Peter Hendra wrote in
:

Larry,
You paint a wonderful picture of growing up in such a completely
different environment that experienced in more temperate New Zealand
which is 1,000 miles or so long but which has temperate weather
inducing surrouinding seas. The original name for N.Z. was the Maori
one - Aotearoa - essentially "the land of the long white cloud" As I
read your writing I became aware that the mental imagery your words
provoked were from the movies that I had seen since childhood. They,
usually from the Disney studios, of course portrayed idyllic
situations with the ideal stereotype American (white of course) family
of the time. America was apparently a heaven on earth where everyone
had large cars, large houses, toboggans, ice skates, drive in movies
and every other desirable feature of modern life. The kitchens of
these houses were very middle class with all the conveniences and the
mothers never worked and were always supoportive and understanding
while the fathers had good jobs but sort of hovered within the
periphery of the family. Looking back, it seemed that American Mothers
were very much in control as were the young girl children of the boys.
I remember at eight years old when I lived in a Boy's home, when we
were in bed at night after seeing such a family at the 'pictures'. We


If you want to see a little piece of that world in the USA, you need look
no further than the Lustron Corporation, who created those middle class
American homes of enameled steel around 1950 for several years. Lustron
homes have a real cult following, today, and are still as nice a house as
they were in 1949.
http://lustron.org/

Returning GIs met very short housing markets unable to sell them a home
on their new GI Bill guarantees. Lustron built whole tracts of houses,
almost overnight with their prefabricated cities.

The people pictured in the Lustron movie and ads are just the people you
are talking about...(c; Mom stayed at HOME and ran the household and
children. Dad worked and his meager salary supported them all, in their
new $7000 Lustron home. His $900 new Chevy sedan got him to work just
fine....

Then, the money mongers decided to ruin my country......
Moms all work, now trying to make ends meet. The US Dollar is WORTHLESS.
It's all gone and won't ever return....

Larry
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