about how we used to have a thing called summer. The sun would shine and we would wear short pants and bathing suits and go swimming in nature. We would have picnics, go camping and get tans. It was such fun!

about how we used to drive cars places. We would put this stuff called gasoline in it and go places. We actually used to be able to go wherever we wanted whenever we wanted.

about how we used to eat this fruit called a banana. It was long and yellow and curved. Wait lot's go online and I will show you a picture of one.

I am only half joking.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

What's up with bananas? You're not buying into the story that they're about to become extinct, are you??
When I first heard that story I read up a little bit more than the story told. As it is, the banana we eat now isn't the banana that's always been around. The banana before the one we eat now became extinct due to disease, which would possibly happen to the banana we eat now. However, there would be another variety to take it's place.

Not sure if this is a global warming post or what it is.
When I read it I thought back to the days when I was growing up and how different it is now when my kids are growing up. It's so totally different now. When I was a kid you played all summer long with the neighbor kids. Rarely did anyone have to go take lessons, etc.. Most moms were home. We knew all the neighbors. Didn't have to worry (not as much) about stranger danger (my mom was ahead of her time in that we were really aware of this). The ice cream truck would roll by every few days. Most of us went to the same church, etc... No video games, computers, etc... you had to use your imagination for fun or read books, play games, etc... Kids these days are missing soooooo much......

I'm in the same boat with Kathytheshopper.
We opened the door in the morning and entire neighborhood was ours to roam and play in.

There was a steep drop off clift that had been cut in the hill by the ally. (yes, we had an ally dividing rows of houses on opposite streets) On the hill was sturdy tree on which some brave teenager (older than us little kids) had hung a heavy rope. We'd grap the rope, run fast , swing out over the "drop off", let go, fall and land in this kid's yard.

We neighborhood kids spent summer evenings palying "Kick The Can", "Marbles" and unorganized baseball in the school yard across the street.

There were woods, ponds, and places to explore. No we did not bother asking parents if we could go "where ever" and explore. We simply would decide to go exploring and went. Noone got kidnapped, broken or lost.

NOBODY stayed in the house watching TV all evening!
Very few mother's in our neighborhood even drove cars.
'Twas a diff era all together.

But you know you are old when your hear your own son explain to his son that he remembers having a black and white TV! I couldn't believe he had remembered that black & white TV! But he sure did, so be aware your kids will remember today to tell thier kids.

You are correct, the current banana everyone is eating is the cavendish, prior to the 1960's, it was the "gros michele", or "Big Mike". no one noticed when the Big Mike went extinct, and the cavendish took over. has nothing to do with global warming, it is the threat of a virus wiping out a species that does not produce seeds or something. American edible chestnuts are extinct....the chestnuts roasting over an open fire we eat now are Asian or european. Just the way things work out sometimes.
I think its nice to step back from all the materialism. Maybe if a load of people joined their community pools good times can be had for less $$ than going to the amusement parks and burning a ton of gas....I remember my Mom and Dad taking us to lakes, streams and such to play in the hot weather. We caught crawdads and tadpoles in a coffee can, got as wet as could be, then we ate the lunch mom packed. A special treat was a can of soda you needed a "church key" to open. I wish drive in movies would make a comeback...we still have one about 15 miles away, but they are not packed like I think they should be (first rate movies)..we used to pop popcorn at home and bring it, along with a cooler full of drinks.
Thats what we are going to do tonight....
I plan to not only tell my grandkids, but show them how to have a good time for not too much $$

I remember riding my bike all day. And having to be home by the time the street lights came on. Playing spotlight after dark. Trying to hurry up and eat supper so you could get back out to play. I didn't let my dd's stay inside and watch TV or whatever, and my baby boy isn't going to either. I just hope he's not the only little boy looking around outside for something to do!

The current banana is being ravaged by disease and the other varieties do not have enough in production to feed a world where banana is the most eaten fruit.

Read these

Amazon.com: Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World: Dan Koeppel: Books

Amazon.com: Bananas!: How The United Fruit Company Shaped the World: Peter Chapman: Books

The banana started out as an "accident". The United Fruit Co was started by the company building railroads in South America and there happened to be some banana plants growing so they decided it would be good to grow to sell to the workers and the rest is history.

But the banana is a genetically perfect fruit and when something...anything is genetically perfect if a disease hits it there goes the whole strain.


And no this is not a global warming post I am just disappointed that usually by this time we are wearing shorts and swimming and camping and this year it's rainy and there is snow in mountains so the water is too cold to swim. Where we camp is still snowy right now and I am bummed about the gas prices that prevent us from going anywhere for any fun.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

snopes.com: Banana Extinction

FWIW, this is what I read.

annadrose - I'm in western WA and know exactly what you mean. It is so gray and cold here ... my DH built a fire in the fireplace! Such is June in the Northwest, but for some reason, especially so this year.

its like 100 degrees, and I am dying here
we spent the day fishing and swimming at one of our beautiful PA State Parks...

Yes this states that not all bananas will be extinct and not all bananas will be extinct however the Cavendish the banana that we eat the one that is produced to feed the world, is currently experiencing disease.

The Cavendish will be extinct soon and there is not enough production of the other bananas to feed the world.

Snopes does not tell the whole story they just say not all bananas will be extinct. How is the whole world going to eat bananas? Where do you think there's production of enough of them to feed the world? If you know of something please educate me! I would love to try some other bananas! There are only a couple of varieties in my stores and not as much of them as Cavendishes.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

were you getting upset in the 1960's when the gros michele went extinct??
i try not to worry about things out of my control. and a root fungus for which there is no cure on a mutant fruit that is genetically cloned is not something I can control at all. i dont believe the world will be out of bananas, but if more Americans would plant some local fruit trees, like apples, pears, peaches (or oranges and avocados if you are so lucky), maybe we could become less dependent on foriegn countries for food we consume

Well -- that's another thing. When I was a kid everybody had some kind of fruit tree in their yard. Seems that they have become unpopular now or just not chic enough for landscaping.

I LOVED my bike - a bright pink 10 speed from J C Penney! I almost fainted when I got it, I wanted it so badly. I'd spend hours riding around the neighborhood - no hands, of course! That was the "cool" thing you did when you mastered your 10 speed.

Hurrying up to eat supper, but DYING at how slow the clock moved, to spend that hour until I could get back in the pool! I hated that. I had to wait the FULL hour, yep, all 60 minutes, hehe. Gramma would not let me go a minute before.

Ahhh, the "big problems" of youth....

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Does the whole world eat bananas now?

Ambrianna!! And this whole time I thought I was superior for my bike riding skills! Don't try to infringe on my bike riding abilities.....

Great post...yes, those were the days. The simple life...playing hide and seek, red rover, tag, kickball, flashlight tag, catching lightning bugs, riding our bikes, rollerskating, coloring, getting ice cream from the Good Humor man...the list goes on. We didn't have all of the technology of today...cell phones, computers, Nintendo, etc. but boy, we sure had good, clean fun. Too bad our kids will never get to experience some of that. Now they just want to stay in the air conditioned house, watching TV, playing video games, and saying that they are bored. ~Lisa

Well, we're working on the orange and lemon trees, but they're still pretty small.

I think the biggest difference I see now is that kids aren't expected to put up with boredom. If my grandparents were watching TV, I'd watch whatever they'd chosen, and if I had to walk to the bus stop, or wait in line, well, I had to put up with it. Now, I suppose I'd have a DVD player for car trips, and we probably wouldn't take the bus. I don't remember dull things seeming awful at the time, just part of life, and I was expected not to complain, because that's just how things were.

We still do. When I was a kid, we got "peached" out...peaches on cereal, peach ice cream, a bowl of sliced peaches....in the winter you would open up a jar with peaches your mom canned in the summer and you would remember the smell of the peaches. I have some small fruit trees, and got more for Mother's day. I cant wait for my peach trees to start producing. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) the only big fruit crop I will have is grapes and granny smith apples this year (besides berries, strawberries, black berries, blue berries.)
Granny smiths will keep all winter, so I hope to be set for apples.
My boys go to day camp in the summer, loaded with outdoor activites...on the weekends, we camp about bi weekly, and we do other outdoor stuff as a family. I would not let my kids roam the neighborhoods as I did as a kid...its not safe . it probably wasnt safe then either, but more people were outdoors and knew each other, and you knew your child could go to any neighborrhood adult for help. There were child snatchers and pedophiles back then too, I just dont think they got the news coverage they do today. We play video games, but that would be the day I'd let them do something like that all day. My boys plant gardens, go looking for earthworms and catch salamaders and minnows (this is all in my own yard). We are lucky enough to live in the country. Sometimes they chase the chickens around. I take them myself to explore and see the world outside our area.
And FTR I hate ice cream trucks, and wont patronize them. they are still around, and I dont think they should be allowed because of the risk to children buying treats in the street and blocking traffic

Yes it's the most eaten fruit in the world.

I did not want this to be a banana post just a nostalgic one.


I remember playing outside all day only coming home when we wanted food and at dinnertime Dad had this distinctive whistle that we could hear from a mile away.

I remember watching cartoons all day and nobody told me it would make me stupid (and it didn't!).

I remember taking Sunday drives not worrying about how much gas we would use.

I remember being able to eat homemade goodies on Halloween because we knew everyone in our suburban neighborhood.

I remember wearing clothes that looked like a little girl's clothes instead of a prostitute's.

I remember drinking out of a hose something I would NEVER do today.

I remember my Mom collecting green stamps us pasting them into a book and the fun of going to redeem them.

I remember catalog stores where there was one item on display for only some things you looked in a catalog and "ordered" what you wanted then it came out on the conveyor belt and you picked it up and paid for it. It was cheaper because of the low overhead.

I remember when calling long distance cost an arm and a leg. We lived about 8 miles from SF but it was a "toll call" which could go up to 50 cents a minute. And when we called long distance to NY, Canada, or Italy to talk to relatives it was a big deal. The relatives came over and we made a big dinner and waited until the proper time then we sat around the phone and all took turns talking.

I remember when songs "faded out" at the end repeating the same lines over and over.

I remember when everybody had a veggie garden and we lived in the suburbs of SF for goodness sakes!

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.