appreciation

[dada]

hope I spelled that right.....Last night I had a discussion with the Wife, the kids and my mother and we were talking about all the things kids/people take for granted and then my mom reminded me of some things and I thouhgt "Man we were POOR" and I thought about all the things my mom did to ensure we had the essintials like Food, housing, clothing, not to mention the things we wanted also. It all started because the kids wanted to go to McDonanlds and were pouting because we said no. And my wife irks me at times because she will cook 3 different things to satisfy everyone in the house. It irked my mom also because they way we were brought up was you eat what's cooked or go to bed hungry. That's when all the memories kicked in, these are some of the things we would have for dinner....not snacks, but DINNER. McDonalds to us back then was like Benihanna.

We would have rice for dinner.....no meat, no sides...just RICE. You added sugar and butter to make it taste good.

My mom would take a can of Pork-n-bean and chop up some hot dogs and put them in the pork-n-beans....that was dinner...Pork-n-beans and weiners.


Spam....fried sliced SPAM. And for breakfast she chopped it up and mixed it with some scrambled eggs.

Grits.....add sugar and butter and jelly

Just biscuits.....that's it...you ate them with jelly or syrup...not Miss Buttersworth either, it was pure cane syrup in a can.

We had no A/C. Our Window units were always stolen and Central A/C and Heating was something we didnt see til the mid 1980's.

I was in the 3rd grade....my sister was maybe in Kindergarten and my mom would put us on the bus by ourselves so we could go to school....not the school bus, the City bus...no check this out...I'll give you some addresses and you can google map it or whatever and see the route we took. Miss Kitty may know, I beleive she went to Westbury high. We lived across the street from Westbury(one year while my mom and dad tried to get back together, I guess they knew it wouldnt work, so we didnt change schools)the address was 5570 Gasmer......and we rode the bus to Gregory-Lincoln,1101 Taft Street, houston, tx 77019...back and forth...by ourselves.

I have 3 kids...all with their own room....I was a Sr. in High school, my sister was a freshman and we had a 1 bedroon apartment with a study...my mom slept in the study and my sister and myself had bunkbeds in the bedroom(being the player i am..I STILL had chicks over...I dare ANY of you to try that:D ) "Just step over my mom...never mind my sister and come on in here baby"....



Who remembers all the corner stores that had dirty meat fridges in the back.....we would get $1.00 worth of Pressed Ham and .50 cents worth of cheese and that would be lunch for a couple of days. I remember having to big pots of water boiling on the stove...you poured that into the cold water in the bathtub to have a warm bath. You also used the pots when it was raining to catch the rain from the ceiling when it rained...not to mention having a tin roof, wooden floors with holes in them....rats the size of cats, Box fans in every window to keep cool...no atari or nintento....and we were HAPPY!

Just had to get that off of my chest.

[yankee]

just looking at a story like this makes one appreciate everything we have...puts "problems" into perspective don't it? good story dada...

[SV61]

Dada,

There are lots of kids these days, that really, Honestly, do not understand NOT having something. If the one thing I instill in my son, is to be thankful for what he has, instead of down in the dumps for stuff he does not have, I will have accomplished something with my life. When guys (gals) on this board gripe about only having a car of this year, or having to live in a dorm room versus an apartment, I simply do not get it.

My upbringing was much more rural, but with similiarities. We ate Spam, A Lot. Fried Chicken on Sundays, and if we ran out of rice to go with the gravy, we could use a piece of bread or a biscuit from Breakfast. Then, one day during the week, we would eat that chicken again, somehow. Usually Fricaseed? Lots of what you talked about food wise, I can relate, believe me. Beans and cornbread for dinner sometimes. Just beans, other times. In the early days of living in the country, we too used the hot water on the stove, to heat our bath water. Hell, at first, we had to haul the water from the well! Never had A/C in the house, and until very recently, my Father STILL had no A/C. I thought we were rich until kids (friends?) got old enough to realize that our house was not really all that neat, as it was a dump! Lots of my friends were of MUCH better means that us, and it got to the point where only close friends (or select team mates) were allowed to my house. I never rode a city bus to school, but sure walked a piece, to get to the School bus. I also remember walking a long way after football practices, in the pitch dark. My father, ever sympathetic, gave me a flashlight for my Birthday one year!!! :mad: But, like I remind my son, my father didn't HAVE to give me ANYTHING. I was very thankful for that flashlight. As I got older, the High School was about 12 miles away. For Two a day summer practices, I got to ride my bicycle to practice, and then back home. USUALLY, my Father would head that direction, and meet me about half way. Again, very thankful for that!

[dada]

I'm guilty...I know I spoil my kids. I get them everything they want, but kids today feel that they are ENTITLED to that. My mom dosent have cable and my son uses that as an excuse not to spend the night with her. "What am I gonn do there, Maw-Maw dosent have cable"....so I had to set him straight on that. I guess it made me stronger though...when you go through something like that, you learn not to panic...I'm not rich, so sometimes we have to make sacrifices at home....my wife isnt used to it and if we're late on the lightbill she goes all "Cybill" on me crying and in panic "What are we gonna do?" I'm like chill out....this is nothing. Some people literally lose it over nothing. I had this philosopy with bills that most people hate...when it comes to having to pay a bill late to take care of the kids I look at it like this..."If I die tomorrow...the finace people will get the car and the car will have a new owner....we lose the house, some one else will move in.....but will my kids get another me?

[KT2000]

I grew up mostly middle-class in your average suburban setting. At a young age, it was just me/champ/chill and my Mom. She put herself through college while raising us on her own at first. She had to take us to class with her sometimes. At first, we bounced around a little and then settled into a small house when we moved to Katy for the first time (1987). I remember when we first got to Houston during that summer, there was a blinding rainstorm. After mom settled into her career path and remarried (1990), things improved quite a bit as far as what we were able to have and the opportunities we had. But I think we've always been fortunate in that we were (and continue to be) well taken care of by family. Mom is now a very successful HR professional, and about to get her Master's degree.

I think the memories of some of the early experiences have kept me in check, and if I ever have kids one day I hope to be able to teach them the values of appreciation you are talking about dada.

However, now that I've been around my new niece since champ moved back to Katy I now understand why that can be tough on parents. That kid's got Uncle 2K hook, line and sinker already :) . You want to give your kid the world, but at the same time they need to know not to take those things for granted and instill discipline. Every time I see my niece I think, "how is big bro ever going to get mad at her?" :D I see many sleepless nights, but priceless moments and experiences in champ's future.

[dada]

Dada,

There are lots of kids these days, that really, Honestly, do not understand NOT having something. If the one thing I instill in my son, is to be thankful for what he has, instead of down in the dumps for stuff he does not have, I will have accomplished something with my life. When guys (gals) on this board gripe about only having a car of this year, or having to live in a dorm room versus an apartment, I simply do not get it.

My upbringing was much more rural, but with similiarities. We ate Spam, A Lot. Fried Chicken on Sundays, and if we ran out of rice to go with the gravy, we could use a piece of bread or a biscuit from Breakfast. Then, one day during the week, we would eat that chicken again, somehow. Usually Fricaseed? Lots of what you talked about food wise, I can relate, believe me. Beans and cornbread for dinner sometimes. Just beans, other times. In the early days of living in the country, we too used the hot water on the stove, to heat our bath water. Hell, at first, we had to haul the water from the well! Never had A/C in the house, and until very recently, my Father STILL had no A/C. I thought we were rich until kids (friends?) got old enough to realize that our house was not really all that neat, as it was a dump! Lots of my friends were of MUCH better means that us, and it got to the point where only close friends (or select team mates) were allowed to my house. I never rode a city bus to school, but sure walked a piece, to get to the School bus. I also remember walking a long way after football practices, in the pitch dark. My father, ever sympathetic, gave me a flashlight for my Birthday one year!!! :mad: But, like I remind my son, my father didn't HAVE to give me ANYTHING. I was very thankful for that flashlight. As I got older, the High School was about 12 miles away. For Two a day summer practices, I got to ride my bicycle to practice, and then back home. USUALLY, my Father would head that direction, and meet me about half way. Again, very thankful for that!

I agree....we always say we make sacrifices so that our kids don't have to got through what we went through but it takes a while for the kids to "get it" if they way I was brought up was an upgrade from the way my mom was brought up and can imagine how hard she had it...my mom never got ANYTHING new when she was a child. She had 9 sisters and 3 brothers and they had a 2 bedroom house and slept 4 to a bed. Everything was hand me downs...it's funny now and we tease my uncle because they got the hand me downs also and sometimes had to wear womens underwear. Every watch that show "Sweet 16"/ Dirve me CRAZY....kid gets a BMW and complains because he wanted a benz.......

[dada]

I grew up mostly middle-class in your average suburban setting. At a young age, it was just me/champ/chill and my Mom. She put herself through college while raising us on her own at first. She had to take us to class with her sometimes. At first, we bounced around a little and then settled into a small house when we moved to Katy for the first time (1987). I remember when we first got to Houston during that summer, there was a blinding rainstorm. After mom settled into her career path and remarried (1990), things improved quite a bit as far as what we were able to have and the opportunities we had. But I think we've always been fortunate in that we were (and continue to be) well taken care of by family. Mom is now a very successful HR professional, and about to get her Master's degree.

I think the memories of some of the early experiences have kept me in check, and if I ever have kids one day I hope to be able to teach them the values of appreciation you are talking about dada.

However, now that I've been around my new niece since champ moved back to Katy I now understand why that can be tough on parents. That kid's got Uncle 2K hook, line and sinker already :) . You want to give your kid the world, but at the same time they need to know not to take those things for granted and instill discipline. Every time I see my niece I think, "how is big bro ever going to get mad at her?" :D I see many sleepless nights, but priceless moments and experiences in champ's future.

My mom is 51....and just now going to college. She attends Texas Southern University. It's funny, people think she's an instructor. She takes some kind of Urban ballet dance glass and I felt weird going to her recital...lol it was almost embarrassing, but I'm happy for her.

[dada]

Oh yeah...and there wasnt a TV in every room....we had one.....a 13" Black and White.....and we watched whatever was on....when Benny Hill came on, it was time to go to bed.:D We finally got cable....there was no remote controll...had this loud clicking box that was irritating, made all kinds on noise when you changed the channel.....my sister and I was going through the channels and ran across the Blue lagoon.....and got a beating...lol I don't even remember if they were nude or not, but Brooke sheilds was swimming in a lake or something.

[ktCarl]

If you want to know about my childhood and growing up watch an old Leave It To Beaver sitcom except I had two sisters.

[RedRage00]

OMG Dada...that brought back some memories from my childhood....and I’m not even black! :D

I guess we were just PO FOLK! hahaha

I'm thankful for the fact that my mom raised us well (even though we didn't have much).

Growing up poor made me work harder to achieve everything that I have so far.....which includes graduating with my MBA this past May. :cool:

No matter how successful I become I'll never forget where I came from!

[RedRage00]

I remember I found a golf ball and was all excited.

I dug a hole in the front yard and played golf with a stick! LMFAO!!!

[dada]

I remember I found a golf ball and was all excited.

I dug a hole in the front yard and played golf with a stick! LMFAO!!!

I used to catch the city bus to memorial park in Houston...take a stick and a crab net and get all of the golf balls out of the water and sell them to the golfers as they came by....made good money. Then I sold the Houston Chronicle infront of the Blackeyed Pea on West Gray and N.Sheperd, until one guy came out and asked me about boxing.....

[dada]

This is the reason I fell in love with Biscuits, Pancakes and syrup sandwiches:
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fs earch%2Fimages%3Fei%3DUTF-8%26p%3Dpure%2520cane%2520syrup%26fr2%3Dtab-web%26fr%3Dyfp-t-501&w=160&h=199&imgurl=www.redbagcollection.com%2Fsteen.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.redbagcollection.com%2Fsteen .html&size=10kB&name=steen.jpg&p=pure+cane+syrup&type=jpeg&no=11&tt=123&oid=0efef85492291c3e&ei=UTF-8

have you ever had Powdered Milk or Powdered Eggs? have you ever eaten Corn flakes with water or a can of Pet Milk? lol

[SV61]

I agree....we always say we make sacrifices so that our kids don't have to got through what we went through but it takes a while for the kids to "get it" if they way I was brought up was an upgrade from the way my mom was brought up and can imagine how hard she had it...my mom never got ANYTHING new when she was a child. She had 9 sisters and 3 brothers and they had a 2 bedroom house and slept 4 to a bed. Everything was hand me downs...it's funny now and we tease my uncle because they got the hand me downs also and sometimes had to wear womens underwear. Every watch that show "Sweet 16"/ Dirve me CRAZY....kid gets a BMW and complains because he wanted a benz.......

Oh yea,

I was quite thankful for Aunts and Uncles that had older boys than myself. I just assumed that everybody got hand me downs as kids. It was strange, for we weren't dirt poor, it is just my father spent whatever "frivilous money" we had on stupid stuff. Still does. I remember one year, after all the kids were gone, he treated himself to a new Television AND a new fireplace (that's how he heats the house). He had spent like $3500 on these two things, and was mad that I told him we needed to change out the smoke pipe. It was about 20 years old, and he didn't want to spend the money (:confused: :confused: ). Spend $3500, and not another $20?? That's my dad.

We had ONE TV, bigger than a 13". But, to this day, my father does NOT have cable. He sure has one of the nicest antennas you have ever seen though! He is one of the biggest Audio/Video guys I know, and uses an antenna (?!?!)

My wife is from Mexico, and they WERE dirt poor (Six kids). She talks about no indoor plumbing, washing clothes by hand, freezing to death in the winter and sweating to death in the summer. Every time she wants to start complaining about "only having this or that", I suggest a trip to Mexico, or remind her of how some of her family continues to live, and she seems to have a whole new attitude. As for me, I am reminded every time I go to see my Father. :D

I have lost jobs in the past, that cut my income by 50%. You keep going. Things get tight, but you can't stop.

Again, I am not complaining. I can only imagine (or remember) how bad things can get. I am so very thankful for everything that God has blessed me with.

[SV61]

This is the reason I fell in love with Biscuits, Pancakes and syrup sandwiches:

have you ever had Powdered Milk or Powdered Eggs? have you ever eaten Corn flakes with water or a can of Pet Milk? lol

Man, I didn't know you could still get that stuff!!!!

My Father's favorite!

Yep, had to do the Powerded Milk thing a time or ten. We had a pretty good source of eggs, so didn't fool with that a whole lot!

[dada]

Man, I didn't know you could still get that stuff!!!!

My Father's favorite!

Yep, had to do the Powerded Milk thing a time or ten. We had a pretty good source of eggs, so didn't fool with that a whole lot!

Yep....they still have it...hard to find. I get it at HEB...I LOVE it....no one else in the house will touch it though...Pancakes with good cane syrup....or biscuits...or even just bread....lol

[slorch]

macaroni and tomato sauce

macaroni and tuna these were our staples.

stuff we got once a month from USDA:
rice

red beans

10 pound box of store brand corn flakes

blocks of gov't cheese

gov't peanut butter

we wouldn't eat that nasty canned pork( I guess beggars CAN be choosers)

I wore hand me-down clothes and even got good-will clothes. All my jock friends would make fun of my wranglers(which I hated too) and other clothes that they knew were not what I would have picked out. One year adidas came out with some lime-green running shoes. Well a year later I had 2 pair of them, and I hated 'em, but wore them until they were too small. To this day, I still don't buy clothes until the other ones are wore-assed out! I waste very little because I know what it like to have little.



luckily we lived in the country and had whole milk and lots of animals to hunt. Now I wasn't exactly jeremiah Johnson, but I was about 7 or 8 when I got my first pellet gun and started shooting rabbits, squirrels, and frogs( yes really, they were good!) I got a shotgun when I was 10 so then I shot dove and quail quite a bit.

in the global scheme of things, we were still very well-to-do. It is all relative. What we had, and we ended up moving to Gov't housing for about $40 a month, would have made us quite wealthy in other parts of the world.
I am adopted and I used to hate God for sending me to a "poor" family. Guess what, as I matured, I realized all of the lessons I had learned because of my situation. I see SSSOOOOOOOOOO many people that are unhappy. I can't remember not being happy. I give thanks to the Lord that I know what this life really has that is out there to make us happy, and I have it. i have everything I need and most of what I want. I do appreciate where I am in life today.

[SV61]

Yep....they still have it...hard to find. I get it at HEB...I LOVE it....no one else in the house will touch it though...Pancakes with good cane syrup....or biscuits...or even just bread....lol

Peanut Butter and Syrup Sandwich = Greatness!!!!

[RedRage00]

macaroni and tomato sauce

macaroni and tuna these were our staples.

stuff we got once a month from USDA:
rice

red beans

10 pound box of store brand corn flakes

blocks of gov't cheese

gov't peanut butter

we wouldn't eat that nasty canned pork( I guess beggars CAN be choosers)

I wore hand me-down clothes and even got good-will clothes. All my jock friends would make fun of my wranglers(which I hated too) and other clothes that they knew were not what I would have picked out. One year adidas came out with some lime-green running shoes. Well a year later I had 2 pair of them, and I hated 'em, but wore them until they were too small. To this day, I still don't buy clothes until the other ones are wore-assed out! I waste very little because I know what it like to have little.



luckily we lived in the country and had whole milk and lots of animals to hunt. Now I wasn't exactly jeremiah Johnson, but I was about 7 or 8 when I got my first pellet gun and started shooting rabbits, squirrels, and frogs( yes really, they were good!) I got a shotgun when I was 10 so then I shot dove and quail quite a bit.

in the global scheme of things, we were still very well-to-do. It is all relative. What we had, and we ended up moving to Gov't housing for about $40 a month, would have made us quite wealthy in other parts of the world.
I am adopted and I used to hate God for sending me to a "poor" family. Guess what, as I matured, I realized all of the lessons I had learned because of my situation. I see SSSOOOOOOOOOO many people that are unhappy. I can't remember not being happy. I give thanks to the Lord that I know what this life really has that is out there to make us happy, and I have it. i have everything I need and most of what I want. I do appreciate where I am in life today.

OMG! That stuff was soooo nasty!

[CoveMom]

If you want to know about my childhood and growing up watch an old Leave It To Beaver sitcom except I had two sisters.

Do you remember getting your first COLOR TV? I remember seeing the Cowboys play on a Sunday afternoon for the first time in color! And boy was I confused when there were still black and white TV shows. How could that be? It was a COLOR TV set!!!!! :eek:

Remember how bright the streelights made the corner at night? And how we used to play pioneers or cowboys and indians under someone's tree where there was a lot of dirt to make little villages and forts and stuff? With sticks to build houses, etc? And maybe 3 or 4 of those old plastic 2" figures that looked something like people?

[svhorns]

When my parents got a divorce my dad had to file for bankruptcy... My Lunch and Dinner for awhile was 2 pieces of bread with a piece of cheese then I stuck it in the Microwave... When I got sick of that I would have to walk to CiCi's pizza with friends and steal a plate but I could only do that when I was with a group of friends... I would just blend in walk past the cashier... If I was lucky I would find change in the dryer that fell loose from my dads pants... walk to wendy's and get a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger... by the time I made it back home all the calories that I got from the burger were all burned off... I was so used to my moms cooking and caring that I got motherless sick I guess... I also have a little brother who I had to look after also... this happened in 8th grade... freshman year of high school at McNeil I collected a total of TWO credits... out of a possible 8... I passed P.E. and something else I can't even remember... I thank God that my dad had drive and worked his way out of it and overcame everything... now he lives in the Hill Country with this own land 4-wheeler about to buy a boat....with my step-mom and has a beautiful baby girl which is my half-sister... who is living the life a kid should live...