02/10/2023
I was born in Trinidad (& Tobago). I never once thought I was raised by a low income family during a time when most everyone treated each other with respect. We didn't eat a lot of fast food because it was considered a treat, not a food group. We drank juice made from limes, lemons, guava, cherries, soursop, barbadine, most fruits that came from our back yards and water from our kitchen sink and with real sugar added. We ate cheese sandwiches, or even tuna (which was in a can not a pouch), jam sandwiches, hot dogs, doubles and aloo pies, but mostly homemade meals consisting of rice, provision, bakes, meat, potatoes, vegetables, bread, butter, and homemade dessert.
We grew up during a time when we cut the lawns, pulled weeds, went in the garden, helped neighbors with chores to be able to earn our own money.
We went outside a lot to play games, football, basketball, fish, swim, ride bikes, hiking, river lime, run with friends & played hide and seek. We drank tap water from the water hose outside... bottled water was unheard of. If we had a coke -it was in a glass bottle ... and we didnβt break the bottle when finished β¦
We watched TV shows like The Jeffersonβs, Alf, Different Strokes, Full House, Gilligan's Island, Happy Days, The Brady Bunch,, Looney Tunes, The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Dukes of Hazzard, Gargoyles, Tom & Jerry, P***y Brewster..... After school, we came home and did homework and chores, before going outside or having friends over. We would ride our bikes for hours. We had to tell our parents where we were going, who we were going with, and be home when the street lights came on or when we heard our parents whistle! οΏΌ
You LEARNED from your parents instead of disrespecting them, and treating them as if they knew absolutely nothing. What they said was LAW, and you did not question it, and you had better know it!!!
In school we stood for the National Anthem, and listened to our teachers.
We watched what we said around our elders because we knew if we DISRESPECTED any grown-up we would get our behinds whipped, it wasn't called abuse, it was called discipline! We held doors, carried groceries, and gave up our seat for an older person without being asked. You didn't hear curse words on the radio in songs or TV, and if you cursed and got caught you got a cut-arse.
βPlease, Thank you, yes please, no thank you, yes ma'am, no ma'am yes sir, and no sir were part of our daily vocabulary!
The world we live in now is just so full of crooked people, hate and disrespect for others
Re-post if you're thankful for your childhood. I will never forget where I came from and only wish children nowadays had half the chance at the fun and respect for real life we grew up in.
