High Hopes
www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3E9iXCkI5U
When I watched this video, a million thoughts (slightly exaggerated) came rippling through my mind for this was my generation shown surrounding Sinatra. My mother had many photos of me looking very much like one of these kids. No one thought to provide a clever name like "millennials" for us back then. We were just kids with very strict rules, hard-working fathers and, for the most part, stay-at-home mothers. There were expectations placed upon us and long-established values and morals were taught. In many ways, we were the last representatives of a time-honored tradition of child-rearing going back hundreds, if not thousands of years. Respect for our elders was a given and clearly understood. Our parents dressed us well, fed us well, and taught us how to behave in varying situations. We learned and played. Independence with responsibility was taught. My own personal memories of the time involve school and being outside. I'm not sure I have a single memory of being in the house. The expectation was that aside from meals, we were to be outside. In fact, it was more than an expectation. I well recall literally being thrown out of the house and told to go play. Whining was not tolerated, misbehavior punished, but we were taught to stand up for ourselves when necessary. We were anything but overprotected. I walked by myself to kindergarten, some blocks away from the house. At 8, I roamed the neighborhood with a "gang" of friends on the block to be summoned home only by my Father's remarkable whistle. (As hard as I tried, I never could replicate that whistle...nor duplicate his awesome signature). At 8 I also played Little League baseball...there was no T-ball or minor leagues then...against 12 year olds. I made it because my father had me out in the street (yes, literally the street) throwing ground balls to me from the time I could walk and showing me how to hit against older pitchers. He did the same with basketball, resulting in a full athletic scholarship to the University of North Carolina. At the same time, I was required to get all "A's" academically. Otherwise, I could not play sports. I've never been sure if he would have carried through on this "agreement." But he never had to think about it. Achievement orientation was not a negative phrase back then, "participation awards" unknown. Life was a challenge to be conquered.
I implemented similar strategies with my own children to greater or lesser success...my son was a highly accomplished hockey player and my daughter a Junior Olympic swimmer...but cultural changes and a divorce finally intervened to some consternation on my part. But I've adapted as best I can...as have they, I reckon.
There is a clear evidence of innocence, naivety, and, yes, simple happiness amongst this group in the video. And that's how I remember my growing up. I never even heard of drugs until my first year of college...a year (1966) when dress codes still existed in education.
Boy, have things changed, no? Somehow I don't know if the hopes are quite so high any longer, lost to Facebook and iphones and video games while all the labeled generational parents tweet away with their own electronic addictions. I wonder what life will be like for my grandchildren. Will anyone even talk to each other?
And the lives of ants continues to be the same...rubber tree or dandelion.
[Larger more hopeful...]
High Hopes
www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3E9iXCkI5U
When I watched this video, a million thoughts (slightly exaggerated) came rippling through my mind for this was my generation shown surrounding Sinatra. My mother had many photos of me looking very much like one of these kids. No one thought to provide a clever name like "millennials" for us back then. We were just kids with very strict rules, hard-working fathers and, for the most part, stay-at-home mothers. There were expectations placed upon us and long-established values and morals were taught. In many ways, we were the last representatives of a time-honored tradition of child-rearing going back hundreds, if not thousands of years. Respect for our elders was a given and clearly understood. Our parents dressed us well, fed us well, and taught us how to behave in varying situations. We learned and played. Independence with responsibility was taught. My own personal memories of the time involve school and being outside. I'm not sure I have a single memory of being in the house. The expectation was that aside from meals, we were to be outside. In fact, it was more than an expectation. I well recall literally being thrown out of the house and told to go play. Whining was not tolerated, misbehavior punished, but we were taught to stand up for ourselves when necessary. We were anything but overprotected. I walked by myself to kindergarten, some blocks away from the house. At 8, I roamed the neighborhood with a "gang" of friends on the block to be summoned home only by my Father's remarkable whistle. (As hard as I tried, I never could replicate that whistle...nor duplicate his awesome signature). At 8 I also played Little League baseball...there was no T-ball or minor leagues then...against 12 year olds. I made it because my father had me out in the street (yes, literally the street) throwing ground balls to me from the time I could walk and showing me how to hit against older pitchers. He did the same with basketball, resulting in a full athletic scholarship to the University of North Carolina. At the same time, I was required to get all "A's" academically. Otherwise, I could not play sports. I've never been sure if he would have carried through on this "agreement." But he never had to think about it. Achievement orientation was not a negative phrase back then, "participation awards" unknown. Life was a challenge to be conquered.
I implemented similar strategies with my own children to greater or lesser success...my son was a highly accomplished hockey player and my daughter a Junior Olympic swimmer...but cultural changes and a divorce finally intervened to some consternation on my part. But I've adapted as best I can...as have they, I reckon.
There is a clear evidence of innocence, naivety, and, yes, simple happiness amongst this group in the video. And that's how I remember my growing up. I never even heard of drugs until my first year of college...a year (1966) when dress codes still existed in education.
Boy, have things changed, no? Somehow I don't know if the hopes are quite so high any longer, lost to Facebook and iphones and video games while all the labeled generational parents tweet away with their own electronic addictions. I wonder what life will be like for my grandchildren. Will anyone even talk to each other?
And the lives of ants continues to be the same...rubber tree or dandelion.
[Larger more hopeful...]