Published: July 03, 2009 10:12 pm      

DAY: Why I remember

I was asked by my readers to relate some of my memories of the past. So here goes with what I remember of those wonderful days of my childhood.

Memories are to me as gold was to Midas. As long as I have my memories, and I have the chance to share them with you as part of the older generation to the younger generation, I have my gold.

For many of you, these memories will bring back thoughts of what you went through in the olden days, and how you as a survivor came through it. For the younger generation, there will be thoughts of how much of it is true and how much is just an old man’s version of his life. Believe me, folks, I am a survivor from the days of old that has seen a big change between those days and today.

If the youngsters of today would try to find out about how it was to live back then, they might have a better value of what they have today. The older folk are like a history book, and learning from them can be a big plus in your lives today. Memories are a history of what each person went through in their early lives, and many times the memory is only in that person’s memory bank. Sometimes many of these memories are written in the family Bible, or are on pieces of paper, which are laid to the side only to be found years later by those who are left behind.

Upon reading these notes, you wonder why didn’t they tell you about this? And so that sort of gets you wondering, just how much you don’t know about that person or how hard it was for that loved one to get by.

The best way to know how it was is to ask about it. And you need to know now instead of waiting until we are gone before asking. The history of our government and of famous people has been written for all to read, but the history of those in our personal lives is transmitted to us either by mouth or by some notes scribbled on paper, not knowing if they will ever be read. That is where you as the person of today can make sure that the history of your family lives on.

Thinking back to my days of old, I remember how there were different kinds of great tasting foods in Kokomo. Of course, in my mind, the best cook in the whole world was my mother. And just about everyone else my age will say the same about their mothers. And they should, because each and every one of us had mothers who loved us and took us under their wings, nurtured us, sort of spoiled us with their love, and who personally fixed food that they knew was good for us.

How many times have you gone home to see your mom and dad and gone to the fridge to see if there was some of mom’s good cooking there for you to savor? My mother and father have gone Home, but the memories are still with me. I miss those things that we heard directly from them and their mothers.

Both of our grandmothers lived to the age of 94, and there was a wealth of memories stored in their memory banks. We heard it firsthand when they were around. I wish I knew more about our grandfathers, but they went Home early in our lives.

To live in a time when coal, wood and even corncobs were the source of our heating and cooking needs gives us a better value of our lives today. One day we might have to go back to that system for heat and for cooking. I wonder if today’s youth could accept that. Could be that all of us might have hopes of never doing it.

In today’s world we have found a life of leisure that our parents never had. Thank goodness our parents were strong enough to get through it so we might have it easier in our lives. Bless their wonderful hearts.

• Ray “Uncle Ray” Day is a weekly contributor to the Kokomo Tribune. Contact him at uncleray@earthlink.net or (765) 457-3819.