Nostalgia

Longing for the Good Old Days!

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
A vintage photo of Wenatchee, Washington (my hometown)

The way it was is gone for good,
but it sure was good back then.
No wonder we are always quick
to ask “Remember when?”

We savored life. We thanked the Lord,
even though those times were tough.
We didn’t have what we have now,
but we sure had enough.

We scrimped and saved to get ahead,
but mostly stayed behind.
Still, neighbors knew when we had needs
and helped us in a bind.

The good old days found us in church.
We made sure we were there.
We were one nation under God.
So we took time for prayer.

But now it seems we’re backwards prone.
We are wealthy, but we’re poor.
We’ve little time for those we love,
while jobs we hate take more.

But since we can’t rewind the tape
to days of yesteryear,
let’s make the most of time God gives
and cherish those we’re near.

A Needle in the Sky

/ Greg Asimakoupoulos
This month the Space Needle celebrates its 60th anniversary

The very week that I turned ten
Seattle had a fair.
And they’d invite the whole wide world to come.
A needle in the sky stood tall.
A monorail sped by.
A forest of amusement rides was fun!

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans came.
And Elvis showed up, too.
That sixth-month party gave Seattle cred.
The city that Bill Boeing built
had finally come of age.
Just look at who has followed in his stead.

St. Arbucks, Eddie Bauer,
Microsoft and Amazon.
There’s Nordstrom, Costco and there’s REI.
Expedia and T-Mobile.
There’s Zillow and PACCAR
and don’t forget Big Fish with dreams to fry.

And now six decades later
from that Needle in the sky
we have a view of that for which we wait:
A world where everyone can “breathe,”
where cops deserve respect.
A world devoid of homelessness and hate.

A world that’s litter-free and green.
A world where truth stands tall.
Where love’s the lyric of the song we sing.
A world where peace can have a chance
and cancer’s finally cured.
A world where Jesus Christ is hailed as King!