By now the Christmas songs have been stashed away, the turkey and trimmings are just a fond memory, and all those new gifts have been carefully put away and many are likely in need of new batteries all ready. Our holiday decorations will soon be neatly stored in labelled boxes to gather dust for another 11 ½ months, and what we can now look forward to is following a host of resolutions, likely a cold January, and the arrival of our credit card statements and 2009 income tax envelopes.
On that note there really is no need to be glum, as many of the new opinion polls are rather cautiously suggesting that the majority of Canadians are upbeat about the coming year and will be heading into 2009 in an optimistic mood. They also stress that no matter what, we should celebrate our accomplishments and set new goals together; while placing priorities to the top of the list that need to include: family status, financial and career planning, health, volunteering, exercise, activities, and friends. With these challenges in mind, I would like to pass on some of these delightful comments that were made when proud Canadians were contemplating what was ahead of them for the year 1955, and that was only 53 years ago.
Anyone remember any of this?
1.‘I’ll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it’s going to be impossible to buy a week’s groceries for $20!’
2.‘Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won’t be long before $2,000 will only buy a used one.’
3.‘If cigarettes keep going up in price, I’m going to quit. A quarter a pack is ridiculous.’
4.‘Did you hear that the post office is thinking about charging a dime just to mail a letter?’
5.‘If they raise the minimum wage to $1 an hour nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store.’
6.‘When I first started driving, who would have thought that gas would someday cost 29 cents a gallon. Guess we’d be better off leaving the car in the garage and using our bikes?’
7.‘Kids today are impossible. Those ducktail haircuts make it impossible to stay groomed. The next thing you know the boys will be wearing their hair as long as the girls, they will be asking to borrow the family car, and 25 cents a week allowance won’t be enough!’
8.‘I’m afraid to send my kids to the movies any more. Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying damn in Gone with the Wind, it seems that every new film has either hell or damn in it.’
9.‘I read the other day where some scientist thinks it’s possible to put a man on the moon by the end of the century. They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down in Texas….’
10.‘Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball? It wouldn’t surprise me if someday they’ll be making more money than the President.’
11.‘I never thought I’d see the day that all of our kitchen appliances would be electric. They are even making electric typewriters now.’
12.‘It’s too bad that things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet.’
13.‘It won’t be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone to watch their kids so that they can both work.’
14.‘Marriage doesn’t seem to mean a thing any more. Those Hollywood stars seem to be getting divorced at the drop of a hat, and they don’t last long enough to even get serious!’
15.‘I’m afraid that the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business.’
16.‘Thank goodness I won’t live long enough to see the day when the government takes half of our income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to the Parliament?’
17.‘The drive-in restaurant is very convenient in nice weather, but I seriously doubt that this new business fad will ever catch on!’
18.‘There is no sense going to Calgary or Banff any more for a weekend. It now costs nearly $15 a night to stay in a hotel.’
19.‘Absolutely no one can afford to be sick any more. At $35 a day to stay in the hospital it’s too rich for my blood!’
20.‘If they think I’ll pay 50 cents for a haircut forget it. I’ll go back to the old way that mom and dad used to do it, because no matter how bad it looks, it all grows back in a few weeks!’
I really don’t think that this line of questioning and comments has changed much over the years. They have just become a whole lot more complicated and expensive? Please make this column available to your children and grandchildren, and have a great week, all of you!