Hope all had a great Easter. At least the weather was pretty fair!
I got to ponderin’ on the good old days – for me that was the ’50s and ’60s – and what Easter was all about.
At my house, my dad wasn’t very religious, but my mom, well, let’s just say, short of death, we didn’t miss Mass on Sunday morning. And then, just about when I thought, “this ain’t so bad,” because it avoided my dad’s idea of getting an early start on whatever project he had for me that Sunday – weeding the garden, mowing the lawn, or maybe stackin’ firewood – the Catholic church came up with the bright idea of havin’ a Mass at 5 o’clock on Saturday! And if that didn’t mess up a Saturday afternoon baseball game in the neighborhood, nothin’ would!
But Easter was that holiday when Mom made us all get on our best clothes and go to church, maybe even twice, like that Good Friday thing, a day or two before Easter. And I remember my little brothers trying to sit still, just a-squirmin’ around, pokin’ at each other, and Ma scowlin’ at them to be quiet, and I’m sittin’ there thinkin’ “This must be the most long-winded priest on earth. Is he ever gonna get done?” But when we finally got home that Easter morning, it wouldn’t be long before the big ole ham would go in the oven, and you knew that in a few hours a fantastic feed would await all!
Thinkin’ back, which we all do, as we enter the last quarter, I couldn’t help but think of some of the things we have today that our children can take for granted. Cellphones are a biggie. I think people can’t even go to bed without the cellphone on the nightstand! Or how about a microwave for the kitchen? Got to have the instant warm-up. Or how about your car of today?
First there was radio, AM at that. I remember in sixth grade, a classmate introducing me to FM. That’s where I first heard the Beatles! Then there was eight track, then cassettes, then CDs, and now we have satellite and music piped in from one’s cellphone!
And speakin’ of the car, how many of us learned to drive on an old three-speed on the column? Don’t hardly ever see a standard tranny anymore unless it’s some sporty thing for big bucks!
As I wandered along on my way back from Auburn, I thought, man, you never see kids outside anymore. I remembered when, the first signs of spring, I couldn’t wait to get out my glove and throw a baseball. And I always knew it wouldn’t be long before Dad would be thinkin’ ’bout trout fishin’, which I knew I would be included in. Me thinkin’ about the fun of catchin’ a trout, Dad thinkin’ about another free meal for the table!
Some days it just doesn’t seem right that we have to live at such a breakneck pace. In today’s world, everything is now, if not sooner. And with all the gadgetry it takes to make life go forward, it just seems like overload some days!
Just the other night, Ms. Sue and I was gonna watch a movie on the big screen. We had been “connected” by Sue’s son-in-law, Adam, to the internet, and now we can watch a movie, except something happened, and we had become disconnected.
Well, I somehow got us reconnected after a dozen tries. And I’m tellin’ ya, I felt like I had climbed Mount Everest! It just shouldn’t be this difficult, I thought, and I’m pretty sure I wasn’t relaxin’ at all! All the while wishin’ I was just twistin’ the rabbit ears in the right direction! LOL! Rabbit ears – I bet my kids never ever heard that term!
I guess my point this week is that with spring in the air, take a pause every day and appreciate the beauty that’s around us here in coastal Maine. Live in the moment and reflect on the lessons of the past, and if you can get your kids and grandkids to listen, share a story about your youth. You never know, they might just like it!
See ya down the road, folks … keep smilin’!
Larry Sidelinger
Yankee Pride Transport
Damariscotta
