I'm sitting contemplating where we are today. Comparing it to where we came from. I started to wonder, are we truly better off today than yesterday?

We have this thing called the internet. It connects us to the outside world. Our friends are over the world today, but not the ones that live next door.

We all have cell phones today. Virtually attached to our hips. Just so that if someone needs us, this very minute, they can call us. Whereas before, there was only one phone in the house. It was on a party line that we shared.

Family and friends would drop in at any time. They just happen to be in the neighborhood. Today, you need an appointment to go see your grandchild.

Today we send emails, texts and instant messages. Before we sat down a wrote letters. When we receive one, we would read it over and over. Cherishing every word.

The television now has hundreds of channels, thanks to satellite and cable, with nothing to watch. Yesterday we had but four. There was always something good on.

Me and my friends used to sit on the front porch and play board games on a blanket for hours on end. Today, kids play alone on X-Boxe's and Wii's inside.

I remember riding on my bike all over town. Maybe playing some baseball at the park with some friends. Today, the kids are chauffeured to and from organized activities with uniforms and the latest equipment.

When you went out to eat, someone took your order and brought it to you on a plate. Today, we order at the counter and get a meal that's wrapped in paper on a tray.

Cars today are more reliable and dependable, but it costs a fortune to have them repaired. Yesterday they had to be tinkered with every few thousand miles. You could do a tune up for about $10.00 under the shade tree in the back yard.

Today, if we want something, we'll go out and buy it on plastic. Yesterday we'd save until we had enough money to buy what we wanted.

Taking a trip was an adventure. Sitting in the car and seeing the sites along the road side. Now we are herded onto an airplane and see nothing between where we are and our destination but the airports.

Families are scattered all over the land today. Pressures from jobs and the need to climb the career ladder. I can recall that most of my immediate family was within a 20 mile radius.

Going to the Drive-in theater was a treat. Mom would pop up some popcorn and put it in a grocery bag for everyone to eat. Now movies are streamed into our house thanks to Netflix's and the popcorn comes from the microwave.

Families would sit down at the end of the day and have the evening meal together. It was prepared and cooked with love. Now we reheat a frozen entrée and eat alone.

Coffee was prepared on the stove in a percolator. It was drunk black and was delicious. Today, we pay to get it from a coffee shoppe and have it doctored to taste good.

We read books today on electronic tablets. They can store thousands of books. We used to read from books printed on paper. Drop the tablet down the staircase and you're out of your entire library. Drop a book and you go down and picked it up.

Produce was fresh, seasonal and locally grown. Today we have anything we want. Providing it's been flown in from a factory farm in Chile.

Butchers, meat markets and counters had a selection of just processed cuts of meat that you selected. Now, it comes from feed lots and processing factories wrapped in plastic or frozen for your convenience.

Yesterday we would go out to Ice Cream Socials at the church or some hall. We would visit there with family and friends. Today we meet on social media.

I realize that my ramblings of the past might escape some of the younger readers, but I just wanted them to know some of what they missed. That how it once was, was not as bad as they think. Where we are today, is not as good.