Many of you enjoyed my first column about the good old days so much and wanted to hear more so im going to take a stab at it. In addition to many of your questions, I also have a 5-year-old granddaughter full of questions and a simple answer won’t do because they want to know the whos, whats, hows and whys about everything and you’d better have lots of patience.
Grandparents make great teachers, cheerleaders, nurses, storytellers and love to brag about their grandchildren and would do anything for them. You take time to cherish every moment – watching them grow and learn new milestones every day. To me, there's no greater joy than sharing their excitement for life. To them, everything is a big deal and it should be. They may be little, but, their hearts and the ability they have to understand things are no different than adults and they understand more than you realize.
One of my biggest joys is my grandchildren and we love making up our own little adventures and of course they get loads of laughs watching what Grandma says and does. One recent Sunday, we stopped at a gas station and I said “We’re going to stop at the Handy Andy” which was followed by “What’s a Handy Andy?” I explained that used to be the only thing open on Sundays and you could pick up chips, ice, bread, snacks and maybe fishing bait but when the sale of beer and liqour on Sundays was legalized, it changed all that. I was, and still am, opposed to it and rallied and voted against it because it demoralized society and goes against Gods word. All He asks of us is to keep one day holy and I don’t think that’s asking too much, after all He is the very reason we are alive and we owe Him much more than just one day of reverence.
I know I probably stepped on some toes, but, I'm just telling it like it is. You can't help but miss the way things were but folks want convenience, anything to make their life as simple as possible. I agree with that to a certain degree but convenience isn't always better. Life as we knew it never came to a screeching halt just because Walmart, Home Depot and McDonald's weren’t open on Sunday. Unless it was a life or death emergency, there wasn't anything that couldn't wait till Monday.
Maybe I'm just old school but I miss the good old days when life seemed simpler and slower and little things meant a lot. Remember when you pulled into the full service gas station and didn't have to get out of your car? Or when the bag boy down at the PIggly Wiggly gladly carried your groceries out to your car?
Not so long ago, unless you went to Athens, Atlanta or were traveling, there weren't many restaurants around these parts so after church, most folks ate homecooked meals instead of dining out and spent time with family. When I was growing up Sundays meant going to church and going to visit my grandparents and it wasn’t an option and I'm glad because I would have missed out on a lot. That's another one of those things that seems to have changed nowadays. Families rarely get together.
You see, back then, going to church on Sunday was a big deal so many businesses closed on Sunday so their employees could enjoy that day as it was meant to be. Why you might ask? Get out your Bible, knock the dust off the cover and read Exodus 20:1-17 and pay close attention to verse 8, the fourth of The Ten Commandments:
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
Some things may have changed, but, one thing never will and that's God and His word and that makes it easier to handle whatever changes come our way.
