163 – Reflection v2

Click the video above for 2 minutes of background waves while reading.

I like walking on the beach. It’s good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

The sand is always shifting. Continuous waves and changing tides make the beachhead different every day.

Daily winds move the dry sand from place to place with ease. The moving grains of sand sting my legs during gusts or on very windy days. The city places old Christmas trees from residents by the dunes to catch moving sand and build the dune. On the other hand, violent storms such as hurricanes easily reconfigure the sandy landscape.

Shifting sand is a metaphor for change. Oh, how life has changed during my almost 70 years. Thinking about the change those in their 90s have seen is mind-boggling – after all;

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I remember the rooftop antenna delivering three television stations to our black and white TV.

I remember picking up the phone and then dialing zero to tell the operator the number I wanted to call.

I remember party lines. Although we didn’t have one, I knew listeners could eavesdrop on conversations.

I remember the excitement of the first frozen TV dinner, which was either chicken or Salisbury Steak with mashed potatoes and corn that only needed heating in the oven.

I remember cooking popcorn on the stove with heated oil in a large pot was the primary option. Jiffy Pop was a big deal!

I remember Charlie – the milkman delivering milk to our house.

I remember family-owned stores in rural small towns like mine providing everything that people needed. The town’s vibrancy on Saturday mornings makes me smile.

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I remember going to the movie theater, which showed a cartoon before the featured film.

I remember our town’s 6-lane bowling alley using a person wearing a maskless football helmet to set the pins before the age of automatic equipment.

I remember Pong – the possible forerunner to all video games.

I remember rabbit ears antennae for television reception – even covering them with aluminum foil to improve the snowy reception.

I remember elders that I knew growing up that knew people in their life who fought in the US Civil War – so, was the 1860s all that long ago?

I remember my youth as a time of playing board games, riding bikes, playing outside all day, and finding simple, honest fun things to keep us happy, grounded, active, and not having to be entertained.

The sand is soft and the water is refreshing, but change isn’t easy. People and organizations fight change, but change happens out of necessity. We can’t return to the life of what was because those days are gone and not returning! And to think that technological change is happening faster than ever.

Change is good. Change keeps us moving forward. Change is a way of life. Change is going to happen because change is one of life’s certainties.

I may be looking back at a seemingly simpler and better time – but that’s a matter of perspective as compared to what – let alone an opinion.

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I used a slide rule in high school and college. I still have it because it is a great symbol of change and a wonderful example of archaic. However, it is also a sign that my life has lived in two irreconcilable worlds.

It is not easy to imagine life 15 years from now. If I’m lucky, I’ll see it as one in over eighty. What will my nephews and nieces see when they are in their seventies? How will they look back? If humans can figure out how to get along, it could be a wonderful world.

Times change and change is good, but some things do not need to be replaced, such as walking on the beach, which is also good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

See what other bloggers have posted about Reflection

• Reflections and Perspective (an essay)
• Remembering Yesterday (a poem)
• The One about Remembering the Muse, Sharing Some Mundane Moments (an essay by an occasional visitor here)
• Remember the Days (a poem)
• Remembering the Good Old Days (an essay)

Next Post: Good v2 – Wednesday 21st December @ 1 AM (Eastern US

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