Interview with my Grandmother, Zona McChonochie.
Fig 15 " The American Flag, the ultimate symbol of the American Dream" google images 12 January, 2013
Magazine style Question and Answer format.
Q: You were born during the Great Depression, what could you see was happening in the country during this time?
A: Well, i was born in 1938, and by this time the country was already well on its way to recovery so I didn't personally see a lot of the effects from the depression, but my parents told me a lot of stories of how bad the inflation was and how hard it was to keep good food on the table and a roof over our heads.
Q: Have you notices a lot of changes around the country since you have grown up?
A: Absolutely! So much has changed, I feel like it's a totally different country One of the things that I am most upset about is the gas prices because when i was a young adult paying for gas and things like that, it was like 20 cents a gallon!! you could fill up a car for a couple bucks and nowadays you could easily drop 60-70 dollars at the pump every week.
Q: What was your vision of the American Dream as a young person?
A: Well I grew up World War 2, so it seemed to me at the time that as part of the American Dream we should all serve in the war. I saw a lot of my friends fathers go out and serve the country, but mine didn't because of some health problems and physical disabilities that he had, and it was a little disappointing he didn't go at the time because I had no idea how bad war really was but it seemed like the cool thing to do at the time, so all of my friend's dads looked cooler than mine! My vision of the American Dream was a quaint little home with a couple of kids and a wife who was raising them because their father was at war, and I didn't have that.
Q: How do your vision of the American Dream has changed as you mature?
A: Well I definitely came to realize that serving in the war wasn't really part of an American Dream, and i also realized that it wasn't necessarily a specific situation that could be categorized as the American dream, but more of a frame of mind. It seems to me now that its more of the mindset that we are all proud to be American, and we see ourselves as better then other people in the world because or country is the most superior and we have to most opportunities for success.
Q: Do you think you have fulfilled or lost your American Dream?
A: Well in a sense I guess I lost it since I realized that my vision of it as a young person was a little bit off, but I have also fulfilled it because i have developed a good "Proud to be an American" attitude at the same time.
Q: What do you think about the direction the country is headed in?
A: I don't really like the direction we are headed because everything is becoming automated and I am not the most technologically advanced person. I can barely even use my cell phone and now they are coming out with all of these tablets and iPod's and things, i don't even know what! It is becoming quite a crazy time!
Q: What do you worry about with the country the these days?
A: I don't like how the media is because it is allowing more and more bad things to be accessed easily and become common knowledge and that is something that I worry about every day, especially with the youth.
Q: What do you see as positive changes?
A: I see a lot of youth stepping up and doing lots of service and stuff like that in the community, like shoveling the snow in my driveway and raking my leaves and awesome stuff like that and I really appreciate stuff like that, and you see it on the news when kids do things like that and they do service projects and I think the next generation of America's leaders are going to be very well groomed, and I am very happy about that.
Q: You were born during the Great Depression, what could you see was happening in the country during this time?
A: Well, i was born in 1938, and by this time the country was already well on its way to recovery so I didn't personally see a lot of the effects from the depression, but my parents told me a lot of stories of how bad the inflation was and how hard it was to keep good food on the table and a roof over our heads.
Q: Have you notices a lot of changes around the country since you have grown up?
A: Absolutely! So much has changed, I feel like it's a totally different country One of the things that I am most upset about is the gas prices because when i was a young adult paying for gas and things like that, it was like 20 cents a gallon!! you could fill up a car for a couple bucks and nowadays you could easily drop 60-70 dollars at the pump every week.
Q: What was your vision of the American Dream as a young person?
A: Well I grew up World War 2, so it seemed to me at the time that as part of the American Dream we should all serve in the war. I saw a lot of my friends fathers go out and serve the country, but mine didn't because of some health problems and physical disabilities that he had, and it was a little disappointing he didn't go at the time because I had no idea how bad war really was but it seemed like the cool thing to do at the time, so all of my friend's dads looked cooler than mine! My vision of the American Dream was a quaint little home with a couple of kids and a wife who was raising them because their father was at war, and I didn't have that.
Q: How do your vision of the American Dream has changed as you mature?
A: Well I definitely came to realize that serving in the war wasn't really part of an American Dream, and i also realized that it wasn't necessarily a specific situation that could be categorized as the American dream, but more of a frame of mind. It seems to me now that its more of the mindset that we are all proud to be American, and we see ourselves as better then other people in the world because or country is the most superior and we have to most opportunities for success.
Q: Do you think you have fulfilled or lost your American Dream?
A: Well in a sense I guess I lost it since I realized that my vision of it as a young person was a little bit off, but I have also fulfilled it because i have developed a good "Proud to be an American" attitude at the same time.
Q: What do you think about the direction the country is headed in?
A: I don't really like the direction we are headed because everything is becoming automated and I am not the most technologically advanced person. I can barely even use my cell phone and now they are coming out with all of these tablets and iPod's and things, i don't even know what! It is becoming quite a crazy time!
Q: What do you worry about with the country the these days?
A: I don't like how the media is because it is allowing more and more bad things to be accessed easily and become common knowledge and that is something that I worry about every day, especially with the youth.
Q: What do you see as positive changes?
A: I see a lot of youth stepping up and doing lots of service and stuff like that in the community, like shoveling the snow in my driveway and raking my leaves and awesome stuff like that and I really appreciate stuff like that, and you see it on the news when kids do things like that and they do service projects and I think the next generation of America's leaders are going to be very well groomed, and I am very happy about that.
