How far have we come?

Pretty darn far. Just think, that 100 years ago, in 1911 here's what we had. Compare that to what we have now.Theaverage life expectancyfor men was 47 years.Fuel for the few cars on the road was sold in drug stores only.Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.The tallest structure in the world was theEiffel Tower.The average US wage in 1910 was 22 cents per hour.The average US worker made between $200 and $400 per year.A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year,and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.More than 95 percent of all births took place at home.Ninety percent of all Doctors had no college education. Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press and the government as 'substandard.'Sugar cost four cents a pound.Eggs were 14 cents a dozen.Coffee was 15 cents a pound.Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.The Fiveleading causes of deathwere:1. Pneumonia and influenza2.Tuberculosis3.Diarrhea4.Heart disease5. StrokeThe American flag had 45 stars ....The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30…. About the same size asSt. Peters, Missouri.Crossword puzzles,canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet.There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write and only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores.Back then pharmacists said, 'Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health'Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.There were about 230 reported murders in the entire

U.S.A.But you don't have to go back 100 years. Just step back one year and you'll discover that gasoline was a whole dollar less a gallon. That's about $15 bucks cheaper for fillup.And now, back to some thoughts for today.I'll particularly miss Costello's Restaurant in Coaldale on Mother's Day. The Coaldale landmark, for years, served one of the best Mother's Day buffets found anywhere.Bill "Fireball" Jones, who passed away this week following a long illness at his Lake Hauto home, was a great schoolmate and a fine story teller. To his wife, Marianne and their family, and to his sister, Creddy, my sincerest sympathies. Bill will be missed by many.Congratulations to my grandson, who won the big Easter basket in the zero-to-two-year-old category at the Easter Egg hunt last weekend where he lives. We knew you had it in you, Sean James.The NFL draft was this week. And we're all wondering if those selected in the draft will get a chance to play in any games this year, what with all the labor strife between the owners and players.I'm thinking Doug Collins should be the NBA's coach of the year, considering what he did with the Sixers this year.I'm not for Commissioner Bud Selig's plan to expand the baseball playoffs by adding two more teams in each league. The season and playoffs run too long already. If anything, baseball should be considering cutting back on its now too long season.As we head into the month of May, let's look ahead to July of this year. It's really an unusual month. This year July has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays, and 5 Sundays. Thisapparently happens only once every 823 years. Check your calendar.