View From The Ditch Bank

THEN AND NOW---Some of us are actually old enough to look back at the then and compare it with the now. And see the difference. And say, well then was better, or now is better. Back when I was a youth, after WW2, we didn't have a phone. If we wanted to talk to someone, we drove to their house. Said what we needed to say and then went on with business. Mostly. If you needed to talk to someone out of town, you wrote a letter, on paper, with a fountain pen, and put it in the mail. In the USPS. With a stamp. If we HAD to call someone out of town, we went to the general store and used their phone. With a hand crank. Two longs and a short or something like that. A party line, which means every one could listen in. And did. We didn't have television, telephone, or telegraph. One thing we did have in common with the rest of the world, though, was a telagossip. That usually worked, and things were often embellished for free. And cars. Yep, back then, you could look at a car and know who made it. Ford, Chrysler or General Motors. You knew what year it was, what model within that year, and probably what engine, and the transmission was a standard. With a clutch. And how fast it would go. Hot cars, Cool cars, Distinguishable cars. Some even had an AM radio. FM came later. And then came Eight Track Tape Decks. Pre Cassette. A heater, and 2-60 Air Conditioning. Oh! you wonder what 2-60 AC is. It was two windows rolled down and 60 miles an hour down the highway. Now if we want to communicate, we use cell phones, with the Internet in them, and cameras, still and video, in the camera, UH! phone. And e mail, and Face Book and Twitter. And sometimes others can listen in. And do. And the cars. They look like they all came from the same cookie cutter. Different sizes, somewhat, but not distinguishable from other models, no matter the company. And they are run with a computer, with CD players, and a satellite system to tell you where to go. ( People still tell me that, even without a GPS system ) And Air Conditioning controlled for each person, and heated seats, and surround sound for the Satellite Radio system. No personality. MLWFAE said the other day that cars now a days are just an Air Conditioned computer to get you from point A to Point B. While you talk on the cellphone, or even text. Lots of things in the now are better, but I long for the cars of then. With actual twin pipes, and glass packs. Too bad steel packs and Hemi's were outlawed back then. Oh wait. Hemi's are back. Wonder if Steel Packs will make a comeback. Naw! probably not. And That's The view From The Ditch Bank.