Not Missing You at All

Yes, I belong to a nostalgic Facebook page, and yes, it's to be expected there will be a lot of "good old days" blibber blabber...

Oh, those simpler times, before cell phones and computers. When we played outdoors until the street lights came on, soldiered bravely on when we cut open our knee and bled like a stuck pig, and walked uphill to school (both ways) through teeming rain and frigid snow.

While I believe there's a lot to be said for pulling one's own weight and not being a wuss every time life throws you a curve ball, I must admit there are many things I don't miss from times gone by.

Or, as Billy Joel put it, "The good old days weren't always good and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems." (COVID excepted.)

All this occurred to me as I typed a birthday letter to my nephew on my SCM portable typewriter. It was in recognition of the anniversary of his birth 40 years ago. As I clickety-clacked my way down the page, I had a vivid flashback of Wite Out and correction tape, neither of which I use these days. I made it clear in my letter that he'd have to put up with strikeouts, since I wasn't going to use these devices of yore.

Later, I began to cast about for other things I do not miss. Here's what I came up with:

Manual Channel Changing 
Largely because I suspect I would be the default remote control in our home, this one goes to the top of the list. In my husband's family, his sister was the designated channel-changer. They called her "Machine Gun Mary" because she gave the dial a real workout. In our home, turning the dial too quickly earned a lot of shouting and threats of severe reprisal from my Dad. 

Long Distance Charges

'Twas not so long ago that if I wanted to chat with one of my sisters, I'd try to call in the evening when it was cheaper. Now I can call or text or video chat at will without fear of incurring outrageous long distance fees. (Not counting cell phone and internet charges, of course.)

Instant Coffee

If you've ever tried instant, I don't need to explain this one to you. If you haven't had it, count your blessings. 

Burning River

Every time someone on national television talks about the history of Cleveland, the Cuyahoga River burning always comes up. This happened a couple of weeks ago on Jeopardy, when the category was Cleveland News History. Although this wasn't the first time the Cuyahoga was set ablaze, it became the catalyst for change. The EPA was born shortly thereafter, and we started to enjoy a cleaner river.

Pantyhose

In my youth, I would wriggle into pantyhose on a regular basis. As we weren't made of money, I had to mend plenty of stockings in my day. Clear nail polish stopped a run in its tracks, but the offending eyesore still had to be darned. The oh-so-lovely stitches made Frankensteins of my legs. There I was, hoping no one would notice (or say anything -- ya, right). Dresses are largely a thing of my past, and good riddance, I say. I'm not confident enough to go without stockings when I wear a dress, so pants it is.

Regular Cat Litter

I didn't realize what a pain this had been until I start using clumping cat littler. Initially, I poo-poo'd* the whole notion, but I quickly came around when I experienced the ease of scoopage.

I'm sure there are lots of other things I don't miss, but I'm going to give it a rest for now. It's time to make dinner.

Someday, I'm hoping to say I don't miss making dinner because the droid does such a nice job, she spoils me.

Those will be the days...

*Pun intended.