I was talking to an old friend the other day about the ‘olden’ days when we were kids…the long walks, berry picking, the games, sitting around the fire, stories, wonderful books, and just the more simple life of the 50’s. To me, it almost feels like another world or a fantasy.
We discussed berry picking and how that now-a-days many people are spoiled by the U-pick places. We used to hunt and search for berries, and when were were fortunate enough to find some, they were no where near the size of the tame varieties you find in cultivated fields.
I look back nostalgically at those long ago times when grasshoppers walked upright and wore leather shoes and feel sorry that many young people will never know the thrill of finding a wild columbine, digging up an Indian turnip and discovering its hotness, seeing the mysterious foxfire glowing from an old, rotten stump, watching the stars come out while listening to storytellers, or roaming the fields and woods in search of innocent adventure.
We once picked blackberries by the gallons and sold some to earn money for the county fair or to buy school clothes. Now when someone says blackberry, instead of a plump, juicy berry on thorny canes, they think of an electronic gadget.
I’m glad I was a child in the 50’s, and I will always remember those years fondly. At the time, though, all I wanted was to have things easier and better. I suppose young people today will look back at these times with nostalgia someday, too. That’s the way of childhood.
