Look through the window of the building; Then & now

The year is 1953, please enter this building of many, at your own risk.

This building is like so many. I wouldn't call it a "ghettto" or "living in the projects," but there are so many buildings, housing so many people, especially with a lot of children. Remember, there was no such things as birth control & so there are so many children running around, mabe even wreaking havoc.

This is right after the 2nd world war. Imagine...dad is still at work at the old factory just a few miles away. He won't be home until at least 7 P.M., while the eldest child, ( 14 yrs old & working at the same factory as dad,) will be home by 5 P.M. unless he chooses to run around with some friends, maybe have some fun, while waiting for dad to get off his shift at work. Sometimes he goes right home, other times, he waits for dad.

Meanwhile, the other five children, ( under age 14,) are just out of school and helping their mom clean the apartment. It seems that's all they do since it's a 3 bedroom apartment, it constantly needs cleaning.

But the younger children are happy since once they're done with the cleaning, they'll be allowed outside to play with all the other children. So they grab whatever they find on the ground and race after one another as if they're in a war themselves. This war is fun to them though since there are so many buildings to hide, to play, to imagine another world.

Mom, inside the apartment is just now getting some food ready to feed their large but hungry family. It's hard because of the food rations of so many items she would love to use. For instance, sugar just was taken off the ration list but not meat. So she looks into the "husband made" pantry, ( there are no refrigerators as of yet,)

She decides on a stew of mainly fresh veggies bought with the little money they have each week to spend. The good news is she has sugar. Sugar with other ingredients on hand, she makes an apple dessert.

She puts the radio on to listen to the newest news on rations, the war and jobs. She's hoping they can move, maybe in a few years to just a single family building, ( meaning instead of 40 apartments, only 15.)

The younger children, still playing outside don't realize the poverty of where they live. They just know it's so much fun. Next, they hear mom calling them in to get washed up and ready so that when dad & the 14 year old get home, they'll be ready to sit and eat as a family. They make their way up the many steps to their top apartment. On their way, the smells coming from each unit is different. They smell cabbage and potatoes in one apartment.

In another, they laugh because the odor is that of boiling socks, ( which could well be, since no one had a washer.)

As they climb the many stairs, they don't notice the grime on the walls they slide their hands up on as they make their way.

Until mom checks their hands and notices the telltale smoot and grease from the many hands of people working in the factories.

Whatever those workers do, they leave their marks from their hands, everywhere. The smell of dad and the 14 yr old coming up the stairs is unmistakeable, smoke, grease, etc...reminds mom of all the washing by hand that she'll need to do deep into the night.

Dad and the young teen cough as they enter the unit they've lived in for what seems forever. It's all the factory gunk spewing into the air and into their lungs. That's why even on the nicest day, windows remain closed.

The year is 1993, please enter this 10 condo unit building and take in the hope people read online on their Mosaic Browser, on their Unix computer, ( later known as Windows.) Watch as dad comes home with some take out food that he paid for with one of his credit cards, ( let's not talk about how much in debt he is,) while he looks up to his condo's 2nd floor windows, all open on this warm Spring day.

Look through that beautiful double-paned window he's staring at. You'll see two children playing video games on a video console. The game title is " DOOMED" and is so fun for the 2 kids, they don't notice the smell of not just Chinese food but also Lebanese food that dad is dragging upstairs.

Mom won't be home until later since she works as a major trader at a brokerage firm. She always works late. That's okay becuase the kids and hubby will have thrown their clothes into any direction while few clean dishes are ready to be plucked from the dishwasher. Okay, call her a maid or a homemaker, they call her the laundry woman, the dishwasher and the all around " keep things orderly and running nice" person.

As dad walks up to his unit, he notices how clean the halls are, how there are no bad odors emanating from other units, as it should be, costing $300 monthly just for condo fees. They actually bought the unit for $12, 545. So technically, they own it which is what confuses hubby about all the "fees."

Through that same 1953/1993 window, you'll see no smokestacks from factories, spewing enough goo, tar, gunk, what have you, to kill a few kittens, all you''ll see is sunshine, video consoles, up to date kitchen appliances, ( hardly ever used since why use them, just buy what you need with the various credit cards you now have,) and no mom at home to cook a killer meal or set up the radio or board games.

Should we all go back to those horrendous times that at the same time were also more family comforting? Or go ahead to the future, where few people, including close family, even talk, never mind have a simple meal together?

Keep looking through that window to find out!