A lot of people here experienced the Good Old Days very differently than my family did, I guess

[SheilaT]

98. Please note: piling in the car. Driving somewhere (to a National Park) and

sleeping in the car or pitching tents.

While a wonderful vacation, it was not in the lap of luxury by any means.

In the summer of 1964 my mom packed us five kids up in the car, drove from Tucson to the Grand Canyon where we parked in a campground and slept some of us in a tent, some in the car. I recall quite distinctly that the cost of food at the grocery store in the Grand Canyon was enough greater than what we paid in Tucson to be an issue, meaning we couldn't afford to stay there as long as Mom had hoped. But it was still a fabulous vacation. We got to see the GRAND CANYON!! We didn't feel remotely deprived because we couldn't stay at one of the expensive hotels there, just slightly deprived because of the cost of food there. But had Mom known, she'd have planned ahead.

I think what matters here is the expectations. Back then, our expectations revolved around driving somewhere and camping out. Now, the expectations are vastly different. Which isn't necessarily to say that modern expectations are bad, but they certainly are different.

This applies to lots of things. The sheer cost of what most of us would consider to be basics: Cable, internet, cell phones, smart phones, iPod, iPad, and so on, are costs that add greatly to the bottom line. Fifty years ago a TV and a landline were the basics, and I want to point out that in 1962 we didn't have a telephone (landline) because we could not afford one. When my mom, a nurse, was promoted to a supervisor position where the hospital needed her to be on call, she told them they had to pay for the phone line, and they did. As late as 1962 most Americans took having a phone for granted, but because we did without one for a couple of years, I think that's why to this day I'm willing to do without what may people think are basics. I don't have a TV, nor cable or satellite dish, although I watch plenty of shows over the internet. I have a cell phone, although not a smart phone.

It is so easy to knuckle under to societal expectations, and never once give a thought to what is actually important or needed. Or, as in the example that triggered this response, how different things might have been in the past.