Sundays Now and Then

Sundays are just another busy day of the week. It seems the only difference is that most people are off work that day and you go to church. Television is loaded with channels and many of them carry news shows regarding the politics of the day. And most of those shows have the host and guests arguing about who said what and what they should be doing. Regardless of what they are saying, our country is in a huge financial crisis, facing threats from radicals and in two wars. And let's face it, the politicians who are supposed to represent the people of this country seem to have lost their way over the years. Our politicians need to get back to the basics and learn to work with each other and stop their childlike ways. After all, don;t they work for us, the people of the United States?

Growing up, Sundays were quiet. Stores were closed including Grocery Stores and Gas Stations. We would get up, go to church and have dinner as a family at home. My mother would always cook a roast, mashed potatoes and gravy every Sunday. Our neighbor, Ed Peterson, would buy the roast and my mother would provide a portion of the Sunday dinner to Ed for him and his elderly parents who all lived next door. Of course, we tired of the roast but we were a poor family and thankful for that roast every week.

After dinner my parents would usually take us for a short ride in our 1955 two tone Ford station wagon. It was a two seater and a family friend, Frank Dolphins, made a third seat as my parents had eight children. We would go to Eppley Airfield to look at the airplanes from the car or go to a park. At home we would play in the yard or walk down to Riverview Park (now the Henry Doorly Zoo) which was free. TV was black and white and had two channels with limited programming so at the time, it did not have a large impact on our lives. If we really needed a food item, Joe's Market, (a small family store attached to the front of their home) would be open and we would get the few essentials we needed. It was expensive but there if you needed it.

As you can tell, Sundays were a very slow, quiet time for families to spend together. At the time I never thought I'd miss those days but now cherish the memories of those Sunday's.