When people harken back to the “good old days”, I often shake my head and wonder what kind of rose-coloured glasses they are looking through.
Welcome to the 151st edition of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a quote of the week. This week, I scratch the rose-coloured glasses with a dose of reality. I also look at the impact of daily habits on lifespan, solar-powered refrigerated trucks, and facts about renewable energy and waste.
On my mind this week: Let’s take off the rose-coloured glasses
In a recent post about historical fiction, LA at Waking Up on the Wrong Side of 50 discussed how our romanticized view of life in earlier times often conflicts with the reality of how people actually lived in those days.
This has been on my mind a lot as certain groups seem to want to roll back the clock to a different era. A 2024 survey revealed close to half of Americans believe culture and way of life has mostly changed for the worse since the 1950s. I couldn’t find similar research in Canada, but I expect we’d see similar results.
Were the “good old days” really that great?
No matter when we grew up, we all look back to our youth as “the good old days”.
I’m the first to admit that our world feels incredibly broken in the 2020s. And although I wasn’t born until the 1960s, I don’t believe life in the 1950s was a picnic.
Let’s take off the rose-coloured glasses for a minute for a dose of reality.
How people really lived in the 1950s
People had larger families and lived in smaller houses. Children shared bedrooms—often with several siblings—and those houses had no air conditioning.
Dishwashers were unheard of. For most people, laundry was a true chore as few people owned washers and dryers.
People ate at home and cooked meals from scratch. Going out to eat was a treat reserved for special occasions.
Most people owned just one or two “good” outfits that were reserved for Sunday church services or special occasions.
There were no 24-hour stores and no online shopping. People bought what they needed locally during the limited hours stores were open.
People made do with what they had, using things until they were worn out, and making them last as long as possibly by repairing instead of replacing.
Most people vacationed close to home. Air travel was a true luxury, so people didn’t fly on a whim for bachelor parties, girls’ weekends, or just to escape the winter cold.
Lifespans were shorter. Infant mortality was higher. And many diseases that are preventable, treatable and curable today were death sentences.
The elusive happy medium
Many of the things I mentioned above aren’t bad. Regular readers know I believe we could improve our quality of life by rejecting consumerism and living a simpler, more sustainable lifestyle. On the other hand, if we take off the nostalgia-tinted rose-coloured glasses, I think it would be culture shock if many of today’s privileged and pampered population went back in time.
Ultimately, I think there has to be a happy medium where we celebrate and appreciate the progress we’ve made while taking real steps to address the inequality and problems in our world.
Now we just need leaders willing to stop the fear mongering and mudslinging and take on the challenge.
Let’s keep in touch! Join my mailing list and I’ll email you when I add a new post.
Three highlights of the week
It’s important to celebrate big milestones and simple pleasures in life. Keeping the trend going, here are three highlights and simple pleasures of the week gone by:
- I arrived in Charlottetown, PEI early Sunday morning to visit my daughter Colleen. We’ve had a nice visit this week.
- I spent lots of time watching the Winter Olympics while Colleen was at work during the day. As is always the case, the games provided an equal dose of heartbreak and elation.
- The weather in Charlottetown was nice all week so I was able to get out for a walk every day.
Things I learned this week
Life is all about learning. Here are three things I learned this week:
Impact of daily habits on lifespan
New research reveals that genetics determines up to 55% of our lifespan. This is much higher than previously believed.
Even so, our lifestyle matters. Daily habits can add or subtract 5 to 10 years to our lifespan, impacting not just how long we live but our quality of life during that time.
(Source: Super Age)
The facts about renewable energy and waste
Naysayers point to the large amount of waste generated by solar panels and wind turbines.
New data from Hannah Ritchie shows that coal generates 50 times more waste than solar power and 500 times more than wind power. And the waste generated by coal is toxic coal ash, which poses a health hazard when released into the air or waterways.
As recycling of wind turbine and solar panel components becomes more prevalent, this gap will widen further.
(Source: CBC What on Earth)
Solar-powered refrigerated trailers
Refrigerated tractor-trailers play a significant role in our fuel supply, but keeping that food frozen requires a huge amount of diesel fuel.
Sunswap Endurance has a solution—adding solar panels to the top of a semi trailer to continuously charge onboard batteries that power a highly efficient electric unit. When the truck is stopped, loading, or parked for the night, the batteries can also be topped up from grid power.
Sunswap recently proved these panels work by hauling foods in extreme Australian heat on a 1,600 kilometre journey from Brisbane to Sydney and back. The truck made all the usual stops and completed the journey in the same time as a diesel-powered unit. The bonus: zero diesel burned, zero emissions, and zero noise.
(Source: Elektrek)
Quotes of the week
It’s easy to be a good sport when you win, but the true test of character is how you respond when things don’t go your way. Here are a couple of examples from our Canadian athletes this week.
Health. Family. Friends. Life is bigger than sport.
Canadian freestyle skier Cassie Sharpe on being unable to compete in the final after a fall
I know people like medals, but the games are about so much more than that. It’s about sharing the story. Sharing the experience.
Canadian speed skater David La Rue after his 15th place finish in the 1500M
I’m living a huge failure in front of hundreds, like thousands of people, but you know I’m going to come back stronger.
Canadian figure skater Maddie Schizas after failing to quality for the long program in women’s figure skating
I’d love to hear what you think about any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.
Discover more from Boomer Eco Crusader
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Most politicians who want to go back to the good old days don’t really know what they are talking about. Most of them have never worked in their lives, you know, the kind of work where you spend most of the day outside digging holes, growing food, tending a farm, etc. They are just fooling themselves.
That’s so true Edward. The leader of our Conservative party is a career politician who has never had a real job, yet he claims to represent the average Canadian and does nothing but spread fear and half-truths. It’s so frustrating.
Absolutely, and you know it’s the same thing in the U.S. Most of our politicians have never had a real job in their lives because they grew up and spent their adult years in extremely wealthy environments where everything was given to them. I highly doubt that they even know how to do grocery shopping on their own.
Frightening that they’re in charge of trillions of dollars of public funds.
Absolutely, especially when the leaders of this country are known for numerous bankruptcies and failed businesses throughout their lives.
Hurrah for frugality! I am happy to hear that someone in Australia finally did something somewhat obvious and put solar panels on top of a truck. Now let’s put them on a million other trucks!
Right! Putting solar panels on trucks does seem so obvious when you think about it. This is the kind of innovation we need!
Nostalgia certainly comes with rose-coloured glasses. For me, I think it’s more about the yearning for simpler times and less of the chaos and stress of adulthood. I also think scarcity meant a deeper appreciation – which is the ultimately irony in this abundance of choice we have today!
I do agree that getting back to a simpler way of life would be a good thing, but life was far from perfect back then. We’ve made great strides in so many areas and it would be sad to roll back the clock.
My grandparents have 5 kids, so 7 people total, and 1 of their 2 bathrooms was converted into a dark room for several years because my dad and a sister were really into photography in high school. I can’t imagine 1 bathroom for 7 people, but they somehow managed. 😅 I agree that there is a balance–simplicity is good (and I would argue also doing things with our hands, like sewing and gardening), but there are so many gifts of modern living that really enhance quality of life.
I’m so glad you got to spend some quality time with your daughter. It sounds like a lovely week!
My family was the same. Six people in a 2-bedroom 1-bathroom house, and we managed.
Yes, I had a lovely visit with Colleen. I had a very early start this morning, but I’m almost home.
Yes, the 50s were not so great in so many ways, especially for women. One of the things I wish we still had were those small, affordable, starter homes. The reason why people can’t afford homes these days is because they are so large and filled with expensive appliances. Back then you could buy a small, basic home without appliances or garages and then buy what you could afford to meet your needs. You could build extra bedrooms and a garage when you could afford it. But at least you had a roof over your head and a much smaller mortgage.
You’re right Deborah. We’ve made great progress in terms of women’s rights and general acceptance of diversity. Even though we still have work to do, we shouldn’t lose sight of that.
I’ve been saying for years that we need to get back to building sensible-sized homes for people starting out, and for people looking to downsize later in life. There just doesn’t seem to be any will to make it happen because profit margins on larger homes are higher. Greed rears its ugly head again.
Your week with your daughter sounded like the perfect break.
Thanks for sharing the article about lifespan – it made interesting reading.
Thank you Brenda. Yes, the lifespan research is very interesting. It’s an important reminder that how we live does matter.
I loved that you included quotes from people who didn’t win – what an incredible dose of perspective and resilience!
And great perspective on our rose-colored glasses about the past. Yes to “Now we just need leaders willing to stop the fear mongering and mudslinging and take on the challenge.”
Have a great week, Michelle!
Thanks Wynne. It’s always interesting to see the reactions of those who don’t live up to their own expectations.
Glad that you got to spend some time with your daughter MIchelle! It is interesting to hear what people think of as necessities, what they feel they need to live well and be happy. I admit there are times I can be nostalgic for the old days. In many ways, but not all, that “simple life” suited me quite well 🙂
I do agree on simpler being better, and that we’ve gone way too far with consumerism. But I think we shouldn’t lose sight of the good progress on things that really matter that we often take for granted.
Yes!! Who needs 4 bathrooms for 3 people? Or secret rooms or multiple rooms that serve one purpose. While I get these things are nice, is you life incomplete if you don’t have a media room with surround sound, a popcorn makers and an 8 footbtv?
When our girls were small, if I started to think we “needed” a bigger house I reminded myself that my parents raised 4 kids in a house half the size of the one we were raising 2 in. When I was a kid, we had 6 people in a 2-bedroom 1-bathroom house and we managed.
People can’t comprehend that we have one bathroom and 3 closets and a galley kitchen….
Like when you watch a home decorating show, and some of the things people think of as necessities….
Right! I recall a conversation with a co-worker years ago who was moving from her normal-sized house to a much larger home. She said “We absolutely NEED a 2-car garage and an ensuite bathroom.” I thought at the time that those were luxuries and not really needs. My family and I have struggled through 30+ years in a house without either of those things. I guess we’re deprived. 😂
Thank you! And yes. Well said. I don’t know how people would adapt to the lack of choice we had. And I think this generation is so reliant on cell phones they can’t imagine what life was like before them
That’s true of the younger generation, but I see it even with people my age. There is a sense of entitlement and lack of compassion for others that I didn’t see with my parents’ generation. My mum grew up in a large family where life was a struggle. At 93, she can afford some luxuries but she still has that frugal “make do” mentality. I guess that’s where I get it from. 😂