My commute to my last job took me past rural homes. Rather than allow their kids to wait near the curb for the school bus, there were two homes where Mommy Dearest drove the family SUV about 40 feet, and then she and the kid would sit in the idling vehicle while waiting for the school bus to arrive.
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When I was in grade school in the early '60s, we took a school bus to school 10-plus miles away. Our school bus driver who also lived in our neighborhood was a wonderful guy, but took no crapā¦ When the bus arrived, we had better be lined up, girls in front and boys behindā¦ If you were not there when he stopped and you were not in sight, he did not wait.
My grandfather also taught me to always be early for an appointment (even going to workā¦). This way, even if there is a accident or flat tire, you still had time to get there on timeā¦
Back then no parents idled their cars with the kids inside, if it was raining, we wore raincoatsā¦ and in the wintertime, we wore hats, coats, gloves, and boots. The girls often wore those āhand muffsā and wore slacks under their skirts and dressesā¦
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What about walking to school, through three feet of snow, barefoot, uphill?
Seriously though, when living on a farm in WI, we (my brother and I) rode the school bus, waited on the side of the gravel road no matter what the weather.
Then we moved to Minneapolis, in grade school, walked to school, walked home for lunch, watched āLunch With Caseyā, walked back to school.
At that time, grade schools and high schools were located within walking distance of most students.
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Here in Southern NH and northern MA a young couple starting out both working will have a very difficult time buying a house. They both need very good paying jobs (usually Tech field) to buy a starter home in a decent neighborhood. I have an engineer that works for me that moved here from CA and took a $100/yr cut in pay so he could afford to buy a home. Boston area median home price is north of $800,000. Southern NH median home - North of $500,000. Median home price in Silicon Valley (where he came from) is $1.5 million. And comparison to where I grew up (Syracuse NY area) the median home price is $150,000.
People in Central NY can easily by a home on one income. Southern NH - A lot more difficult. Northern MA - even more so. And Silicon Valley - Good luck.
In 1955, the Lincoln dealer in Manhattan put a new Mark II on display, wrapped in clear plastic, complete with a red ribbon.
Not always, George. When my wife was still practicing law, one of the key factors in her determination of whether or not to take a case was the financial condition of the defendant. Since she only represented plaintiffs, and since she took most of her cases on a contingency basis, she only got paid when her client got paid. Thus, if she won a case, but the defendant couldnāt pay the judgment, she could invest many hours in a case for no fee.
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It wasnāt exactly a Christmas present, but I did buy my 2009 Accord the week after Christmas. Does that count? 
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