"Life In The Good Old Days"

As I write my columns for this newspaper, I get feedback from those who read them, and I am grateful that The Great Father has given me gift of memories of my life here on earth, to write about. It really gives me a thrill knowing that the readers enjoy what I have to say, and that they take time to let me know by mail, and by phone, as well as them stopping in my workplace to talk about the good old days. Also, I have many visitors to my web site, to check out some of the ones that they might of missed.

I have heard people say, that you can never go back, but that reading "Uncle Ray's column, sort of lets them drift back in thought, to those good old days, when life was rough, but fun. The work that each and everyone of us, had to do to make it, was hard, but fruitful. Family was just that, in that everyone pulled together as one, to survive, so that the comfort of life, was a full stomach, a warm home, the love of each member to the other, and the satisfaction of togetherness, each one of us had.

All you have to do, is just take the time to think about the grandparents, Mom & Dad, and all the brothers and sisters, and see what had to be done each day to survive. Think about it. Where would we be today ,if not for the giving of family love ,from parents to children of each generation. Think about the time when your grandparents were young, and they had to work together as one group, so that all the mouths were fed, and the bodies were kept warm. Think about how there was no running water, and no inside toilet facilities. And think about how ,on a very cold day, the water had to be heated on a wood stove, to get it warm enough to take your baths. Think about how cold ,it had to be in the house, because there was only heat in one room. The rest of the house at night ,was cold and in the mornings, you could find ice on top of the quilts on your beds. Think about sleeping on a feather bed ,that had no support for your back. Think about being the first one up, in the morning, to make the fire in the fireplace ,or in the heating stove, so that the others could at least get warm, and have a hot breakfast, before heading off to work or to school.

Life was not easy for those who live in that generation, but the result of all that work, led to responsibility, and a goal for all of them ,to at least try to make it better for the next generation. I used to hear stories from my grandmothers, and my parents, about how rough it was to live in those days, but that they used that part of their growing up, as a goal to make sure that their children would have it easier to survive. Just knowing how bad it was for them, made me want to do ,whatever I could to make the rest of their lives a little better to live. We were not rich in our family in money, but we were rich in love and responsibility and respect. I saw an old friend the other day, who said that he reads each of my articles, and that I tell it like it really was. This man was one of my dad's best friends and was always like a second dad to me. As a matter of fact, I got my first real bike from this man, and I always will treasure my friendship with Ray Bassett. This man ,like my father, grew up working as many hours that he could to keep his family fed and warm. He did one heck of a job, just like my dad did. I have always said that each and everyone of us, are brothers and sisters, and that love for your fellow man is one of the gifts from Heaven.

As I look as life today, I ask myself, if I did a good job of raising my family. I was blessed to meet and marry a great lady named Ramona, and she blessed me with two beautiful daughters, Deborah and Patricia. We lost Patricia to cancer at the age of thirty-four, and during the five months that she was sick, she and I had a lot of good talks. Patty like to talk about when she was little ,and she got to play with Debbie, Ramona and me. She told me one night that she wanted to say something, but didn't want to hurt my feelings. I told her that anything she would say, would never change my love for her. She told me that Mommie was always there for her, and her sister, taking care of all their needs, and giving them all her love. But Daddy wasn't there much, but she knew that the reason for that, was because I had to work as many hours possible, to make ends meet. This sort of threw me back a little, but then she said, "I love you Daddy", and those words live in my heart to this day. So always remember that a mother and child are as close to each other, as God is to his children. A father earns his love from his family through his dedication to his family, and to his job.

My other daughter, Deborah, is just like her sister in that she knows that Dad and Mom love her very much. And we are very proud of Deborah, because she has good work ethics, and she always treats others with respect. Whenever that times comes , when Mom and Dad are gone, I won't have to worry about her making it in life. She truly is one great lady in our life. Both of these great ladies were raised with discipline and responsibilty, and they both always showed respect for us, and all the rest of the family. So in reality , I guess that Ramona and I did a good job of raising our children, and instilling in them ,that life is what you make it to be. If you want to be respected, you showed respect. If you wanted to be treated right, first you had to treat others right.

tab As I stated earlier in this article, I get lots of feedback from many readers who enjoy my writings, and they say that I have a gift, that isn't seen anymore in the newspapers. They say that reading my words , makes it seem like I am right there talking to them in person. They feel comfortable while reading my words, and they bring back a lot of memories to them, about how it was to live back then. Some have stated that because of my articles, their children listen to them more, because someone else beside them, verifies that the old days were rough, yet fruitful, and that things are a lot easier for them now. That makes me happy, because that is what I am trying to do. I want to make sure that everyone knows ,about how it was ,compared to how it is ,and how it will be. The future can change, but the past never does. How we live today tells us how we will live tomorrow.

I recieved some letters, that I need to reply to, and I had some phone calls from readers, who either wanted to thank me, or to tell me about what they had to do to make it back then. I welcome all the letters, and I will try to get back with each one as soon as possible. But, you as a reader, needs to let the Tribune know that you want to continue to read my writings, so that they can let me know how often they want an article. I love to write and I love to know that it helps others. The Tribune has been very good in printing my articles, and through them, I am reaching out to all of you, so that we, as a whole, can enjoy each other. After all, we are all brothers and sisters, and as a family we can sit together and relive the old days. We also will build a future, that never forgets the past, because without the past, we have no future.

What I try to do with my thoughts , is to send them out to you , the reader, to trigger up your own memories, of how it was to live in a world without all the assets of today. Many times the memories are of sad times, when it looked like you would never succeed in raising a family, with none of the needed resources in sight. But then, there was that someone out there ,who was willing to share with you ,their good fortune, and without them, you might of given up. More times than most , there was just the feeling of closeness of all the family members , that would get you through. Yes, I say to you , that without the friendship of others and the solid backbone of the family, we might not of made it to this present time. Back in the old days, a friend was just that. He or she was always there to help. And to this day, those that are still alive, would be right there for you, anytime they were needed.

We were truly blessed to have come from that part of time when love of your fellow man was part of life. Yes, there were wars, but they were between countries, that were run by evil people, and we as Americans, were there to help those people do away with their evil tyrants. To this day, there are still those who want to rule over others, but with love for our fellow man, here in America, and other countries, we will always be safe and secure, because we, as a group, will drive down oppression to it's lowly depths of hell.

So I say to you once again, remember the past, live in the present, and hope for a great future. Remember that the youth, that we train today, will be the leaders of tomorrow. Re-inforce in them good family values, respect of others, responsibility, and devotion to The Great father. Our future is in their hands. Their future is in our hands.

Ray "Uncle Ray" Day