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In a message dated 4/11/03 11:19:13 AM, sorcha-aisling@... writes:

<< He might not still attend church,
but he still believes the earth is only six thousand years old and that
humans have the God-given right to do whatever they want to it, and that
Jesus is going to swoop down at any minute and make it all better.
>>

I learned all that growing up too.

I'm surprised Lady Byrd Johnson did so well with her beautify America
campaign!

When I was a kid in Texas in the 50's, there were dumps EVERYWHERE. It
seemed every kid was in walking distance of a pile of old bedsprings,
appliances, and a car or two (plus steel beer cans, tons of broken glass,
rotting gross paper or carboard with centipedes and all kinds of bugs and
spiders). I've told my kids people used to just throw their trash out the
windows. I remember the sides of the highways (all those two-lane state
highways there used to be in West Texas and New Mexico that I spent so much
time on in the back of a couple of old Ford stationwagons) would be GLITTERY
from broken glass.

Not long ago we got some old Howdy Doody episodes from Netflix and watched
them. The best parts were the Twinkie ads, and the last moment of the show.
"Remember kids...."

One was "Tell your parents you want to go to Sunday School this Sunday."
One was telling the kids to take a paper bag the next time they rode in an
automobile, so that people could put trash in the bag instead of throwing it
out the window!

That was news, but probably the start of people my age saying NO to parents
who casually chucked stuff out.

Yet I was taught by relatives and at church that Jesus was coming soon, it
might be today. So too much concern for the future was definitely seen as a
lack of faith in the return of Jesus. All that was important was our souls
and our faith. The rest was God's to clean up by fire.

Sandra