Bob Haase’s Another Can Of Worms

What Has Changed During Your Lifetime

If a person lives long enough they will see a lot of changes… some good and some not so good.  I think we accept changes better today than we used to, but that may not always be good.  I think we should be flexible and accept change when it is necessary and results in an improvement.  We should also question change when it is forced on us and makes things worse instead of better. 

Think back over your lifetime and all the changes that have occurred.  If you are a teenager, you have seen changes, but nothing compared to someone that may be in their seventies, eighties, or nineties.  I will be 70 years old next week and I was thinking back on some of the changes I have seen.  I can remember when we didn’t have a telephone and when we did get one it required a switchboard operator to connect you to someone else. I can also remember outdoor plumbing in the form of an outhouse and how nice it was to have indoor plumbing.  I can also remember when we got our first black and white television and I think we got two channels in Davenport, IA.

There have been a lot of improvements over the years and I think most of us are happy to have the conveniences we have today.  These conveniences make it easier and also safer.  When my wife and I lived in Montello the only ambulance we had was the hearse from the funeral home.  Today we have cell phones that we can use to call 911 from almost anywhere and get highly trained medical staff to respond quickly in a well equipped ambulance.  We had one doctor in town that made house calls and responded 24 hours a day when someone rank the buzzer for help.  He did not have the sophisticated equipment and facilities we have today and there was nobody there to back him up if he was gone. Today we have well equipped clinics staffed with highly trained doctors. 

We didn’t have computers and many people did not even have a calculator.  We had to be able to add and subtract an figure out how to give change without a programmed, bar code reading cash register.

Improvements in technology has changed the way we live and made things better for us from the materialistic stand point.

There has also been changes that have not been good.  Remember when we knew our neighbors and did things together.  Today many people don’t even know the names of people living next door. There seemed to be more people volunteering to help than there are today and we didn’t always ask “What’s in it for me?”.  Trust seemed to be more important and even though people have always lied, it wasn’t accepted like it is today.  People trusted our government more to do the right thing for the people.  Today our politicians seem to be more concerned about the welfare of their party than the people that they are suppose to represent.  The food we had years ago didn’t keep as long as it does today but it was probably a lot healthier for us having less sugar and additives that we know are not good for us.

Take some time and think back over your lifetime.  What are the changes you remember the most?  How has life changed for you?  If you could change something… what would it be?   Please comment on the things you remember and changes you have seen both good and bad.

Bob Haase is the host of “Outdoors Thursday” heard Thursday mornings at 9:10 a.m. on News-Talk 1450 KFIZ.