Savoring Life In the Slow Lane
Today people seem born for speed, excitement, adventure rushing to a finish line. Our ancestors lived much slower lives sitting on porches and swinging in rhythm. Slow and easy.
If you were brought up in the 50’s-60’s, you spent a lot of time in mornings and evenings swinging on the front porch. Noon time swinging was reserved for moms and grandmothers stringing beans and gabbing a mile a minute. Sometimes grandpas would “string along” drinking some beer or lemonade to keep up with the lady chatter.
If you had a big family to feed, you grew your own beans, corn, onions, squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, and potatoes. There were no farmers’ markets or big supermarket chains, just mom and pop stores with milk, bread, pop, candy and basics.
I don’t know how the rich lived or what they ate since that was a foreign world to most of us rural families. My guess is that our little world was simpler and more neighborly. Time stopped while we were stringing beans and listening to family stories and gossip.
We were happy and content with nature and its creatures. Friendships were important, and going to school was a happy social event with education as icing. We met new people and learned new things to talk about back at home. We were introduced to smart teachers who transported us to other countries and languages we had never heard spoken. We consumed books like candy, and we learned about fast worlds outside of our little slow village.
If we were fortunate enough to get a full ride scholarship to college, we left home to learn and explore the fast lanes of life. I was one of the lucky ones with a full scholarship. After graduating with honors, I traveled abroad and taught for 3 years in Sweden after college.
I never missed home though I missed my family and friends. I was selfishly enjoying my youth. I knew that many of my friends never left home at all, and I felt sorry for their limited view of the big world out there. Yet, when I returned they seemed fairly content and happy, not even curious about my life abroad. But I understood. Why think outside the box if you plan to remain in it.
I’ll always prefer the slow and easy lane of life untouched by high speed city hustle and bustle. If I had stayed home instead of traveling, I probably wouldn’t be the person enjoying the slow lane now savoring great memories.
A rotary dial phone and party line certainly spread the gossip in ears all a buzz. In summer times we’re free; stayed out way later then “come home when the street lights came on”. Free ways shortened distances flip flop phones rang in pockets. Computers got smaller. Conversations longer, but convoluted
Slow and easy. Love this brief essay and the love of home and travel and, thank goodness for scholarships!