Nuclear duck and cover exercises were the norm and then vanished. Microwave ovens and processed foods are a huge difference now. Mom would spend hours making meals from scratch — fried chicken, meatloaf, spaghetti and meatballs, pot roast with vegetables. Fastfood places didn’t exist in my area until a place called — I think — the Golden Triangle emerged. Then came a McDonald. I remember the first time that Mom, driving her big old brown Buick with its fins on the back said, “Should we eat there?” She was as unsure as us. We tried it and liked it, finding it inexpensive but tasty.

My recess memories are like yours. We were out there, period. Music was way different. Just like television, there were limited channels with limited fare. We found a local AM rock and roll station that also played some soul & R&B. Man, has that all changed or what?

Pizza emerged concurrent with me growing up. First there was, what? Pizza? What’s that? Then there was pizza in a box, and then pizza from a little corner pizza shop. Pizza wasn’t the ubiquitous business that it is now.

Sodas — or soda pop, or pop — was limited to holidays and birthday parties. And beer was all American lagers until the imports, like Heineken, showed up.

Yes, there have been some changes, right? Cheers

Bear left Duke without a buddy. Duke is another lab mix, part rottweiler. We got him to be a companion to Bear when Bear was several months old. As it turned out, Bear was born on 1 November 2012 and Duke on 12 December 2012. Bear was the active dog, but Duke preferred to lay around and watch what Bear did. The only exception was Duke was the first off the deck if there was a squirrel in the yard.
Now, with Bear gone, Duke is starting to show the nature he hid. He demands attention and forces us to pet him. He also loves to hit me behind the knees when I am getting the leash. I have bruises from the brute!
We do miss Bear, but Duke’s new personality brings a smile often.
We dread and fear losing him also, though we know it will happen. Until then, we will enjoy our time with him.

Our dog would not let us off the hook with walks either. As he explained it, it wasn’t his fault we got in at 1AM. Out we’d go for ‘Just a short walk’, and come back having done the entire round, which he had memorized.

I just heard on the radio that people with dogs have a 24% risk reduction in mortality, particularly heart disease and stroke. Dogs really are the best.