When long, hot summer days meant just that—long, hot summer days.
When summer vacation meant three glorious months with no school, and children did not return to the classroom until after Labor Day.
When morning devotion was acknowledged before class, and prayer was offered alongside a Bible verse, and the Pledge of Allegiance, no one was offended.
When people trusted that those they elected to public office were men of integrity, honesty, and sound judgment.
When making an honest living was simply what you did, and greed did not determine whether people were treated fairly, because honesty truly was the best policy.
When family meant not only those living under your roof, but the entire neighborhood and beyond, because everyone looked out for one another, and children respected adults, no matter who they were.
When mealtime was family time.
When chores were assigned to build character and responsibility—not to earn an allowance.
When your children were not disciplined, others held you accountable and did not hesitate to correct them on your behalf. Parents did not become angry, curse you out, threaten lawsuits, or encourage their children to be disobedient or disrespectful.
When chivalry was expected, and its absence was frowned upon.
When marriage was something to be proud of, and divorce was rarely heard of.
When dating meant a young man asked permission to court your daughter, and parents expected their daughters to be treated with dignity and respect.
When pulling up in front of the house and honking the horn for your date meant you were scolded—and the date was canceled.
When a date might consist of sitting in the parlor with the parents nearby, relaxing on the front porch swing while holding hands, walking to the neighborhood soda shop to share a root beer float or banana split, or sitting on the hood of a car at the drive-in movie theater.
When running through someone's backyard meant you were playing hide-and-seek—not running from the police after breaking into someone's home.
When standing beneath the streetlight meant you were laughing with friends and perfecting your social and communication skills, not plotting acts of violence.
When the playground was the street in front of your house, and boredom was practically unheard of because there was always something to do.
When it was common to spend the entire day outside riding bicycles or homemade go-karts, jumping rope, playing hopscotch, climbing trees, walking through the woods, building a playhouse beneath the car shelter, or simply exploring the neighborhood.
When doors were left unlocked, and windows remained open so the cool breeze could flow through the house. Air conditioning was not considered a necessity.
When guns were used in the woods to provide food for the family table.
When wood was chopped, stacked, and coal gathered during the fall in preparation for heating the home through the winter.
When many homes were built by the hands of their owners. Sometimes cracks remained between the wooden planks and had to be patched to help keep the house cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
Today we have more, and in many ways life has improved.
Some would say those were the "good old days," while others would disagree.
Every generation has its blessings and its burdens. Life becomes what we choose to make of it.
A house is only as strong as its foundation. Once that foundation is laid, whatever is built upon it will either stand or fall.
Sometimes we must reach back into the past for the very ingredients that shaped who we are and who we have become.
If that recipe is completely lost instead of preserved, what will remain for us to pass on to future generations?
We must honestly examine where we have come from and where we are going.
How will the decisions we make today affect the foundations that were laid so many years ago?
How have they already affected the foundations established through the blood, sweat, and tears of those who labored so faithfully before us?
Will our children be able to carry the torch of truth, justice, righteousness, faith, peace, love, honesty, integrity, hope, and humility?
Will they continue building?
What will be left?
Will they one day look back with nostalgia?
Will those memories bring joy—or become memories they would rather forget?
The choice is ours.
Nostalgia Speaks.
Written by Dr. Patricia Corbitt
July 1, 2013. Revised August 2, 2026
