JC, right on target, again. I for one believe in change, where would we be without it. When we used to get that Orange or that big red delicious apple in the stocking, that was a big big deal. You are right and I have to agree with you that they had more meaning back then then they do now. The stocking always had Brazil nuts, and English walnuts, and pecans too. I remember just exactly what you are talking about in fishing as well. I remember getting up at 3 in the morning and leaving with my Dad, driving what seemed like for hours to get to a "good" fishing spot, then cooking breakfast in an old iron skillet by the river as we fished...
Have the changes made it better? Guess it depends on who you ask. To me, I guess it has but the most important thing to me about the changes is that it has helped me to appreciate those days and has embedded things in my memory, just as it has yours that helped make me who I am today...and I wouldn't change most of that for anything