Thought for the Day

You might have noticed I was quite inactive for some time. That's because I was preparing, traveling and finally heading home after an extended stay with my daughter on the other side of the world. Okay, to be more accurate, in Sacramento, California (Which is like a different country if you're from the Midwest.)

The preparation for the excursion required I finish up a mountain of work and even do some work while there but it was worth the effort. While in Sacramento, I managed to visit the State Capital Building and a few other places but the highlight of the trip was our drive from the city to a week in Las Vegas. Luckily we had Sirius radio in the rental car. It broke the monotony of the 600 mile trip and not only entertained but informed us with radio programs from an era I barely remember.

The program brought to light the evolution of our entertainment. There were genteel programs with limited sex, less than harsh verbiage and moral values. There were no cop shootings, big butt women, MF'ers or other foul language but reminders to kids that "Coppers were good guys and your best friend." "Buy savings stamps to support the troops." and "Visit a neighbor in the holiday season." Did this mush and gush detract from our entertainment? No, in fact, it made the ride far more pleasant.

Of course, we had to laugh periodically at the schmults and the dramatic music used as the background but the gentle humor and truly funny incidences or mysterious and scary stories held our interest. It made me stop to wonder when it became necessary to slander the police, hate the country and become nude and lewd before the program was considered entertainment.

The radio program also reminded me of the savings stamps sold in the schools during my formative years. Once you filled your card, you traded it for a savings bond that started earning interest. I remember skipping lunch and secretly purchasing the stamps. Instead of eating, I would walk home, go in the house and then return to school (without eating...that left evidence that I was home.) At the end of the school year, I gave away all the stamps I bought in fear of being discovered. Perhaps I wasn't the brightest child in the area. However, the reminder of those stamps you collected until you had enough for a savings bond made me wonder why they're no longer offered.

We borrow money for the war from other countries when borrowing from our own people would seem more logical. For those who can't afford a savings bond, wouldn't it be nice if every convenience store had a dispenser where you could put in a dollar and purchase a stamp. It would be more profitable for the purchaser than a lottery ticket and perhaps return our country back to the hands of their own people. It also could be a great way to teach children the value of saving. Had this been in place long before the recession, maybe people would have something to fall back on rather than the alternative of foreclosure.

We can never return to the innocence of "George Burns and Gracie Allen" or the less than graphic "Shadow," but it's not too late to start pulling our country out of foreign debt. I say we lobby for the return of savings stamps, teaching about them in the classroom, but perhaps not selling them there. Instead of buying a Twinkie or a donut at the local 7-11 why not offer kids the opportunity to save. Think me naive if you will, but something must change and change soon if we are to remain a powerful country. Maybe this could be a starting point.