One of my favorite songs is from the movie, The Way We Were with music orchestrated by the incomparable Marvin Hamlisch. It is a poignant song that hearkens back to what a lot of us consider the “good ol’ days.”

Here is just a small verse from that classic, which was the No. 1 song for 1974:

Can it be that it was all so simple then?
Or has time rewritten every line?
If we had the chance to do it all again

Tell me, would we? Could we?

As I listened to the words, it made me think about how the holidays used to be in our country. Currently, most stores are festooned with Christmas decorations, and radio stations across the nation started playing holiday songs at the beginning of November. Back in the “good ol’ days,” in November only Thanksgiving decorations were displayed; decorated Christmas trees and other items did not appear until all of us put down that last drumstick and piece of pumpkin pie.

While I’m on the subject, here are some other long-lost memories:

Christmas cards had handwritten messages inside, and all were signed. No printed names inside the card from the sender.

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