FROM THE 5O'S TO THE PRESENT

I graduated from Greenwood High School in Springfield, MO in 1952. Those years in high school were filled with fun, learning, sports, and dating. It was a very safe time. When I was in the first grade, my mother let me ride my bicycle to school, a distance of a few miles (I was tempted to say five miles, but I know it wasn't that far). Traffic back then did not resemble what it is today, so it was pretty safe. We never worried about some pervert kidnapping you off the street.

Springfield was a quiet city of some 70,000 residents at that time. We rode our bicycles everywhere. When we had a baseball game at Memorial Stadium, we knew we would ride down a long hill on the way to the stadium. That also meant we would have to ride up the hill on the way home.

The choir at Greenwood practiced two days a week. We always had Christian music to sing and I never gave it a thought that my friend, Maynard Ginsburg who was Jewish, could have a problem with the lyrics of the music. At Christmas, we would roll the piano out in the hall by the stairs and sing Christmas Carols at noon for at least two weeks.

Sports at Greenwood were a great experience. We had football, basketball, track, golf and tennis. Sadly, no sports for girls, although we had some girls who could run fast and hit a softball a long way. I participated in football, basketball, track, and tennis. We had great football teams, fair basketball teams, and great track teams. We were a close-knit group of young people who established some life-long friendships.

Today, Springfield is a city of about 180,000 residents and after my father died in 1998, I walked downtown and for the first time in my life felt a little unsafe. I had been on the square in Springfield hundreds of times and never felt unsafe. But 1998 was far different from 1952. What is the difference? We know there is much more crime today. There are more homeless people, and it appears that there are a lot more people living on the dark side of life.

In many ways, life today is much better with all the gimmicks that are at our disposal. The Christian message continues to be heralded around the world, but there is a lack of respect in our nation and for our people. I hated the democrats who were Bush bashers. I happen to think George W. Bush is a very good man. I hate it when the republicans start throwing rocks at Barack Obama. He is the President of the United States and I honor him for that.

Wouldn't it be special if somehow we could bring some of the good attitudes of the 50's into the 21st century and combine those good attitudes with the good things of today? Children could ride their bikes to school, black kids and white kids would just be kids together having fun. Sounds like the United States of America.