There Is Nothing New

My parents experienced the "Great depression", saw winds blow the topsoil of their folks farms away, knew the feeling of leaving the table not satiated, dealt with government imposed rationing and were part of the struggles and sacrifices endured by numerous societies. I cannot comprehend what that experience must have been or the changes to their perceptions of life. But as the offspring of parents who experienced that dramatic life changing era I was reared with the "Great depression" as a guide to what life can throw at you. I have never quite understood why it is referred to as the "Great depression", wasn't much great about it so why not the "vast depression"?

I think their experiences produced some of the best generation gap type comedy ever. "You think you have it so bad? When I was a kid, (it always started that way) I walked 2 miles to and from school, barefoot, below zero temperatures, snow waist deep, uphill both ways and you ride a school bus. You don't know how good you got it." Honestly some of the stuff I heard as a kid was nearly that absurd and of course I thought my folks were completely out of touch with reality. Hell, I was a kid, how was I to know they were speaking metaphorically? To me it only proved they didn't understand how entirely different things were with 'modern day' kids compared to how it was when they were young.

Somewhere along life's paths those metaphors hit home. It was no sudden epiphany, it was a growing comprehension what mom and dad were saying was that we think our experiences, situations, feelings and emotions are unique only to us and our generation. The truth is there is nothing new under the sun. Those emotions and feelings have been experienced by most everyone throughout history. Perhaps the way my parents presented it was less than eloquent, neither of them graduated High School and eloquence would have carried no greater or more timely impact. The fact I ever got it tells me as parents they pretty much succeeded.