure...that of living basically on bread thrown out by the local bakery, and water, and an occasional quart of milk, when the going rate for wages was 25 cents a day, and you pretty much had to walk where ever you went, still, being poor today is nothing like it was after my first marriage broke up. Assistance was sparse, and there was no such thing as food stamps yet, emergency or otherwise.There was no energy assistance programs, no medical cards, no W.I.C. program for infants and pregnant women, no shelters for women and children.No section 8 housing subsidies.The only thing available for a woman with a child and no skills was waitressing jobs, at 90 cents and hour, plus tips, or signing up for commodities, which took time, or ADC public assistance, which also took time to come through.If you were hungry, you either went hungry, or you got creative and took in ironing. At $2.50 a basket, you had to do a lot of ironing to put food on the table, and if you started out with nothing, all that food had to go to the child.If you couldn't afford heating oil, winters were cold. Summers were filled with lots of work in the garden if you wanted to eat in the fall.Two summers in a row, I was lucky enough to be able to catch fish,and harvest early tomatoes and lettuce,or we would have starved. But enough about that.The point is, can you imagine how it rankles me now to witness young mothers who have all the modern advantages handed to them on a silver platter, and then they have the nerve to whine about not being able to go to McDonald's or call out for a pizza and pop? It makes me want to yell at them, for goodness sakes girls! You've got food in the kitchen, decent housing and your bills paid, get off your duff, go out in the kitchen and bake your own pizza and be glad you have food for your children as well as yourself! We have more than just a generation gap going on here, we have ungrateful children whose mothers and grandmothers no longer sit their youngsters down and tell them what it is really like to be poor and go without. There is a reason why people go through tough times.If the word is handed down, the younger generation is wise enough to be able to apprecitate the fact that they have it better, instead of acting like a bunch of spoiled brats that no matter how good they've got it, still want more.
The other subject brought up was a complaint about Halloween, and how some children now, are taking two bags with them trick or treating. for" my brother who is sick" Or "for my aunt". Where I can sympathize with the child who is ill on trick or treat night, still, it is just another aspect of greed on that child's part that he or she doesn't want to just split his or her candy with their brother or " aunt".
Lastly, there was a comment from a mother whose children brought home that which she charecterised as "smart treats". Instead of candy, her child brought home a bag of microwave popcorn, a bag of potato chips, natcho chips, and crackers.Of course, there was still a lot of candy that would" rot their teeth", but she praised those who gave the non-candy items for being so clever. Well, I hate to be a wet blanket, but this mother is showing her ignorance in touting such things as being better for the kids teeth.It doesn't matter if it's straight sugar, or potato starch,corn starch,or wheat flour, carbs are carbs,and they all convert to sugars in the mouth and in the system.If her interest is in the children's teeth, she will have to stay on the kids about brushing directly after their munch fest, regardless of what it is they munch,unless she can do as I did, and convince the kids to trade some of that junk in for carrot sticks, celery, apples and oranges!
OUI?
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