April 2025, I am sitting at the Florida airport, waiting for my flight. I look around at how things have changed since I first traveled as a young child: the signs about firearms, the bag searches, and the X-ray machine. I remember when you could have someone go to the gate, kiss you goodbye, and watch your plane take off.
Every place I go to recently, I'm taken back to a time when I reflect on a specific time in my life.
When I passed Notre Dame High School, many memories flooded my mind. The first thing is the uniforms. When I went to school, I told my granddaughter that you had to kneel and make sure your skirt touched the floor, as I was folding her very short uniform skirt.
We connected with our friends in high school by walking and talking in the hallway. There was an origami folding puzzle we enjoyed -- sometimes referred to as a Cootie Catcher. I remember writing a note in religion class to one of my friends to have the teacher retrieve it from me, read it to the class, and post it on the bulletin board. That was our texting.
If you wanted to make a phone call, you waited at home for your phone to be free. The phone was attached to the wall with a very long cord. We had a time limit on the phone. On just about every corner, there was a pay phone. When I think about using them, I cringe at how dirty they are now.
I am unsure where the kids hang out today, but we hung out at Critics Ice Cream Parlor or Kustas Soda Fountain. If you were lucky to get a booth at Critics, you had your jukebox attached to the wall to play your favorite songs.
There was no such thing as Amazon. We had beautiful stores lining our Main Street. Anything you needed, you could find on Main Street. As a young girl, you would go to C.L. Carrs, Scott and Bean, and Alexanders to see the latest styles in girls' clothing.
I only remember one person with a car in high school. The vehicle was called Captain America. We were all very fit because we walked to every place we wanted to go. On weekends, you would go to the movies at Mancuso Theater or Dipson Theater to see the latest movie. Now, you can watch hundreds of movies and television shows streaming on your flat-screen TV, phone, tablet, or computer. In my day, TV shows were in black and white, your TV set was in a cabinet, and the first remote I remember had a cord attached to the TV, allowing you to turn the TV on and off and adjust the volume. In our house, that remote was only used by our dad.
The stores were not open on Sundays, and Sundays were for church. It was a family day. One corner store might be open for that emergency loaf of bread or milk.
I try to explain to our grandchildren what it was like back in our day. I'm not sure they're interested, but when they're in their 70s, they'll try to share more about their past. I know our parents did, and I would give anything to hear one of their stories today.
