That was then...this is now.While enjoying a beautiful Saturday with my mom, we happened upon the subject of obesity, particularly how many obese children and adults we have in Georgia. Of course i know they are all over, but i have heard that Georgia was ranked pretty high for the most obese state. Which led us to this discussion. Back in the day, when i was in school, we of course had PE for at least an hour a day, and after school we would run, ride our bikes, and play outside until the lights came on. We played so hard that the only thing we wanted to do afterwards was take a bath, eat and sleep. You know what else, there were very few fat kids...and i know this for sure, because it was the fat kid that got teased on the daily
that was then...NOW - Fat kids are the majority. There is no PE. Kids spend the majority of their time either 1. watching tv, or 2. playing video games, or 3. on social networking sites like Facebook. There is little or no activity taking place outside.
Growing up with 5 other siblings was no joke, in fact i know for sure that i didn't taste a chicken breast until i was in my 20's. Being the youngest i always got the last piece of chicken, which usually turned out to be a neck or back. And when my mom made greens or even beans, we never got any of the hamhock. It would be like winning a prize if you had slivers of ham hock somewhere mixed in with your greens or beans. We learned how to make food stretch and last for days. We made sugar sandwiches, and vanilla milk, and some of the best peanut butter cookies in the world, because that government peanut butter had so much oil it just made the cookies so moist and delicious. We were healthier, because we ate healthier.
that was then...NOW- people spend way too much time eating at fast-food restaurants and putting away processed foods. Processed foods of any kind are health-killers. Our generation has seen more diseases and such in the last 20 years, than in our entire history. Our immune systems are lacking because we don't eat right.
Over my lifetime i have owned several dogs. And not one of my dogs growing up ate dog food. They ate whatever we ate. If we had greens, the dog had greens. Goes the same with beans, rice, potatoes. Man my dogs loved Thanksgiving and Christmas, just like we did. They never, ever visited a Vet and died of old age.
that was then...NOW-you got to feed them the most expensive dog food you can buy. Dogs are treated like humans, so they have to have their shots...i mean my co-worker was trying to board her dog for a trip, and they told her she couldn't until her dog had his H1N1 shot. SMH. Dogs today are not like the dogs of old...perhaps we humanized them, because it seems like back in the day...they could hold their own...just saying.
Yeah, alot of things have changed, but it seems like not all for the better. One more thing before i go. When i was in school, the teachers and principal were allowed to spank you. Some chose to use the ruler, but as i got older, the paddle was their choice of punishment. On any given occasion, when you didn't do what you were supposed to do, they could call you up to the front of the room and swat you good...and i mean good. I preferred to get my spankings from the teacher, because our Principal was big man and i knew he hit hard. Don't seem right huh, some big burly man spanking some little bitty girl...but it happened. Our Principal ruled that school like the likes of Joe Clarke...he didn't take no ish off anybody and he was respected. The teachers were respected, and the kids grew up knowing that they couldn't just get away with ish.
that was then...NOW-all hell has broken loose. Just recently in the news, we had a mother and daughter tag-team jump and beat up a teacher because she wouldn't change the daughters grades. Now their azzes both going to jail. WE have the highest drop out rate of all time. Kids are disrespectful, and sometimes just don't care. WE have teachers fighting each other in the schools over BS, Teachers having affairs with their students. Now some of you may question, is this all the result of getting rid of Corporal Punishment...and I'll answer, no not all. The lack of respect and discipline in the schools is a direct result, i believe. This other BS that's going, just means we are not placing a very high priority on education, not paying our teachers enough, and not recruiting the type of teachers who really, really want to teach. We are not giving them enough to work with. Our education system is akeen to a fast-food restaurant. We don't care if they get it, just get them out of it. We adopted a saying, "no child left behind"...but there is no emphasis placed on saving any of them. Kicking them to the curb isn't making things any better...now that they are no longer students, and nobody cares...they've chosen a different career path...that of, career criminal...and say what you want, but i rather see them in school learning...instead of breaking into my house.
One more thing...i read on someones blog, the stats from 20 years ago of how many black males went to prison, as opposed to college. 20 years ago, we had nearly 4 out 5 black males enrolled in college. Fast forward 20 years, and nearly 4 out of 5 black males are going to Prison.
What say you fam?
