Bring Back The Good Ole Days

 

                                          Gathering of Old Friends by Tom McKinney

 

There was a time when it was safe to live on the North Side, no drive-byes, and no gangs. Drugs weren't sold openly out in the streets, with the police standing by. You didn't have to be afraid to let your children play in the streets.

Housing projects were places people lived, not a hangout for gangs, or drug dealers. People knew their neighbors, and neighbor's neighbor. People looked out for, and helped one another.

Your child couldn't do something wrong in the neighborhood in the presence of another adult, and you not know about it. There was a sense of community, a sense of family, and a sense of pride about the neighborhood you lived in.

The worse thing that kids did to one another was fight. Respect really meant respect; it wasn't a gang term that could cost you your life. Grown folk had dignity, wisdom, and morals. Adults acted like adults, and kids like kids. Family pride was a strong make up of the community.

People worked their differences out over picking greens or splitting peas. But those were the good OLE days, how I wish we could bring them back. Bring back the times when 13-year-old kids didn't carry guns, and knew nothing about drugs, sex, and gangs. 

I wonder does any one know what happen to the good OLE days, does anyone remember. Where did we go wrong, where did we get off. North Tulsa use to have outdoor cook-outs at churches, carnivals, and just plain old fun. Neighborhoods use to be communities, where everyone got along, and a dispute wouldn't cost you your life.

Life was valuable it meant something. People stood up for right, and they tried to practice what was preached in their church. They taught their kids to obey the law not break it. You had bad people, and bad things, but it wasn't acceptable, or tolerated. 

My brothers and sisters we talk about change, about fixing the problem. I hear things about finding the solution to the problem facing our community. I say bring back the good OLE days, the days when we had pride in ourselves, and our side of town. We realized we lived there, and where you live is home. We wanted our home to be safe, clean, and respectable.

Take the kids back to the old way, the bible says find the old path and walk there in. There lies the solution, it's not difficult to find, just bring back the good OLE days. Bring back the days when young people got to live long enough to grow up.

Bring back the days when parents talked to their kids, and made sure they acted right. Bring back the days when people cared about one another. Where church was a community place, where the pastor knew and cared about your well being, not just the offering. 

Bring back the days when we celebrated life, where death only came after you got old. Being young wasn't a bad or dangerous thing. Where our neighborhoods were places where we lived together, not died together.

Bring back the days when the street was were we played, and not sold drugs. Bring back the days, when the only gangs we had were bicycle, horse, and motorcycle. To belong to these you didn't have to sell drugs, or kill anybody, just have fun.

Does anyone remember when kids had fun just playing; killing wasn't even in their vocabulary. Hey Yall please bring back the good OLE days, let's live together, and not die peace out.
 
Chris Brown