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09/26/2016
Hi Dr. Laura:
You often refer to a time when this country had much better values. When you say "back in the day," I identify with it and understand it very well.
My parents were born near the end of the 19th century. Neither of them graduated from high school. To me, they were model parents. We had two families living in our five bedroom three story house - my grandmother, my cousin who she was raising because his mother died in childbirth, my seven brothers and sisters, me, and our parents. My mom was a stay-at-home mom with all those kids. My father was both a laborer and a musician, so he had two ways to earn money to support us.
They were both involved in community activities, and we were a family of faith. We had a close-knit happy family who got along very well together. I read an article that said there are four institutions through which we receive happiness or deep satisfaction: family, community, vocation or avocation, and faith. These were all a part of our lives. We were far from prosperous, so we had to work for what we wanted or needed. We even paid for our own college educations, but we got the satisfaction of having accomplished things on our own. That's why I made my three children contribute toward their college educations. Each of them has a sense of achievement they wouldn't have had otherwise.
It would be nice if some of those values from "back in the day" were at the forefront today. They made a real contribution to my happiness as a child and the happiness of my now-adult children.
Stan
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