Remember when ...

Oftentimes in life we reminisce and say "remember when..." and then ultimately laugh when we realize that everything we have been describing was decades ago and scarily most of our lifetime ago. Thinking in that vein:

Remember when "March Madness" was a really fun time?

Remember when the stock market was at its all time high?

Remember when we would only buy toilet paper if we had a coupon?

Remember when direct personal interaction was considered essential for mental and physical health and well-being?

Remember when the Houston Astros' scandal was baseball's biggest problem?

Remember when they played baseball?

Remember when we read about scientists who cured horrible diseases without technology? (Jonas Salk, Edward Jenner, Alexander Fleming, et. al.)

Remember when we actually saw and knew who our neighbors were?

Remember when the elderly were revered and respected instead of considered disposable?

Remember when people actually went to a restaurant to visit and eat?

Remember when crises in life brought out the best in people, not their baser instincts?

Oh yeah, I remember all of that. It was last month.

Remember when we were first and foremost not Republicans or Democrats, but Americans, with far more that bound us together than that which set us apart?

Well, I guess that last one was too far back in my dreams to remember.

Michael Kelstrom

Elmhurst