THE GOOD OLD DAYS ~ Well I don't go back quite 100 years but there was a way of life that I really miss. For example on a Friday night in Hudson, Michigan during the late l940's all of the stores in town would be open. You actually knew the names of the owners of the places of business. Eddie's hamburg joint where teenagers would hang out, play the pin ball machine, sip a coke and talk teenage talk. The older folkes might stop into Pete's ice cream parlor. Soda jerk on duty, booths where you could set and enjoy a quite conservation.

My grandmother always liked to get up town early to get a good parking spot where she could sit in the car and watch the people go by, while my grandad would usually go down by Thompsons bank, lean up against the wall and swap tall stories with other grandads. On the main 4 corners the street would be roped off and the high school band would put on a concert which was followed by a dance band. The street dance would usually go on for a couple of hours. At some point during the evening they would roll out a big barrel and have a drawing. Tickets were given whenever you bought something in town and the lucky winner would usually pick up somewhere around 20 to 30 dollars.

On Saturday evenings (usually two or three times a month) my dad would get together with friends in our kitchen and spend the evening playing instruments and singing. When I went to bed, I'd turn on my a.m. radio and listen to a station from New Orleans playing dixieland music until the wee hours.

Last year I drove through Hudson on a Friday night. The streets were empty, not a single store was open. All of the old Mom and Pop stores were gone. You could run a herd of cattle through the middle of town and not worry about anyone being injured. I reckon most folks were at home watching TV or a vidio or sitting at the computer talking about the not so good "good old days".

By the way Amos I didn't take my first shower until I was in high school. We used to take a sponge bath in the kitchen with water heated on the wood stove. I guess there are many things good about the here and now.

Cap't Bob