Ahhh, the good old days, when kids were kids, men were men, and women were happy. What happened to those days? And were they really that good?
Heck, what even constitutes the good old days, these days? I suppose that depends on how old you are. The good old days for a seven-year-old will probably take them all the way back to last Tuesday, while the old-timers in the crowd can still relate Depression-era stories. Others wonder about what we're talking about when we mention rotary telephones, typewriters or Johnny Carson.
Some of us here at the office were relating good old days tales last week, and being the resident geezer, I had fun retelling tall tales about former Bruin hockey teams and their bad bus, extended road trips and players who made it to the NHL.
Others, plus ownself, related tales of school yard mishaps that would never be allowed to take place in the new social and academic school order.
Back then we had schoolyard fights that usually ended when blood (or the principal) appeared. The person you fought with inevitably ended up as one of your best friends. That's how many of these things go. Of course youngsters today aren't allowed to get to that point in the new world order. They receive police intervention, administration review and anger management courses instead. Oh well, it is what it is. The bully gets medication and mediation.
Instead of neighbourhood justice being meted out, we get anti-bullying regulations.
Back in the day, as we noted, the bullies were taken care of either by the gang- up move, or some other bigger and tougher people who weren't bullies. And if that face-to-face confrontation didn't work, then there was always the blindside tactic that could be deployed. And in the event even that failed, well, there was always Ian's dog that uncannily knew who the bad guys were. Yep, Rufus had his own anger management issues and nobody worried about him being on a leash ever. As long as Rufus was patrolling the streets, you were safe in our town. The cops loved that dog too saved them a lot of paperwork.
And speaking of neighbourhood/schoolyard fights and resolutions, you'd think that the United Nations or some other leading agency of goodwill would be able to come up with a workable solution for that never ending friction we see between Palestine and Israel.
I mean, I can recall these two bullies going after each other since I was a kid. Haven't we seen this movie before? Talk about repeat performances.
The Gaza Strip and West Bank. Two little chunks of land and how many lives have been lost and how much grief has erupted and blood been spilled over a few acres of dirt, rock and sand? I know, I know, it's the big picture we don't get. But maybe we do.
How many times have we seen people like Carter, Reagan, Pearson and chancellors, presidents and premiers lined up for the photo op as the existing leaders of those two countries shook hands, after promising the international mediator a new dawn of co-existence, only to see a fresh round of war break out within a week. The ink is barely dry on the truce agreement they sign before they go back home and start shouting and shooting all over again, developing and grooming the next generation of revenge seekers.
I have an idea. Instead of killing one another in the name of a God, Allah or whatever the deity of the day is why not have a three-day paint ball or laser tag game decide the issue. The winner gets their choice West Bank or Gaza Strip plus a weekend at Casino Regina while the loser gets whatever the winner doesn't take and a weekend in Weyburn.
Hey, it's only an idea. Can't be any worse than what's been going on there for the past 65 years.
