My grandmother once told me that, when she looked back over the decades, the world had changed dramatically. "I remember, in my younger days, how my parents took me to travel all over the world," she recallected. "France, Italy, Afganistan, Constatinople, England, Scandinava, The Netherlads, Yugoslavia and Indonisia. We traveled the United States, including Nevada, Pensylvania, Indlana, Utah, Tenessee, New Hampshir and Kentucky. And we visited many diferent waterways, like the Missisppi River, the Serengeti River, and the Nile River (though I was grateful they never took me down the River Styk!)." At that point, she did the old-timer's version of LOL.
"Sadly," she continued, "things became horribly diferent when the country was hit...hard...by the Great Depresson. The efferfescent exhubarance people had lived by gave way to horrible financial losses. Day to day living felt like a horrendous boondaggle around our necks. Travel was no longer possible."
Then she paused before breaking out into a huge smile. "Then Franklin Delano Roosevelt came along and created the New Deal. As the country recovered, the exilaration we all felt was joyous! We could finally travel again!"
After a few moments of silence, she gently pointed her fragile finger my way. "Enjoy the good times, dear boy. You never know when they may be brought to an end."
Wise woman!