"A Tale of Two Cities"

I grew up on the outskirts of Wayne County. It's a small little town full of curious people. These were the folks that you would see at all the town events. They wanted to know everything about anyone that was moving in the area. "The Center Street Jams" brought us all out for music and fun. The parades brought us out for competition among high schools. The football games were for everyone.

We would have pep rallies on Fridays before the games. My friends and I would remain afterschool for those games. We wanted to see who the other players where from the other schools. We were super excited because some of the kids that had graduate before us would be there. This was the only time we felt like we had our own independence as juniors in high school. We knew in a couple of years; we would be grownups.

Back then, when stone wash jeans and overalls was a fashion statement. We all wanted a pair of patent leather shoes' We would roll up our pants legs just to show style. Those shoes looked like universal Sunday shoes for all. Some of us had the chance to work afterschool. It felt good to be able to earn money to buy your own clothes. Saturday nights were the movie nights for all teenagers. Some had dates and some were dumped before Saturday.

This was a way of testing out new relationships with others. You could be going steady for two weeks and then by next Friday it was time to move on. Some of us got over it and some of us got even.

The cutest couples would wear the same T-shirts to signify that they were dating. To see the guys walking the girls to class was cute and sometimes a little envious. If these chicks were never friends, then some of these relationships became a problem.

The afterschool dances told on everyone. Being able to hang out and not worry about curfew was the thing. On Friday nights the school dance gave us a chance to whine down. At least that what the teacher thought. We would pay eight bucks at the entrance just to see who was coming with who. Being able to show off the latest moves was no longer a thing back then.

Now in the present day, we all have turned into our parents. We have kids of our own and they say we have no style. The generation now, is what I call the 2000's generational babies. They have more of a chance to endure technology than we did. The pay phones and pagers have been replaced with personal cell phones. Now the big thing is about what type of phone you have.

If you don't have an I phone than you are not cool. My daughter tells me I don't have any swag and she doesn't believe that I have any friends. Little do she know I may have been one of the coolest kids on the block. I did almost the same thing she did only we did it better. Same high school just different era, the only difference is I rode the bus to school. These kids now get car rides to the front door.

The bus was full of laugher and pencil fights. We were the loudest kids on the bus. These generational kids have the knowledge to take an appt and catch a ride to school. The appt. is called "Catch Mom or Dad to school". They have their own personal Uber Driver for free. No gas, and a their very own GPS for instructions. I think Google and You tube does all the parenting now. I see some of the kids texting while walking to the door. They now have a third eye on their forehead to help them text while walk.

If texting was a course of study, then they all would pass. This is the most popular thing to do now. Even in church you can pull up your Bible on the phone. Since when we stopped carrying Bibles to church. Traditionally, the pastor would stand at the post and read the scriptures. Now today, the scriptures also will show up on the flat screen.

Tales of two cities, we share the same place just different eras of time. The growth of technology has allowed us to live easier. We can do almost everything through an appt. You can order a whole meal, and someone will bring it to you. I remember when we use to order pizza by home phone. The excitement of the driver ringing the doorbell was good enough.

We now order pizza online supposedly for cheaper deals. You can order and pay through the appt. The driver will leave it at the door. We call it "Contactless delivery". Well maybe the part about the driver bringing it out haven't change as much. The only difference now, is that you don't see how cute the driver is.

Times have change and we are all changing with time. Some things like gas purchase and groceries have become more expensive. You used to be able to go in the store and put ten dollars on five. You still would be able to buy a drink and a bag of chips. In other words, twenty dollars went far in the store when I was coming up. Now you have to put twenty on five and take another twenty and buy drinks and snacks.

The cars are now hybrid to where you can plug one up and travel on a certain number of hours. Or some of the cars cut off at the light as you put your foot on the break. This is one of the ways that the economy is learning how to conserve energy. The cost of energy is very expensive now. This is due to decision that are being made in Congress. Therefore, the cost of living now compared to back then is going up. This is my version of "A Tale of Two Cities".