Were they really as good as we remember?

A day doesn’t go by where I don’t hear someone say, “well, things were better back in the old days.” Or they mention something used to taste so much better when they were a kid. I am as guilty as anyone, I do it myself. Just recently we went to something we had been going to for over 25 years. I couldn’t wait to go again. We were there for a half hour and left. “It just wasn’t the same.”

The picture I have on here is from Atlantic City, NJ. It is me and my dear, sweet sister Rhonda on the boardwalk looking at the pigeons. I posted it in a group I belong to on Facebook just the other day when we were talking about Atlantic City and The Steel Pier. Someone had posted a picture of the Diving Horse and it made me think of this picture. Atlantic City was “the” place to go back when I was growing up. The boardwalk and beach were pristine and my parents took us every year. Now it is a place to go to gamble and instead of seeing a beautiful boardwalk you see closed casinos and stores. “It just isn’t the same.”

Was it better back then? Do I remember it correctly or am I just remembering how wonderful it was because I was with my parents and sister?  Does the fact that all of them are no longer here cloud my thinking? Is it that things have changed or is it the people we are missing?

But what about the food? Oh yes, truly one of the best parts of growing up was the wonderful food. My Grandmothers were both wonderful cooks and I made many cookies and pies with them. One of my favorites were pie. I loved my Grandma Gibbons pecan pie. I was at a diner recently and saw they had pecan pie. It looked just like hers, didn’t look like the stuff you see in the supermarket at all. So I got a piece and couldn’t wait to dig in. “It just wasn’t the same.” It was ok, and of course I ate the entire thing, but it just wasn’t quite the same. Why? Maybe the reason was because I didn’t make it with my Grandma?

Everything changes. I don’t expect everything to stay the same. Time goes on and we are constantly being told that this or that is new and improved. But is it really? Don’t get me wrong, sometimes change is good. I definitely wouldn’t want to be wearing some of the things we wore “back in the day”. I can still feel the pain in my poor feet while wearing my platform heels. Most recently I have been wanting a jumpsuit. I don’t know what made me decide I had to have one, but I saw they were back in style this year and for some reason just had to have one again. I found a really cute one. On sale… So I got it. I forgot why I didn’t like them back in the day when I wore one the first time. You have to take the whole darn thing off to go to the bathroom. And I go to the bathroom a lot more these days..sorry for the TMI…. It is still cute and I will wear it, but I definitely won’t be drinking anything while I have it on.

I can honestly say I don’t know the answer to my question? “Were the good old days really as good as we remember?” And, let’s not forget that someday these very days will be the good old days for someone. What do you think? Are things so terrible today or are we simply missing those people that made the past so great?