Rose Madeline Mula Writes: It's a Wackadoodle World

Unlike me, you’re probably much too young to remember physicians who made house calls. Yes, you actually were not expected to drag yourself out of your bed and go to the doctor’s office if you had a fever of 105 or you had fallen and broken both arms and legs.

Hair has also undergone a transformation in recent years. For one thing, nowadays boldly visible dark roots on blond heads are perfectly acceptable — in fact, apparently desirable. And I can’t understand why people today spend hours “styling” their locks to look slept-in, snarled and slovenly.

Another mystery is how come my compassionate mother, who wept even longer than I did when my dog died, used to wear a dead animal around her neck? Not a mink stole — that came later — but an actual fox, complete with face, legs and tail which was considered the height of fashion.

I also wonder how come a huge rear end is now an asset, so to speak. It wasn’t too long ago that we strove for a body profile that was a straight, uninterrupted line from shoulder to ankle. Not so any more. Today the more your behind protrudes, the better. No more is “Absolutely not!” the diplomatic answer to the question, “Does this dress make my rear end look big?”

And why do people need so much entertainment today? Case in point: I recently saw an ad for a waterproof radio with headphones to wear while surfing. Isn’t surfing enough? When I was young, sitting by the radio listening to “Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy” or “Our Gal Sunday” was the highlight of my day. We didn’t have cell phones so weren’t simultaneously scrolling and texting while listening (sort of) to how Jack and Sunday were going to solve their dilemma of the day.

I remember when a well-dressed man always wore a fedora (but never inside), and every stylish woman wore gloves (even in mid-summer) and a hat (rather, a concoction of feathers, flowers and fluff balanced on perfectly coifed curls). No, really. I’m not making any of this up.

Sneakers? Never! Except in the gym, on hiking trails, or on a tennis court. And if our slacks (never jeans!) became frayed or developed a tear, they were immediately relegated to the dust rag bag and certainly no longer allowed closet space. If a store had the audacity to sell ripped clothing as new, the Better Business Bureau would have closed it down summarily.

So many changes in a relatively short time — not the least of which is self-driving cars. Amazing! And scary.

I wonder what’s next.

Editor's Note: Rose Mula's most recent book is Confessions of a Domestically-Challenged Homemaker & Other Tall Tales, available at Amazon.com and other online booksellers. Grandmother Goose: Rhymes for a Second Childhood is available as an e-book on Amazon.com for the Kindle and at BarnesandNoble.com for the Nook at $2.99; the paperback edition is available for $9.95.

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Rose Madeline Mula Writes: It's a Wackadoodle World

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