Goodbye, Summer And Other Things
For the students of Jasper County, the countdown to the first school bell of 2019-2020 has begun. Of course, many of us still think summer doesn’t officially end until Labor Day and that school should start after that holiday. Lots of ideas and things have changed over the years, some even for the good.
Almost 20 years ago, the world, all of us, were on pins and needles waiting for the possible end of the world called Y2K. The news was full of scenarios of IFS. Would we all be sent back a hundred years ago to 1900? Would computers drop all their memories? What a nightmare. As the clocked ticked off to the last second, we took a long breath, but in the end most everything worked.
When was the last time you saw a bowl of sugar cubes on your restaurant table? Does anyone ask one or two cubes anymore? When tea time and teas were afternoon past times, sugar cubes were part of the tradition. And then, sugar became the villain and now we have little pink and yellow paper packages filled with sugar substitutes where those sugar cubes used to linger.
Thank you notes, once a requirement and expected by the gift giver have been replaced by an email or tweet or Instagram. Some of us still write them naming the gift and how useful it will be in our everyday life.
Southern Belles have been known to write thank you notes prior to an event, such as a lunch or dinner at someones house, and when leaving the event deposit it in the mailbox. The ultimate thank you note is to receive a thank you note back for your beautiful thank you note. On that note, there is no end at the end of the thank you note tunnel.
Once upon a time our government told us that we were going to start using the Metric system which most of the world uses. They went so far as to list miles and kilometers on federal highway signs. Well the metric system did slip into our everyday life, on drink bottles and many food containers. Still we try to figure out if 1 liter is a quart or a half gallon. Most of our recipes still will call for a 1/2 teaspoon instead of 2.5 grams.
Video stores have completely been wiped off the face of the earth. FYI video stores were filled with movies on VHS(Vertical Helical Scan) tape enclosed in large, black, plastic rectangular boxes. On special days, you could get a $1 two-day rental. Yep-pee. Now replaced with on-demand movies, 24 hours a day on your television. If you want to see some of those Vertical Helical Scans just come by my house. Oh, yes, you also have to have a VHS player also being slowly wiped off the face of the earth.
At the beginning, we were fondly remembering Summertime gone by and a few more things that have disappeared. Ancient Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, said, “The only thing constant is change.” You know, he may be right.