Grandma's Been There

When I was little, we fantasized about a future when robots would do the housework and meals would be prepared with the push of a button. While we waited for those days to come, we marveled at every new invention that came our way. Some impressed us more than others. There were a few that we thought might be better off going back to the drawing board. Were they good inventions or bad ideas?

Three dollars for a cup of coffee. Seven dollars for two scoops of ice cream. Two dollars for a candy bar... Outrageous? It certainly is, but unless you're closer to my age, you have no idea just how insane today's prices are. Let's go back to the 1950s and talk about "The Price of Life."

There was nothing trendy or fancy about coffee when I was a little girl. It was just coffee. More than that, I'm not gonna say. I'll let this week's story speak for itself.

I always say, "Mama didn't raise no dumb kids!" And that's because Mama was no fool herself. Back in the day, parents were fond of telling us kids that we couldn't fool them. Sometimes they were actually right. But sometimes they were dead wrong, as you'll hear in today's story.

Why is it dangerous for a four-year-old to suck her thumb? Why is it a bad idea to put a goldfish bowl on top of a television set? How does one mother get two babies and a very large carriage down a flight of stairs? Where do babies come from? What should you answer when a pediatrician asks you if you want to see stars? All these questions will be answered as you come with me to revisit some of my earliest memories.