"Back In The Day"

Back in my day things were solid...just look at the cars, they were built like tanks. The houses had bigger lumber in them and more of it. Have you ever wondered why there are lots of old houses still around, withstood the ravages of time and storms...duh...they were built like tanks.


And toys, if you were lucky enough to have them, were built the same way - none of this buzz buzz, ring ring, zap zap zap, feed me batteries (God forbid made in China) - our toys were most often made to support the weight of the child like skates,wagons,scooters and the wonder of all wonders, the bicycle. I spent half my childhood on my bicycle, must have traveled half a million miles or so, and I grew up on the side of a mountain so for every mile of exhilaration downhill there was the inevitable struggle back up.


I think this time on my bicycle as a child really taught me something about life, the "Ying and Yang" of it. Life can be such an easy coast downhill, hair blowing in the wind and eyes watering, laughing and having a great time until you hit bottom and have to turn around and struggle back up that hill. If you have to climb that hill when you are old, you have to stop often to get your breath and sometimes you might even slip back down before regaining your stride. But in the struggle there is the gratification of winning the little battles along the way - I compare it to not being hit by the unforseen car coming down the hill.