By Dr. Curtis Varnell
Regardless of the manipulations I attempted, the cell phone refused to work. In a virtual panic, I wondered how I would find my way to an unfamiliar place, call for help if I broke down, or even find a place to eat. A few moments of reflection allowed me to calm down and even laugh at my worries. As a child, no one had a mobile phone and few even had the old dial phones that now serve as antiques. We shared a party line with four other families. For those unfamiliar with that, all of us could (and many did) listen in on every conversation conducted in the neighborhood. To make a call, you had to wait your turn and, if you wanted long distance which was often only a dozen miles from your home, you had to go through an operator.
So many changes in so short a time!!! As a child, going out meant possibly a one time a week travel to the county seat. Shopping was done by visiting many stores along main street; each catering to a particular need. We had OTASCO and Western Auto for hardware and general supplies, Sterling’s and Ben Franklins for general household and family needs, and then various family-owned stores for groceries, clothing, and shoes. Real entertainment might involve spending a quarter at the local theater or stopping for a hamburger at a mom and pop diner.
Sundays were church days and, whether you attended church or not, they were observed as days of rest. Blue Sunday laws passed by the state resulted in restaurants, stores, and business being closed. Alcohol, plentiful during the week, was not available on Sundays anywhere and was not sold at any time in restaurants or stores.
At school, dress codes were strictly enforced. Girls were required dresses until I was in high school. Due to the influx of the mini skirt, schools decided it might be more modest to simply allow girls to wear pants suits but the blouse had to be long enough to be grasped in the hand while the arm was fully extended. On the other hand, we often brought our guns to school to redo the stocks and to blue the barrels. Enforcement of rules, more often than not, resulted in getting three licks on the backside with a wooden paddle.
On a recent visit to my brother’s home in Oklahoma, he noted that five years ago his small hometown had two taverns. Today, it has no tavern’s but five medical marijuana stores. Growing up during the “hippie” generation, that was unheard of. Grown illegally throughout Western Arkansas, the local police spent hours and hours locating it and arresting the felons; many whom spent years in jail. One of the funnier stories of my childhood involved a relative raising pot illegally in his garden between rows of corn. His elderly but kind-hearted neighbor thought Jack was raising tomatoes. Visiting in the local store, he exclaimed, “that Jack is a good guy but he can’t raise a garden at all. He has tomato plants six feet tall and nary a tomato on them. I felt sorry for him and took him a peck over this morning.”
A few other observations: Schools and Boys Clubs did not play sports on Wednesday night, speed limits were 60 mph., television consisted of two channels, and downtown areas were alive.
I am not sure if I own a cell phone or if it owns me but it’s still not cooperating. Reflection has reminded me that change, whether we view them as positive or negative, is inevitable and we will survive.
