Downtown Developments: Losing traditional values in a modern world

GOOD OLE' DAYS: There are times when I long for things from the good old days.

Every night when I'm driving home, I wish the dimmer switch was still in the floor on the left side. Your hands have a lot to do when driving, and your right foot is for acceleration and stopping; meanwhile your left foot has nothing to do, so it seems like common sense to put it back in the floor.

I long for the decorum we used to have: Leave some things to the imagination, and don't put it out there for every one to see. Television shows entirely too much - too much personal interaction between people, too much exposure, too much inappropriate language and completely too much delving into the lives of strangers that we would not otherwise get the chance or want to see. The problem with this is that with shows such as "Honey Boo Boo," "Big Rich Texas and Atlanta," "Duck Dynasty," "Dog the Bounty Hunter" and "Bad Girls Club" is that we are the ones who make them big hits. We glorify those people, we laugh at them, and we are probably secretly thanking our lucky stars we are not like them.

What happened to morals, ethics and appropriate language in social situations? I also long for the days when most people kept their personal lives personal instead of posting it all on Facebook for the world to see, even if it isn't true. What people don't seem to realize is the truth has a way of surfacing. Then the lies are out there in cyberspace for eternity.

I long for the days when people took their jobs seriously instead of treating them as afterthoughts by being constantly late or asking for time off every other week instead of actually doing the jobs they were hired to do (when they manage to show up.)

Whatever happened to please and thank you? Were our parents correct? Did Rock 'n Roll do this to all of us?

BIG COST: Until I read the front page of the Feb. 28, 2013 edition of The Star, I had no idea that the Municipal Center cost $5.5 million. The few times I have visited the building, I've wondered why the City built it so large, especially since almost everywhere I went inside, the offices were unoccupied, and those that were occupied had no one in them to speak to with the exception of the Water Department and the place to find city maps.

When I was there, you could just wander in and out of offices with no one even bothering to ask why you were in them. Also in the same edition of The Star was the announcement that one of the offices will now be occupied by Congressman Joe Wilson. Well, at least there will be furniture in the office since most Congressmen spend their time in the Capitol?