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Mitch Sneed at Large (in Culpeper)	• Subscribe

Tin foil and Styrofoam have ruined America
M Sneed
Jun 25, 2008

I had the pleasure of knowing a legendary high school football coach in Georgia named Max Bass.
Max coached at Newnan High School for 29 years and never held his tongue. If it was on his mind, it came out his mouth. As a sports writer, you loved it. He was a quote machine.
In those quotes were some nuggets of wisdom that I have carried to this day.
He once told me that “Styrofoam and aluminum foil are inventions that have destroyed the American family.”
What?
“That’s right,” Bass said. “They made tin foil and they put TV dinners in them and you can eat in front of the TV. They made Styrofoam and they stick Big Macs in them and you kids eat in the car instead of at the dinner table.
“I always said you work all your troubles out around the dinner table. When we stop doing that, the troubles families see have gotten worse.”
He may be right. When you had to sit in front of you father at dinner, you knew there was no avoiding a tough question. It was dealt with.
I don’t know why that popped into my head today. But it got me to thinking about other inventions that have damaged the country.
Here’s my list. Send me yours.
Air conditioning: Before air conditioning, people sat on the front porch and you knew your neighbors. I live on a street with 40 houses and I know the names of only the people who live in three houses right around me. It’s not supposed to be that way.
Stretch waistbands: That way you can gain weight and pretend like you aren’t.
Cell phones: I used to be able to take a trip and never make a call. I can’t go to the restroom now without mine ringing.
Cable: Used to you had one television, one antennae and that meant the family had to get together in front of the television.
Paid radio: Radio is supposed to be free. What would Wolfman Jack be worth today?
Bottled water: I drank out of the garden hose my whole life, but recently when I did it while I was planting flowers, my neighbor looked at me like I was crazy. I still can’t believe a bottle of water costs more than a can of Coke.
Electric windows: Is rolling down a car window really so tough that we can’t do it?
Frozen and canned biscuits: Back in the day, I hate that phrase, people learned to cook by watching their mother do it. I still hear my mother in my head talking me through making a dish. Will the next generation have that luxury?
Medical specialists: Remember when you went to the family doctor when you were sick and he gave you a shot for whatever it was and you got better? Try that now. You get a referral to a specialist, who will do a battery of tests and then you still don’t get the shot that makes you better.
E-mail: Remember when people used to write letters. Not anymore.
Calculators: People used to be able to do math. The register was down at a store I go to and making change, you would have thought we were asking the clerk to solve world hunger.
I better stop. My blood pressure is up. Let me know what you think.