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Despite Everything, It’s A Pretty Good Time

 Earl Kirby, August 21, 2007

            If you have read many of my columns through the last few months you may have come to the opinion that I am usually a very negative person.  In actuality that isn’t the case.  Over all, despite all of the bad, I really take a rather optimistic viewpoint on most of life.

            I’m fortunate.  I’m 64 years old and in fairly good health.  I’m collecting the Social Security everyone told me I would never see when I started work at 13.  Back then, in 1956, I worked 10-12 hours a day in the celery fields of Muskegon, Michigan for 50 cents an hour.  I thought then if I ever grew up and was able to get a job paying $100 a week I’d be the luckiest guy in the world.

            Our family wasn’t well off, but we weren’t really poor.  We never went hungry and even though my mother would buy me used shoes at the Salvation Army there was never a time I went to school without.  There was of course no air conditioning or eating out 2, 3, and 4 times a week.  In fact there was no eating out.  Period!  We ate at the dinner table with the rest of the family at breakfast time and at supper time.  We ate the school hot lunches at school for lunch until we were in high school.  Then we used the money for school lunches to buy our cigarettes and sodas during the week.  Hey, $1.25 a week went a long ways back then.

            I’ve got to admit gas was only 33 cents a gallon and I paid $50.00 for my first car, a 1952 Pontiac.  But, I should remind you, cars where only supposed to last 100,000 miles, if you where lucky, back then.  I now drive a 2000 Chevy van with 225,000 miles on it and expect to get another 225,000 miles before I need to replace it.  My first car with air conditioner in it wasn’t purchased until 1995.  Now I wouldn’t consider owning a car without air. 

            I remember back in 1961, 62 while stationed in Washington DC I would return home to Muskegon to visit the family every chance I had.  I also remember it taking 5 hours to get from the turnpike in South Bend, Indiana to Muskegon.  The last time I went home to visit it took 3 hours to get from Chicago to Muskegon.  I don’t want to ever return to the days of old US 31!

            I also remember the day my dad brought home the first TV.  I also remember the reason he used for justifying the purchase.  Back then it cost .25 cents to go to the Saturday matinee.  With 4 kids old enough to want to go the TV saved dad $1.00 a week.  I didn’t go to another movie until I paid my own way into see Elvis’s “Love Me Tender”.

            Nope.  I might complain and complain rather bitterly about the way things are going in our country but I really must admit we’ve got it pretty good.  For this week at least, I think I’ll just count my blessings.