Ah! the Good Old Days!

Oft we hear that trite, well-worn phrase, "Oh! How I long for those good old days!" I admit at times I pine for those days and reminisce, Comparing costs then and now and other things I miss. You could fill your Studebaker's tank for about a dollar. If gas exceeded nineteen cents a gallon, my how folks would holler! Fifteen cents would buy a triple crowned ice cream cone, And you didn't pay outrageous surcharges for a telephone! Mr. Sears would send stuff to build a house for a thousand bucks, Or, for about a thousand more, a splendid beauty far more deluxe! A car cost about six-hundred bucks if bought from Mr. Ford, Some with a rumble seat and of course a standard running board! You'd pay ten bucks for weekly grub, more than you could tote, And for five bucks, provide each of the kids with a winter coat. For a nickel a Clark or Power House candy bar could be had. A quarter would get you to a movie, with popcorn, I might add! Alas, the cost of living will surely rise for each coming generation. Fellers smarter than I blame it on something called inflation! Years from now the grandkids will look back and tearfully recall, That the house we paid twenty-thousand for wasn't bad at all! Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired (© All Rights Reserved)