Does anyone remember when?...

[The Great Owl]

I'm a young guy and I feel like the book 1984. It's like I have a "defective memory" or perhaps I'm and "old-thinker". Who controlls the past controlls the future and who controlls the present controlls the past. It's like history is being re-written before my eyes and the "newspeak" is destroying old words and bastardizing new ones to the point where one cannot even communicate certain ideas.

Anyway, these questions are only partly tongue in cheek, and any real insight would be appreciated.

Does anyone remember when?

1. Does anyone remember when they changed the dollar sign? I seem to recall it used to have two slashes through the S (abbreviated US for United States). Is this an effort to save time/ink? Something more devious? What is even the official line? When is the last time anyone found a proper dollar sign out there?

2. Does anyone remember when Public servents turned into "officials" and "authorities"? I seem to recall a lot more people on the public dole used to be called public servents... When did the servents usurp the masters?

3. Does anyone remember when the United States was a Republic? I seem to recal that America used to be "the republic"...well before the pledge of alliegence was politically incorrect. Now it seems that we need to install "democracy" around the world, and we have "democracy" here. What happened to the Republic? (for the layman, democracy is mob rule where the masses vote for their "Rulers/Tyrants/Kings/etc. Republic is rule of LAW where all men are soveriegns (Kings) and they hire servents to take care of their chores and protect their liberty....When did the words Democracy and Republic become interchangeable? Are there even different definitions in the latest newspeak dictionary?

4. Does anyone remember when Autism and ADD happened? I Graduated High school in 1991, and out of about 1500 people in my high school, there wasn't one person who ever had either of these problems.

5. Does anyone remember when Inalienable Rights given by our creator became "civil rights" given by the state? (this one is a little before my time...I had to do some college level historical reading to realize that rights were different from privelidges).... What happened? When? Why didn't anyone say anything?

6. Does anyone remember when people didn't buy things they couldn't afford? (also before my time, but my grandparents and many in their generation tell tales of how they used to save until they could buy things, and if they didn't have the cash on hand, they did without) When I did sales I met many people in their 70's and 80's that had no credit history whatsoever. These days, you can't rent a car or a hotel room or even order a book in the mail without a credit card.

7. Does anyone remember when it was OK to say the word God on TV/radio and not OK to say the word ****?

I could go on, but it's late. Just a few things I've been pondering, perhaps people who have been watching the show for longer than I could shed more light on a few of these. I'm sure you all could come up with a dozen more.

Most people go about their business and don't even think about these things...I suspect that's not by accident either. I don't think we're supposed to notice, and I KNOW we're not supposed to ask questions.

Have some fun with this.

[wisper]

I remember quite a bit. When you said you graduated in 1991, I chuckled to myself. We just had our 50th high school reunion in July! Back when I was a pre-schooler things were really different, and by the way, I have lots of memories from age 1 to age 5!
Seems like none of us had any money, and we lived in tiny towns (these kinds of things are relative. If you liked movies,you liked cowboys and indians. But you had to come up with the 3 to 5 cents to get in. If you were well off you could get a huge loolipop and popcorn, but that would cost as much as the movie ( we always took snacks from home or went with out). In my first 5 years we moved from Deadwood S.Dak. and travelled to Penna, NY, and ended up in Seattle, because we and every one else were looking to make livings away from the crowded agricultural job market. We all had a strong feeling that FDR was part *god*, and my memory says this is not exageration.
It seems like all the people in the world were following us, to the smoke stacks of the ship yard and and other industrial plants.These were the choices of the parents and g-parents. My folks didn't want anything to do with the mines. Some of the folks were comin from different states, some from the ccc projects, and many from other nations. It was a big deal to see the first colored folks and the orientals and to hear foreign languages. Dad went to the ship yards and mom (who was a college grad nurse, went to Boeing A rosie riveter).
I do remember the newspapers Weekend only) and the huge headlines about those dirty rotten Japs and Krouts ( I always thought Moussalini was German!
We heard some news atthe movies and of course we had Walter Winchel on the AM radio ( Saturday nights). I remember all of us gathered around the radio, for news and entertainment. There were three newspapers in Seattle and I can remember when the papers all over the land were merged and consolidated. The biggest political thing was the Pres on the radio and the signs up and down the streets and highway(singular). The signs were everywhere including the schools. Victory gardens, bonds and Uncle Sam wants you! We had a Hupmobile we brought out from SD and I recall gas was rationed so there wasn't much driving (but a lot of walking). The real transportation problem was flat tires. They weren't andy good a we'd watch dad change the tires and fix the intertubes several times on each little 5-10 mile trip We had rationing of just about everything and we got ration coupons from uncle sam. Everyone smoked-Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Camels or Chesterfields. Whatever the Uncle Sam signs said, or Walter Winchel reported, seemed to be the right way to go. We said the pledge of alleigance every morning, but there just wasn't any religion or political stuff. I'll share some more later!

[scottinalaska]

Thanks Wisper,

I enjoyed that. Especially how everyone figured FDR was godlike and how the other nations wanted to be like us and how dad patched the tubes on every trip. I have been told that a Hupmobile can be seen on the back of the old ten dollar bill in front of the Treasury building. Check it out!

scottinalaska

[Livefire]

Wisper,

Those stories are awesome and more important than you think! Some definate things we can learn from them.

[The Great Owl]

Truly. Thanks! We can learn a lot from history...real history, and I'd love to hear from the perspective of someone who has seen this stuff happen.

[idknow]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'm a young guy and I feel like the book 1984. It's like I have a "defective memory" or perhaps I'm and "old-thinker". Who controlls the past controlls the future and who controlls the present controlls the past. It's like history is being re-written before my eyes and the "newspeak" is destroying old words and bastardizing new ones to the point where one cannot even communicate certain ideas.

Anyway, these questions are only partly tongue in cheek, and any real insight would be appreciated.

Does anyone remember when?

1. Does anyone remember when they changed the dollar sign? I seem to recall it used to have two slashes through the S (abbreviated US for United States). Is this an effort to save time/ink? Something more devious? What is even the official line? When is the last time anyone found a proper dollar sign out there?

2. Does anyone remember when Public servents turned into "officials" and "authorities"? I seem to recall a lot more people on the public dole used to be called public servents... When did the servents usurp the masters?

3. Does anyone remember when the United States was a Republic? I seem to recal that America used to be "the republic"...well before the pledge of alliegence was politically incorrect. Now it seems that we need to install "democracy" around the world, and we have "democracy" here. What happened to the Republic? (for the layman, democracy is mob rule where the masses vote for their "Rulers/Tyrants/Kings/etc. Republic is rule of LAW where all men are soveriegns (Kings) and they hire servents to take care of their chores and protect their liberty....When did the words Democracy and Republic become interchangeable? Are there even different definitions in the latest newspeak dictionary?

4. Does anyone remember when Autism and ADD happened? I Graduated High school in 1991, and out of about 1500 people in my high school, there wasn't one person who ever had either of these problems.

5. Does anyone remember when Inalienable Rights given by our creator became "civil rights" given by the state? (this one is a little before my time...I had to do some college level historical reading to realize that rights were different from privelidges).... What happened? When? Why didn't anyone say anything?

6. Does anyone remember when people didn't buy things they couldn't afford? (also before my time, but my grandparents and many in their generation tell tales of how they used to save until they could buy things, and if they didn't have the cash on hand, they did without) When I did sales I met many people in their 70's and 80's that had no credit history whatsoever. These days, you can't rent a car or a hotel room or even order a book in the mail without a credit card.

7. Does anyone remember when it was OK to say the word God on TV/radio and not OK to say the word ****?

I could go on, but it's late. Just a few things I've been pondering, perhaps people who have been watching the show for longer than I could shed more light on a few of these. I'm sure you all could come up with a dozen more.

Most people go about their business and don't even think about these things...I suspect that's not by accident either. I don't think we're supposed to notice, and I KNOW we're not supposed to ask questions.

Have some fun with this.

--
re hi and hello

1. I remember when the symbol representing money was a capital S with two strokes through it.

2. I remember when civil servants were called public servants.

3. I remember being taught in school that we were a Republic; that we are a nation of laws and not a nation of men (wow, i kvetched when i wrote that; i didn't change it)

4. I remember when being bad in school was just being a Pain In The Ass (PITA), it wasn't a disease; it was children behaving badly.

5. I remember being taught about Un-alien-able Rights. They were so cool -- but alas, Federal Churches don't teach us anymore how to excel. Dear ole Mom and Dad dont usually get involved in one's schooling any more. Mine didnt. Federal churches have abdicated their usurped authority to teach -- It's those people who excelled in school beyond what they were/are taught that become the most dangerous: they become the teachers, either in school or by some public method (books, tv, radio, etc) whether for Glory of God or for the furtherance of the World's new order (which really is just a different facet of God's plan)

6. I remember being told "save your money; wait until you can afford soemthing; don't use credit" -- those days are definately (defiantly) gone. Ce' le vie, such is this life but I have it on Good Authority (TM) that the next one is gonna be perfect!

As for your final paragraph. In America, we are drugged up, dumbed down, trying to navigate rampant revisionism, faulty memory, beset by teachers without love, fidelity or honor; swarms of agents sent out of The District to eat our substance; entrap us with agreements, licenses, taxes, charges (think of going to the store and charging it), bills, receipts, orders, demands, trickery and tacit procuration.

As The Great Man himself, Jesus, said, "let your yes be yes and your no be no."

We are that church sent a letter via John of Patmos, we say we are rich, but we are the poorest of the poor on this third rock from the Sun and we dont know it.

Drowned in debt, lacking resources, but I know a Great, nay, the Greatest God who made all things for us and planned our salvation; otherwise I just might have to seriously end it all, stop the planet and get off.

Wow, now I know why people end their lives - it's quite overwhelming if one doesn't know Our Heavenly Father.

Vaya con Dios, serendipity and rhema. They may look like funny words but they do mean something godly.

Let's all change our minds and seek the most high to get us out of this nonsense.

</tiread>

/s/ idknow, your brother in christ.

[wisper]

When we got settled in Seattle, tha war was going strong in Europe and in the Pacific. The Gov. built projects in the industrial cities for all the defence industry employees. We had a nice 3 bdrm , but as they continued to build they stopped building stand alones and went to duplex and triplex structures, we were kucky, but our rent was alittle higher. We paid $25 a month. Our heat, hot water and cooking was all coal. Of course we had wood too, especially to get the coal going. There were typically 4 other families sharing the phone circuit. We each had our own ring, of course the phone was always busy and the operator lady was constantly there telling people to get off! Our phone # was AV (for Avalon)6961. I remember this, addresses, and all kinds of trivia.
The 1st grade for me was in a brand new school, all part of the War Dept. efforts. We had to have shades pulled at night, and many of the areas had huge blimps flyingfor protection. The air raid wardens would raise hell if a window shade wasn't pulled! There was elaborate camaflage at Boeing, the ship yards, Ft. Lewis, and other areas and places. The big Boeing plants in South Seattle were camaflared with a city, homes cars and pedestrians. I still remember the detail. All the church yards overlooking the valley had anti-aircraft guns. They were always manned by civilians when they had drills. I don't know why, but they were always on Catholic church property.
My dad was a clarinet and sax player, and was in Aries #1 lodge band of the Eagles. I will never forget when FDR died. At school most of us kids cried, sympathy tears I guess, because everybody cried for days. Churchill spoke on our radio sessions, till Truman got situated.

The only thing I remember about Truman was that almost weekly Truman would threaten a newspaper reporter for talking about Margaret, his daughter. We got to listen to Margaret play piano on the radio! I remember that so well because she usurped the time slot of the serials we listened to ( Green Hornet, Batman, Cisco Kid et.al.)

The war end in Europe was a time to remember. Dad and several of our musician neighbors played in the street in front of our house. Then the news was all Japan and the Phillipines and all the Pacific Islands. I remember all the adults saying Gen. MacArthur was going to take over for Truman, then we heard Truman fired Mac. Weall were aware of something special going on in Hanford, just over the Cascade mountaqins from Seattle. Hiroshima and Nagasacki (?) ended the mystery, but, the war was over and the country went crazy.

I was in the grade school band (claranet) and at a PTA meeting where we were the entertainment, aCatholic priest asked to address the parents and teachers. He proceeded to chew out all the catholics for not having their kids in the Catholic school- the guy had b--nerve. That night I found out we were Catholics, my mom was a marriage convert, was touched with guilt and I started Catholic school in the 6th grade. My teacher was Sister Rose Mari. I thought it was gonna be great to get away from the other school because Mr. Ames, the principle would publicly spank the guys who got in trouble, the bullies and sometimes the innocent when the kids wouldn't fess-up. I learned quick that the Sisters of Charity were tough and when they called them, so were the priests. I was in shock in the new school. They were so far ahead of where we were in all the subjects. We had to take catechism with the first graders so we could get our first communion. It was all so very different and I was in awe. In the environment I had just left, I don't think many kids got past fourth grade, still virgin It was no big deal either, but now I was amongst kids who knew prayers, about mortal and venial sins and about HELL!

I have a bunch to do in the morning early, so I gotta say goodnight!

So many memories. So many changes. But according to the world outside my window, life was never like I remember or experienced it.

Hell, I remember when kids were taught and encouraged to talk to strangers. Now, of course, strangers are seen as vile, disgusting creatures who want to engage in "bad touching." And we're wondering why young people are usually rude and obnoxious, totally self-absorbed with no consideration of others?

At the same time, however, "strangers" who are agents for BB, in all of its many forms, are said to be okay.

So, the only thing I can do is check under my bed each night to make sure "they" haven't put a pod under there....

Randy