Four Score and 10 Years Ago

Four score (that's 20 years each) and 10 years ago, my mom came into this world. If you don't know Gettysburg Address type math, that's 90 years! She was born on Good Friday in 1932 so she was special from the get-go.

Tomorrow we'll go Up North to celebrate with her and lots of family. The picture above is from her cake we had in Arizona. It took her 3 tries to get those 9 candles blown out. Apparently claims that us Hedberg ladies are full of hot air have been debunked. Thanks, Mom.

I really can't image what life was like as a child of the Great Depression. But of course the Internet has factoids to help us make a comparison from then to now...

List of 1932 news events and fun facts:

• US unemployment reaches 24% with many living in cars and shanty towns.
• Amelia Earhart completes the first non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean by a woman.
• The Bonus Army marches on Washington D.C.
• Charles Lindbergh son is kidnapped.
• BBC first TV Programming
• The big movies included Shanghai Express, The Sign of the Cross and The Kid From Spain
• US life expectancy: Males: 61.0 years, Females: 63.5 years

Cost of Living 1932

• Average cost of new house: $6,510.
• Average wages per year: $1,650.
• Average monthly rent: $18 per month.
• Cost of a gallon of gas: 10 cents.
• A loaf of bread: 7 cents.
• A pound of hamburger meat: 10 cents.
• Sugar 25-pound sack: $1.25.
• New car average price: $610.

Wow, huh? That price of gas almost makes me want to go back in time. But when you see the unemployment rate and know that people were living in the cars and struggling in many ways, then I'd prefer to stay put. Not that I have any connections to a time machine!

I guess it made Mom a stronger person. Also explains why she kept everything and reused everything possible. We are a wasteful society these days. Everything is disposable. Except the extra "stuff" a lot of us hang onto. You know... we children of the children of the Depression, and all that.

I'm thrilled the life expectancy has extended quite a bit since then, too. Males went from 61 years to 78 years and females went from 63.5 years to 82.2 years. Whoa, my 90-year-old mother is beating the odds. Hope that's hereditary. 

Happy 9 decades, Mom!