{"id":4345,"date":"2012-11-16T10:11:13","date_gmt":"2012-11-16T18:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/?p=4345"},"modified":"2012-11-16T10:11:13","modified_gmt":"2012-11-16T18:11:13","slug":"the-good-old-days-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/2012\/11\/16\/the-good-old-days-not\/","title":{"rendered":"The Good Old Days (Not)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/h6>\n

Memory, it seems, is selective. It’s easy to think the good old days were somehow better. But did we think so when we lived them? Were those days not as full of preoccupation with the future and roller-coastered with the present as now?<\/p>\n

It’s noteworthy that the writer in Ecclesiastes remarked on this for two reasons:\u00a0(1) that he saw it, and (2) that he saw it so long ago.<\/p>\n

Here’s the quote:<\/p>\n

“Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’ For it is not wise to ask such questions.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

When, exactly, were these words written? If Solomon wrote them, that would be around 900 BC, during the golden age of Hebrew national ascendency . . . a strange time to be considering earlier days as better.<\/p>\n

Or, as factors imply, they were written about 400 years later, after national captivity, then the early days really were better.<\/p>\n

Either way, it’s useless to stew on it.<\/p>\n

We ourselves could yearn for simpler times, like before sliced bread, or refrigeration, hot showers, air-conditioning or central heating.<\/p>\n

Or politically, like when members of the opposite party were burned at the stake after election and then reversed again the next time.<\/p>\n

Or the romance of wilderness living that was wonderfully wild and animal threats were frequent and not just due to a zoo escape.<\/p>\n

Or when a chronic headache was dealt with by some doctor boring holes in the skull to let off pressure.<\/p>\n

And the dentist used all manner of dull contraption to deal with decay, before Novocaine.<\/p>\n

When the average life span was 35 years.<\/p>\n

And remember the wonderful plague years.<\/p>\n

On the positive side, what about the nostalgic \u201cSalad Days,\u201d an expression I’ve never understood, but somehow conjuring things light and green with relish and lovely dressing. Nice, but just as fleeting.<\/p>\n

Note that the writer doesn’t say whether the early days were better or not, just that it’s futile to consider it.<\/p>\n

Why? BECAUSE WE LIVE IN THE PRESENT!<\/p>\n

THESE are the days of our lives . . . to make of them what we can. And in the future it’ll be just as futile to look back on these as better.<\/p>\n

Have a good day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

_______________________<\/p>\n

* Ecclesiastes 7:10<\/p>\n

For a good day this weekend, don’t forget our annual open house. Click here for details:\u00a0House Show 11’12<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether earlier times were “better” or not, it’s futile to say so . . . as was said thousands of years ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4345"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4345"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5031,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4345\/revisions\/5031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}