History

There's an old saw says that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. Personally, I find history fascinating. Not so much the battles, dates, rebellions, conquests, elections, assassinations and explosions, but more the little things. What people wore, ate, learned, and maybe, felt. The "big" history is made up of many little stories and histories of individual families.

If you have a chance, ask your parents and grandparents about the stories their parents and grandparents told them. Not all of us have that opportunity. I knew only one grandparent, and she died when I was four. There are a lot of questions I still have for my parents, but they are no longer here to ask. I know both grandmother's maiden names, but that's as far back as I can go. I will never know why my mother refused to sleep in anything green.

Mom did tell me some stories, a few of which I've shared with you, of WWII, or at least her little bit of it.

All of history is people. Their lives, their stories. Their attitudes and beliefs. And I know enough of my own life to know how such things can be influenced by what I had for dinner, how my shoes feel, and whether I have a toothache.

Before I started reading about history in terms of individual lives, I used to think I'd like to live in Elizabethan England, or Medieval Europe. HA! Nice times to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there! Flush toilets and antibiotics are wonderful things, in my opinion. So are flea spray and vitamin C. Not to mention shoes that actually fit, anesthesia, and shampoo. But, I digress.

Nowadays, we expect to be comfortable all the time. If we get a bit too hot or too cold, we nudge the thermostat. If we have a headache, we take a pill. If we get sick, we go to a doctor, with every expectation that he can make us feel better. Hungry? Pop something in the microwave. Thirsty? Get something nice and cold out of the fridge. Leftovers? Throw them away. These feelings of control are the product of generations of effort. There was no penicillin until WWII. Even when I was a child, many diseases were considered inevitable, like measles and chicken pox. I had scarlet fever. Who gets scarlet fever in this day and age?

Our ancestors accepted the probability that some of their children would not survive. They knew that their teeth would be gone by the time they were 50. They expected bunions, sciatica, lumbago and the rheumatiz. They would be cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Twenty miles was a long way to go. Owning two pairs of shoes was a sure sign of profligacy.

The proverbs they used to teach reflected their lives.

A stitch in time saves nine.
Too many cooks spoil the broth.
Spare the rod and spoil the child.
If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.
Beauty knows no pain.

A lot of young people have never heard these old sayings. Not everybody sews, or cooks. Discipline is no longer administered with a "rod." Few people have horses, and it doesn't hurt to beautify.

Our attitudes have changed, along with our experiences. We expect to have a lot more control over our lives than our ancestors did.

For some reason, I think Life is going to throw us a curve ball in the not-too-distant future.