I thought for a moment that my life had been one long dream.

We have reverted back in time in so many way. To start with for the moment gas is cheap. The price on the sign is less than a dollar. Yes I know that’s a liter when I started driving it was a mere twenty-five cents a gallon.
As I looked around I was intrigued to see my daughters writing out a shopping list for the store to fill the order, they would pick up. I remember my mother making a list and phoning the old general store. The clerk filled the order and dad picked it up after work.

There have been a few thicker pages of buys lately aside from Princess Auto, or Avon which are more like catalogs. Took me back to the Sears and Eatons catalogs. Most wouldn’t believe a hundred years ago you could even buy a house from the catalog. It came on the train and you assembled yourself, just like you assemble everything from the internet sites today.

Entertainment has reverted back too movie theaters were also a place to run news reels before the entertainment. Today the news channels are running entertainment specials with a variety of talented souls. They had the traveling shows for the troops, except this time the comediennes and traveling minstrels are entertaining us confined to our homes. We watch it all on large TV screens and big sound systems. There is a facebook page out of Nova Scotia featuring a virtual kitchen party. Been to a few of those in my time, the talent varies but it is the pure honesty of the event that counts.

Over the past few years change and adaptation has been reverting back to a time that did exist. Record players, I have more than one, they’re making a comeback. I have an entire record room 45 RPM, LP’s, old seventy-eight speed and I still prefer them to CD’s or even mp3.

Then there is the outdoor cloths line, we have had one for decades. They were always better than a dryer anyway.

The only things we need now are door to door milk delivery and the Saturday Evening Pose with a Norman Rockwell cover illustration. Well I suppose we won’t go that far back but we are going to revert back to a lot of practical economical solutions as part of the new normal before this virus scare is over.

Fred Steele

Fred is a former radio broadcaster in the Okanagan, a farmer, an orchardist and the former president of BC Fruit Growers Association. ODN is very lucky to have him and his different point of view.