Growing up you could say I was living on the fence. By that I mean I was neither totally one way or another.
On any given day and for any given occasion I may be on either side of the fence. I never gave it a thought when I was growing up. Looking back I can see it plainly. Was it reality or just a perception ? It was real.
I was born and raised on the proverbial wrong side of the tracks. That is a little funny because I did live " below the bridge " which referred to a section of town below the railroad bridge and was a sort of dividing line. It divided the " upstreeters " from the rest of us.
The rest of us were the blue collar working class. The upstreeters were the businessmen and those considered to be well to do. As a general rule the groups stayed separated. The upstreeters ran the town and we below the bridge complained about it. That is just the way it was. Each group having its' own distinct lifestyle. It is that way in most towns and I'm sure you know what I mean. The blue collar crowd are hard working,hard drinking,tough and practical people. The others are the shrewd businessman that plot to take your money and control everything. There purpose in life is too keep you down.
These were the basic attitudes I grew up with. You were not supposed to associate with people above your station. Know your role ! Know your place ! Don't associate with people below your station either. It was implied that we ( my family) were mid class working people. Proud of our heritage and working class roots. It was also implied that we should stick within our own group. There was no place in local government and certain civic groups for us. We could join the American Legion or The VFW .Not the Lions Club or that ever so elite bunch, The Masons. Those groups were not for us. There was a group called The Ladies Village Improvement Society that was very exclusive, only the cream of the upstreeters could belong to that group. The wives of the doctors,lawyers,judges and the wealthiest of the bunch. To think of entering that circle was ridiculous.
I went from one side to the other. I had a group of friends from both factions. I may be with either group on any given day or time. It wasn't because I had any special talents, it simply was. I just never fully adopted either way of thinking. I was a sort of rebel I guess,although I never thought so. Still don't. I was sitting on the fence. Anyone that truly knows me knows what respect and admiration I had for my Dad. He always said we were as good as anybody and I believed him. I don't think he believed that though. His opinion of people with higher educations and money wasn't usually favorable.
I'm still a middle of the roader. I can embrace issues from either side of an argument. I'm a registered Republican but that doesn't necessarily mean I'll vote that way. I don't vote strict party lines. I'm very much aware of the classes. I just choose to not pay much attention to them. It does feel a little uncomfortable at times but that is a human failure. I choose to associate with whomever I like. I don't feel bound by social conventions. I'm not always accepted. No matter.
On any given day and for any given occasion I may be on either side of the fence. I never gave it a thought when I was growing up. Looking back I can see it plainly. Was it reality or just a perception ? It was real.
I was born and raised on the proverbial wrong side of the tracks. That is a little funny because I did live " below the bridge " which referred to a section of town below the railroad bridge and was a sort of dividing line. It divided the " upstreeters " from the rest of us.
The rest of us were the blue collar working class. The upstreeters were the businessmen and those considered to be well to do. As a general rule the groups stayed separated. The upstreeters ran the town and we below the bridge complained about it. That is just the way it was. Each group having its' own distinct lifestyle. It is that way in most towns and I'm sure you know what I mean. The blue collar crowd are hard working,hard drinking,tough and practical people. The others are the shrewd businessman that plot to take your money and control everything. There purpose in life is too keep you down.
These were the basic attitudes I grew up with. You were not supposed to associate with people above your station. Know your role ! Know your place ! Don't associate with people below your station either. It was implied that we ( my family) were mid class working people. Proud of our heritage and working class roots. It was also implied that we should stick within our own group. There was no place in local government and certain civic groups for us. We could join the American Legion or The VFW .Not the Lions Club or that ever so elite bunch, The Masons. Those groups were not for us. There was a group called The Ladies Village Improvement Society that was very exclusive, only the cream of the upstreeters could belong to that group. The wives of the doctors,lawyers,judges and the wealthiest of the bunch. To think of entering that circle was ridiculous.
I went from one side to the other. I had a group of friends from both factions. I may be with either group on any given day or time. It wasn't because I had any special talents, it simply was. I just never fully adopted either way of thinking. I was a sort of rebel I guess,although I never thought so. Still don't. I was sitting on the fence. Anyone that truly knows me knows what respect and admiration I had for my Dad. He always said we were as good as anybody and I believed him. I don't think he believed that though. His opinion of people with higher educations and money wasn't usually favorable.
I'm still a middle of the roader. I can embrace issues from either side of an argument. I'm a registered Republican but that doesn't necessarily mean I'll vote that way. I don't vote strict party lines. I'm very much aware of the classes. I just choose to not pay much attention to them. It does feel a little uncomfortable at times but that is a human failure. I choose to associate with whomever I like. I don't feel bound by social conventions. I'm not always accepted. No matter.
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