The Good Old Days

The other day when I was cleaning out the closet I found two insurance policies that my parents bought when I was 7 and 11. The weekly premium was $0.15 and $0.33 and the value was $216 and $500. Since they had to make payments weekly, I can only imagine what a struggle it was for them.

This has me appreciate the struggles they must have had. My mother stayed at home until I was about 11 while my father probably made no more than $35.00/week. Still, they were able to give my brother and me good private school educations which prepared us for our future.

When I'm tempted to complain about the high prices of gas, I should remember to be thankful that I have a car and can travel wherever I want. My parents couldn't afford a car, we used mass transit to visit family. Those visits to Staten Island or Manhattan or the Bronx were only about two or three times a year.

Tell me again, what was so great about "the good old days".