Whatever happened to spare time? When I was in grade school, especially grades 1 and 2, we started our days with the Pledge of Allegiance, roll call, and then show and tell. In my little working class neighborhood, inhabited by European and Asian immigrants, dust bowl refugees, and Mexican-Americans, the past times of the my schoolmates and their families was interesting and wildly varied. Mondays were the most interesting Show and Tell days. As the children lined up to volunteer their experiences, I would settle into my seat with anticipation. The neighborhood families back in those days did so many wonderful and diverse things in their spare time. And the weekend afforded the longest unbroken stretch. The average families of the late 50s and early 60s were doing so many different activities. Even during the week. Besides the myriad civic and church things to do (like sports teams, clubs, groups like the scouts, and brownies, etc), families were out doing things like hiking and fishing, horseback riding, etc. I remember one little girls family would go trekking through the foothills of the Angeles National Forest to collect and identify wild mushrooms. Lots of people pursued hobbies like stamp and coin collecting. One school mate collected all manor of horse dolls, books, and models. And then there were all these leisure activities: like trips to museums, aquariums, zoos, fairs, and expos. Show and Tell kicked ass! My classmates didnt come from wealthy, privileged families. Our families mostly had dads that worked, and moms that stayed home and looked after the house and kids. Things were priced to be withing the reach of our income. I didnt over-volunteer myself for Show and Tell. I usually waited until I had something interesting to offer. I didnt want to waste my chance on something uninteresting. There were a few kids that just wanted to be in the spotlight, and would jump up there every day, just to report that they had shined their shoes. That one poor kid. Well before Christmas, the whole class would be derisively muttering under their breath We know. You shined your shoes. Nowadays, people feel pressure to get a Masters degree just so they can get a job and survive. Too bad. As a society, all were doing these days is performing well on meaningless tests. Were not the ones with the great ideas anymore. When we figure out how to reclaim our spare time again, then well be back on the right track.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 17:13:15 +0000
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