You may recall that I love to watch The Waltons. The show aired from 1972 to 1981. The music and narration take me back to those years when my life was simpler. I was a mere eleven years old when I started watching it.
The Waltons series takes place during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. It then progresses into the 40’s and, of course, the war years.
As I watched an episode the other day, I couldn’t help but wonder how I would have faired back in the 1930’s. Life was hard and those who lived through it appreciated the simplest things…necessities that we don’t even think twice about throwing away today.
I knew one man who lived through the depression but still kept the mindset of saving, rationing, and preserving into the 1990’s. Even decades after the depression, he insisted that his wife use one square of toilet paper at a time. Of course, she denied him that request.
I’m in my basement as I write. I see DVD’s filed away in labeled containers. I see shelves and containers of my grandchildren’s toys. I see the shelves along the far wall loaded with my holiday decorations, mostly Christmas. What could I do without? What could I live without?
I know that things are costly today, but, for the most part, most of us still choose what we spend our money on. How did we get to such a place where we can have most anything we want, yet feel so deprived?
I dare to guess that most of us would struggle to survive if the Great Depression came upon us today. Our focus in life has changed since those days. We put much more emphasis on things other than necessities. Then there are a boatload of deflections that keep us distracted. Deflections that our ancestors would never have thought of. Not even their wildest imaginations could they have come up with the issues that plague our world today.
I appreciate that the older generation is grateful for their very basic of needs and wants being met. I wonder if I have the strength to do those same hard things in life as they did. For the most part, we have zero understanding of what it was like to live through the depression. Or to blaze trails and clear the land from the east coast to the west. The farmers and cattle ranchers, and those who built the railroad by hand, one shovelful at a time, are heroes to me.
My grandfather was born on January 23, 1900. He was a lumberjack as a young man. I’m not exactly sure how old he was although I believe he was married to Grandma. One day in the wilderness, he somehow fell across a moving saw and was cut from just below one shoulder diagonally across his torso. He survived but you wonder how that was possible in that day. Think about the emergency response teams of today compared to those in the 1920’s and 30’s. Were there even any? I feel the previous generations were born a different breed. The people were resilient. They didn’t quit. They pushed through and forward because they had a dream of a better tomorrow. They didn’t have much but appreciated every single thing they did had.
We have been watching some older westerns lately. Our world was very different then. The people pushed west with every bit of their being. They fought the weather, the terrain, lack of food, disease, and even each other. They didn’t understand this new land which was so very different from where they came, but they gained much knowledge along the way. And look at our country now. Look what was built on their sweat, blood, and tears. Do we have that same courage and life force today?
These are thoughts that have been in my head recently. I can’t help but feel that as time goes on and technology evolves, we’ve become a more fragile people. In my opinion, technology is supposed to make our life easier, but in some respect, I feel we are losing our ability for critical thinking, perseverance, and physical strength.
I am in awe of the older generations. They aren’t so far in the past that we should just forget how they got us here to this place. I appreciate those who built this great country and endured the greatest of hardships. God blessed this great nation and we should be so grateful even with our differences and problems.
♥️
Andi
Coffee with Andi 