On Tue, 01 May 2007 02:22:21 +0000, Larry wrote:

Fascinating, and i am getting an education to boot.

The sad thing about this type of picturing the "typical American
family" is that many people believed that it was the norm and thus
expected it.

When I taught high school science for a couple of years, a colleague
who taught social studies (in N.Z. - other countries and society) set
an assignment for his 14 year old boys and girls to make a collage
from newspaper and magazine pictures - or any pictures, of their
future in ten or so years time.

The boys of course had cars and motorbikes. Most of the girls had
collages combining expenive, unaffordable homes, candlelight dining as
in the Lustron picture, loving family scenes and such as pictures of
them waving off hubby to work in his equally unaffordable to most
sports car whilst standing at the door in an evening gown complete
with diamond earings and impractical (for cleaning the house and
washing the nappies, that is) hairstyles. All the men were muscular
and handsome and all the women were fashion models - not a pot belly,
sagging boob or unslightly stretchmark in sight.

Is it any wonder that, with the reality of stretching the meagre
budgets of the newly wed, kids screaming in the middle of the night
from illnesses etc, wife finding that she has to work, husband
realising that the GT40 is beyond his reach etc., etc., that reality
sets in, romance and hope die a little and our divorce rate is close
to 50%. I don't know what the figures for the U.S. are but I remember
that a survey taken in Dallas, Texas a few years ago gave the figure
of above 90% to financial reasons being the primary cause of Marital
breakdowns.

Now if only people bought a BOAT to live aboard instead of a house,
perhaps they might stay together longer due to the requirement on the
sea for shared responsibility. - Had to think on that one.

Peter

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