I always enjoy the newsletter from Old Sweaty Life. The latest issue had a couple of great items.

A group of small children were asked: “What does love mean?” Here are some of their replies:

“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.” Rebecca—age 6

“Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.” Mary Ann—age 4

“When some loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.” Billy— age 4

“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne, and they go out and smell each other.” Bobby—age 5

“Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.” Terri—age 4

“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is ok.” Danny—age 7

“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.” Thomas –age 7

“If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.” Nikka—age 6

For a four year old boy, love was simply expressed in action. When the boy saw his next door neighbor-an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife-crying, the boy went into the man’s yard, climbed into his lap and just sat there. When his mother asked what he said to the neighbor, the little boy said, Nothing, I just helped him cry.”

And then the following Bible Jokes . . .

Who was the greatest financier in the Bible?

-Noah, he was floating his stock while everyone else was in liquidation. What did God say after he created Adam?

-I can do better than that. And so, He created a woman. What is one of the things that Adam and

Eve did after they were kicked out? -They really raised Cain What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why he no longer lived in Eden?

-Your mother ate us out of house and home. The ark was built in three stories. The top one had a window to let in light. How did the bottom two stories get light?

-They used floodlights. Why didn’t Noah go fishing?

-He only had two worms.

How long did Cain hate his brother?

-As long as he was able. (Abel)

Why couldn’t Jonah trust the ocean?

-Because he knew there was something fishy about it.

How does Moses make coffee?

-Hebrews it.

The Mooreland Leader is one of my favorite newspapers. There is a column called EXTRAS by Tim Schnoebelen. Last week’s was especially good and I wanted to share it with our readers. . . .

As I watch television today, I realize how much different the subject matter (if you were fortunate enough to own a television) was 60-70 years ago. The news came on at 5:00 p.m. and that was about it. Back then most of the news we read in the daily newspapers which were delivered to our homes by a kid riding a bicycle. It was a good job.

Daily newspapers (paper edition) are almost a thing of the past these days. No more home deliveries; just mail, and we receive Monday’s paper on Wednesday or Thursday. We can now read the daily paper online, first thing in the morning. Somehow, reading it online isn’t the same as having ink on paper in your hands.

Weekly community newspapers like The Leader are still in demand, and locally our Mooreland and Woodward readers have their paper first thing Thursday morning. Others have to wait a couple of days, most times longer; we have no control. Others have chosen the computer route to receive their hometown news.

I often tell my fellow 50s and 60s friends how good it was to be raised in that era. All agree. There was no better time to live in America. Makes me remember some of the sayings we had (slang you know0 . . . like burn rubber, to quickly cause a vehicle to accelerate; goose it, accelerate a vehicle; Knuckle sandwich, a punch in the face; Rag Top, a convertible car; Greaser, a guy who uses a lot of hair grease, a tough guy in general; Agitate the gravel, to leave quickly; and Hipster, someone who is cool and with the times.

Yes, those were the days of: Antsville, a congested place; Shiner, a black eye; Tank, a big car; Ain’t that a bite, that’s too bad; Ball, really good time; Flip your lid, go crazy; The royal shaft, to be unfairly treated or put-off; Take a picture: It’ll last longer, used when someone is staring at you.

Yep, there was also a dreamboat, a really cute guy; Paper shaker, cheerleader; Party pooper, someone who’s not fun to be around; Curtain climbers, small children; Back seat bingo, making out in the back seat of a car; Ankle-biter, a small child; Bird Dog, someone who tries to steal your girlfriend; Fat city, a great city or place; What’s buzzin’, cuzzin’?, what’s new?; Peepers, glasses; Made in the shade, an easy success, an advantage; Cheaters, eyeglasses; Horn, telephone; Passion pit, a drive in movie theater; Drag, a brief, unofficial race of hotrod cars; Rock, a diamond; Pinky’s out of jail, your slip is showing; Put an egg in your shoe and beat it!, go away.

Back then we could go on vacation anywhere in the United States, big cities, small towns, national parks, state parks, etc. without fear, or having to look over our shoulder to see who’s behind you. Gas was under a dollar a gallon (and there was plenty of it). You could pick up a hitchhiker, or help someone along the road having car trouble. Most if not all people were friendly. Republicans and democrats got along fine, and the country was united.

Our curriculum in Mooreland schools consisted of the three Rs (reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic. We studied history. We studied English and science, and even had social studies and literature; sometimes a foreign language or two. Even had a penmanship class during our early school years. We had typing. We had civics. We had band and choir, and (at one time) every Monday we had a short assembly for prayer time. Sports back then consisted of football, basketball, track and baseball. We could pray and say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag (daily). Yes, things have changed . . . for better or worse.

Discipline was handled and taught at home, and if that (home) didn’t work during school, the discipline was taken care of at school without parents’ permission. In most instances parents knew about it before school was out, and the student would be disciplined a second time.

Of course we didn’t have calculators or cell phones back then. In math we sometimes had to use our fingers. We did have encyclopedias and dictionaries. If I ask my young grandchildren if they know what an encyclopedia or dictionary is, they look at me puzzled and say, “Huh?”

I feel privileged to have lived long enough to remember all this stuff, and I thank God for having seen and done so much. Some things today I don’t agree with, some things happening which make me sick to my stomach, but I pray the future generations will be able to look back at these troubling times and say “Things worked out, and we are still living in the greatest nation in the world.”