Originally Posted by
GeorgeBMac
No, I'm the son of depression era parents: if it wasn't helpful (even if it was to only have fun) they didn't buy it. Everything had a purpose and, living in a small house (by today's standards) there was not a lot of room for both people as well as collectibles. So, when it's useful life was over it got pitched... snip...everything in the house served some purpose.
This is my background, exactly. We had nothing extra in our home, my mom was a stay at home homemaker in the truest sense, until 1969. My dad was from a worse than poor family in the depression and went through WWII, in the Navy. Everything was a budget based item, no frills and when it was done, it was done. We lived in a concrete block house, 3 BR, 1 & 1 1/2 bath, no garage, strictly ticky-tack suburb. One small B&W television and one radio, 2 sedan cars with nothing beyond the very base model, always used and white. No carpeting or a dishwasher, 1 room window AC, Ward and June would have thought of us as that underprivileged family.
Bicycles were something I had to pay for, as was my motocross racing and dirt bikes. If I wanted it, I had to pay for it, after I paid for clothing and school incidentals. No gripes here, I appreciate what I have now and take care of things. Probably why I do not have a herd of bicycles or anything else. Oh, I collect slide rules, if that tells you anything.
Bill