Perspectives – Sam’s Perspective: Life Lessons

Hello, I’m Sam Jones. Remembering back several years, it seems life lessons were easier to come by, than they are today. Fewer distractions. And too, everybody in the family was willing to act as a teacher of sorts, passing on things they’d learned when they were growing up. They blamed Herbert Hoover for the great depression since he was President at the time. And Franklin Roosevelt was given credit for ending it and putting people back to work cause he was President at the time. There were those who didn’t like either president, and those who did, but the two things they all shared was, they voted and they listened to the radio. Since all of them had survived the Great Depression and later rationing during World War II, they also shared a ‘make do’ attitude.
My Grandparents on both sides had gardens and chickens, which provided fresh produce and eggs all the time and fried chicken on Sundays. My Grandaddy on my Mom’s side was a truck driver and taught me how to plant produce, some of which my grandmother would can and the rest would wind up on the dinner table.
He also taught me how to use a hammer, a saw and various tools in his tool box. My Grandad on my Dad’s side reinforced all of that. He and my Grandma had a small mom and pop grocery store. He taught me to cut meat and how to make change by rolling dice on top of a wooden butcher’s block. Most folks today don’t know how to do that, since today’s cash registers tell you how much change to give back. They also taught me other things, for example if you work for someone, give them an honest day’s work for the pay you get. I was listening to the news the other day, a politician was talking about the work he does for the folks back home, in other words the voters that gave him the job. Couldn’t help but wonder where he got his life lessons. Wondered if anyone taught him to use a hammer or a saw or make change or plant onions. About the only thing he could hammer was his message, about how hard he works for the voters. I got the feeling the only thing he could plant was the thought that he could do it better than anybody else. I got the feeling he was headed for a crop failure and didn’t have the since to know it. Apparently, the voters didn’t either. They’d voted for him before.
And that’s my perspective.