Growing Up in Bandera

I sometimes wonder how my mom, who had limited schooling but vast knowledge, would react to the social media goings-on of modern day Bandera.

People wanting this and people wanting that versus the “we don’t need anything” folks.

It is a challenging argument for me as I made out just fine with what we had back in the day and I know my mom had so much less in her younger days.

I believe this is where we can separate the natives and the older locals from the newbies.

If you grew up here you most certainly will have a different perspective although you might well agree with the opinion of others who have quietly assimilated into our country state of mind.

The conversations seldom change as the “what we need” social media post makes it appearance every month or so.

Understandably it is mostly the younger generations who feel the need for change and I think that is due to their separation from what our earlier Bandera used to be.

They didn’t experience the simpler life of back in the day.

So much of what we had is gone. It was gone before people realized what was happening.

A rush toward a more modern world and the conveniences it offered had become an answer to the sometimes difficult times we endured as a dusty little Texas town.

Bandera today resembles little of the life and freedoms we had in the 50’s.

We can create gunfighter shows and provide horseback rides to entertain tourists in order to uphold our Cowboy Capital of the World image but that is a different animal.

I get that but the world we lived in as barefooted kids traveling down unpaved streets and having unlimited access to the Medina River is what is now missing.

Are things better? What is the cost of progress?

I realize that time marches on and now I can only daydream about what a great childhood I had Growing Up In Bandera.

The days of knowing everyone in town and not knowing how they voted in an election are the sort of things I miss.

The internet and social media are entertaining but I would give it up in a New York minute to go back to the days of the party line.