
Each new Generation grows from the generation before. I liken it to building blocks,with each row of blocks getting higher and stronger. This generation then that started at [http://www.history.com/minisites/ellisisland/Ellis Island Ellis Island], would be the start of the Industrial Revolution.
My generation thrived off of those immigrants who flooded the gates of Ellis Island, in New York City, fleeing Europe with not much more than the clothing on their backs, and each hand holding a child or two. They left war torn Europe and poverty to make a better life, in a new country, 'the greatest country of all' AMERICA.
They were workers and they all lived close to each other and areas were sectioned, not by laws, but by nationalities. They worked hard, saved every penny, so that their children would be better off than they were. They even shared apartments, maybe two or even three families in two bedrooms, and a bathroom down the hall. The lucky ones, had their own bathroom, but these were far and few between.
They did not ask for help, they were too proud for that. If help was offered, they would not accept, saying, that they could manage. They were close, and caring and concerned. The children came first! everything else second.
They did not have it easy. They never complained. There were times that families went to bed hungry and woke up even more so. I was a child of this generation but not of those that were that poor, nor rich. My parents never complained, gave us first, and took for themselves second. We were to have what they did not have, an education so that we would not have to work as hard.
They gave us however, something that this generation lacks. Family memories. Memories of family gatherings, families sitting down to eat together, laughing together, shared stories together,did homework together, and foremost,cared about each other. together. Yes, we loved and respected each other, and followed traditions were passed down to my generation.
I always called my aunts and uncles, 'Aunt Jane', or 'Uncle Lou'....never just 'hey Lou can you grab me a beer'. We respected our teachers, our policemen and feared getting them angry. The worse thing that could have happened to me, and I remember as if it were yesterday, was my teacher, Mrs Tiber, sending home a note to my mother because I misbehaved. I shook with fear, and had to accompany my parents back to school for a conference with Mrs. Tiber. Another time, I was chewing gum in class. I had to stand up, remove the gum from my mouth, and place it in the top shirt pocket of my white blouse, and with my hand, squash the pocket closed.
Can anyone imagine this happening today?....Oh my! I can see irate parents storming the school room, screaming and pointing a finger at the startled teacher, 'what did YOU do to my child!!! Instead of asking, 'what did my child do'?
Today each child is an angel, even those who storm the classrooms, with guns in their hands, shooting children, who did nothing more than show up to class that day to learn. The first thing that their parents say is, My child would not do something like that, he might have been provoked.
My generation learned from the generation before. Holidays were something that was shared 'with' family. Traditions were followed. We dressed in our finery, we bought new shoes and new clothes. Mothers cooked, the room permeated with the warm scent of chicken cooking in a pot, meat stewing in another pot. Potatoes in the oven, getting baked to a golden brown. Tables were set with the finest linens and silverware and the 'good dishes' were taken out.
Cousins sat with cousins in the 'children's table'. I think I sat there until I was 12, because there never was room at the 'grown up' table. Eventually even the children's table was filled with teens, but it was always called, ''The children's' Table. I smile as I think back and I yearn for them. But no one is alive anymore and so traditions faded.
Even returning to school after the summer vacation turned into something special. We bought new shoes, new clothes, and school supplies. Today the kids return in the same torn jeans, the same sloppy shirts with messages written on them, maybe a pencil and a piece of paper stuffed in their pockets.
Families now live far apart. Holidays are a time to travel, but not to visit family but to view strange countries or far off cities. This generation is too busy working, making money, spending even more, tired, and have no time even make love at night. There is never enough food to buy, cars to have in garages, big enough homes, and clothes have to have 'designer names' or they cannot be worn. This generation leaves no traditions, no memories, and they cannot say, as I do, 'I remember ..and smile'
Old people lived with the young, and died at home in their beds. There was no such things as sending them to live among strangers. Today, children check in on their parent in a nursing home, plant cameras to make sure that their parents are not beaten or raped, while they travel the country.
My grandmother was always old. The story 'The Woman in the Window' is written about her. I visited her every day. I sat with her, when she gummed her food, because she had no teeth. I walked behind her, as she walked up the stairs, because she wore long dresses and I did not want her to trip.
Today I have to be content if my grandson visits me briefly, once in a few months, and calls me seldom, although we live maybe 23 miles apart, in the same state. Why?. not because he does not love me, he does!, but because he is ''too busy''. I was never ''to busy to visit my grandmother'...and I wish she were alive today, I would still not be too busy''
The young forget that we are on this earth a shorter time than we are below it. When a loved one dies, they cry...they visit them at the hospital..IF they have the time to go to the hospital to visit them when they are sick and dying, why then, do they not visit them while they are healthy and well and enjoy their company.
This is a strange generation, but then again, this is a strange world we live in. We feel insecure when we fly, we look around in a Mall, we do not go out at night, and we lock ourselves in tightly in our homes and still we fear.
I do not know what the next generation will be like, as they will have no traditions to remember, no grandparents to cherish, few friends that will be lasting. I just know, that when I was little, we lacked money, but we had something even better. We had love, we had family, we had aunts and uncles, we had cousins, and we were left! with memories and traditions.








