Looking Back

What a limited list of Mother’s Rules I gave on May 6! Here are a few more:

  • Never serve anything in the jar it was bought in. (Homemade jams and jellies were the exception if they were in a pretty jar.)
  • Always wear a slip. (Yes, even if your skirt is lined.)
  • Never pay full price for clothes or shoes–and groceries when possible.
  • Do not hum at the table.
  • Do not whisper when in a social group. (Someone might misinterpret and think you are talking about them.)
  • Never call by a first name anyone ten years or more older than you. (Always put “Miss” or “Mr.,” “Aunt” or “Uncle” before their names.)
  • Read your Bible before you read anything else for the day.
  • Dip your soup spoon away from you in the bowl of soup–and never make an noise when eating soup. (No slurping allowed!)
  • Do not discuss pregnancies of your own or others.
  • Write a “bread and butter” [thank you] note within three days.

One situation that we used to observe that, fortunately, is no longer common was women in public with their hair in curlers. Thank goodness for blowdry hair styles!  To Mother, the only thing worse than seeing a woman in public with her hair in curlers was when she was also wearing short-shorts.  (For the record, to this day I’ve not been seen in public in either.)

While strolling down Memory Lane (of which one is actually just around the corner from our street!), I was thinking about how we all eat in our cars today. Before the days of drive-thru windows and cup holders in cars, drivers never ate and rarely did anyone else. In 1961, I remember seeing my Aunt Carleen eat a bag of popcorn while she was driving and I was fascinated.

Steve suggests, and I think he’s right, that automatic transmissions and turn signals greatly contributed to the ability to eat while driving. The driver really couldn’t have driven while shifting constantly or sticking an arm out the window to signal a turn. I’m sure many of today’s drivers don’t even know that years ago they would have been sticking that left arm out in all kinds of weather to signal a turn or stop. Today, hand turn signals are only for those riding bikes or motorcycles–and they don’t often use them (at least not the ones I see.)

When I was a child, we were allowed to eat in the back seat if we were on a long trip, but never just while riding around town. We were pretty much limited to three meals a day and possibly a snack when we first got home from school.

I love our modern conveniences. I wouldn’t go back to earlier years for anything. I’ve always loved whatever age I was and I love it now.  I can see drawbacks at any age, but I certainly wouldn’t want to go back or forward any years!

 

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4 Comments

  1. One of Mom’s favorites was “Be sure to wear clean underwear because you might be in an accident.” I used to tell her that, if I were in an accident, the state of my underwear would not be my first concern.

    I remember, when I was in first grade, we saw a woman at the grocery store who was wearing jeans. My mother thought it was scandalous. Boy have times changed!

    • I’ve always heard that clean underwear statement, but evidently my mother assumed I always had clean underwear–and I’m sure you did, too. It’s funny to think about all the changes. So jeans were scandalous…hmmmm.

  2. Josh

    Yes, eating and drinking while driving is exponentially easier with an automatic transmission! When I’ve driven in other countries where rental cars are almost all manual, I’ve found it impossible to multi-task the way I do here, especially for in-town driving. There also seem to be fewer cup-holders in cars where manuals are more common.

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