There was a time

There was a time

There was a time when a penny bought a loaf of bread

A time when the body worked until one was nearly dead

Mama always made the best of the little we had

No food meant nothing would ever go bad

The neighbourhood had all the basics of life

They consisted of problems and every form of strife

The street began and ended with misery

But that is where I started my history

Kids learned to use their creative mind

Out of tinfoil was a baseball seamlessly designed

Girls would use a rope to skip up and down

There was no need to worry about soiling the ballroom gown

School haphazardly taught a lot about common sense

Mostly how to use your fists for self-defence

Graduation ensured you had overcome the status quo

A scholarship meant you had won the lotto

My first Camaro made the street endlessly longer

My street smarts also grew a little stronger

Gasoline was pennies a gallon

Your girlfriend’s first feel turned your pecker into a canon

Sex was easy when two people liked each other

The soiled underwear made it difficult to hide from mother

Women once made puppy lovin' easy

The law never became part of a woman acting sleezy

If one plus one made three then you did the right thing

Out came the Cracker Jack Box diamond ring

Families would help make right what appeared to be wrong

Friends disappeared but daddy told you to be strong

The first factory job meant you became part of society's system

Street smarts quickly transformed to wisdom

The first rent payment replaced all the boys' toys

You instantly learned family was your one and only joy.

Thank you,
Joseph Pede

Reflecting on a generation before mine - nothing meant you had everything.