Born in the Wrong Century?

My husband actually gave me the idea for this one, so.....Thanks J.

We were talking the other day about this and that and the subject came up about how much the world has changed.  It seems like every day I see someone posting on FaceBook about "when I was young we drank out of a garden hose, came home when mom yelled from the porch, got our tails whacked if we failed to use manners...." you get the idea.  Nostalgia is a wonderful thing.

I remember all of that.  And my number one complaint of something that seems to have departed our new world (and a very early death in my opinion) is good manners.  So many children these days, and adults too for that matter) have none.  They don't say "please" or "thank you" or "excuse me".  They speak to their parents and other adults in a disrespectful, hateful tone of voice that I would have been backhanded across the room for using.  It bugs me.  I want to pop them all on the butt (adults included) and tell them to "Mind Your Manners!"  I realize (obviously) that I am in a minority, but still.  Common courtesy isn't so common anymore.

Another thing is some women a few years ago killed chivalry.  They beat it to near death and then suffocated it.  Don't get me wrong, I'm all for equal pay for equal work, but I love it when a man opens a door for me.  And other than my husband, most men don't so that I am pleasantly surprised when it happens.  And I ALWAYS say "Thank you" to them.  I believe in positive reinforcement.

I'm also in the minority in that I don't believe a woman has any place in certain jobs.  A woman has no business being in a combat position - men raised right are too busy trying to protect her than do their own jobs.  A woman has no business being a firefighter, or other dangerous, labor-intensive jobs.  Most of us just don't have the muscle for such things.  Besides, we know we're really the brains of the two sexes, so, Hey, let Men do all the work, and we'll tell them how to do it!  Why did we give up such a good deal?

Another saying on FB lately is "The sexes will never be equal til a woman can walk around with a beer belly and still think she's sexy."  I have to point out that only WOMEN see that as UN-sexy and, frankly, repulsive.  Proof again that we are the brains.  Let them be the brawn.  And we'll remind them to don shirts in public.

I miss the old days.  Teachers aren't allowed to spank kids anymore.  They will at my oldest son's school (thankfully), but I have put my permission in writing and begged them at my youngest son's preschool to at least swat him on the rear when he acts up.  That was 2 years, two directors, three headmasters, and four teachers ago and it still hasn't happened.  *sigh*  It's much harder for me to punish him at home for something he did four hours previously.  I remember being swatted by the closest adult - teacher, family member, parent, or even preacher - if I acted up.  My arm is tired, folks, STEP UP!

Anyway, this is my soapbox.  I could go on, and on, and on.......but I won't.  I'll stop.  This whole subject was discussed between my husband and me and I made the mistake of saying I was born in the wrong century.  Manners aside, my husband convinced me I was wrong with 4 words:  "air conditioning" and "indoor plumbing."

Enough said.  I concede defeat.
He was right and I was wrong.
(Put that in the record book, DH, I put it in writing that you were right.)

I was born in the barely-still-1960s right where I should have been.  Thank you, God, for my a/c, my indoor toilet, hot water, microwave, and television sets.  But would you help my kids learn manners?  I'm trying my best, but they're a mite stubborn.  And, no, sir, I really don't want to discuss which parent might have passed along that personality trait to them.......but if you insist, it was my husband.   :-D