The One Thing That Won't Change

Ilove candy, and while there’s a smorgasbord of new candies marketed to the tastes of millions of today’s kid generations (Airheads, Sour Punch Straws, Sour Patch Kids, Colombina Bon Bon Bum lollipops). I’m still a dyedin-the-wool Now and Later girl (I know I’m dating myself). I still remember the actual Now and Later candy jingle, “Eat some now, save some for later…” I also remember you could get an impressive pack of nine pieces for just ten cents. Back then, Now and Laters came in a few tantalizing flavors discontinued today, like vanilla, caramel rum, bubble gum, and chocolate. Nowadays, the inflation-shrunken Now and Later pack is just six pieces for a quarter—a real sign of our high-cost-of-living times.

And it’s not just dime-priced candy that’s signaled a more affordable era gone by, it’s the “gemeinschaft” concept (the German word for “community” I learned from my first college sociology professor), that eased out with it. It was the simpler times, the good will, and the neighborly sentiment along with those Now and Laters and homemade Kool-Aid cup ices we bought in summer from the old Spanish lady who sold them to everybody’s kids from her apartment for a quarter—a metaphor for modern times that felt merrier and a lot more manageable.

Back then, kids knew which bodegas and which neighbors sold what for what, and parents knew it, too. Free goodies were better. When summer rolled around, there’d be long lines of neighborhood kids—economically disadvantaged or not—peacefully waiting their turn to get the free sandwich, peach, and 8-ounce juice and milk containers that came in clear-wrapped, packaged trays distributed by the city. Hitmaker music would blare from folks’ windows from salsa and merengue and gospel, to A Taste of Honey’s “Boogie Oogie Oogie,” Earth, Wind, & Fire’s “Boogie Wonderland,” and the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive.” Speaking of stayin’ alive, it wasn’t good back then to cut up in the neighborhood when your parents weren’t looking. Folks like Ol’ Miss Pearl were looking and gave you an earful, then told your kinfolk. On top of Miss Pearl’s street reprimand, you got another talkin’ to at home and a wellplaced whack or spanking. It’s a whole lot different today. Let a senior Miss Pearl tattle to a new age mom today… I can hear it now.

“YOU MIND YOUR BUSINESS, MISS PEARL! WE DON’T MIND YOURS! THEM MY KIDS!” Sorry, Miss Pearl. Back then, bad kid behavior brought out the belt; today, some parents prefer all lecture and no leather. It’s called DYFS (Division of Youth and Family Services); and children purportedly make their own calls. Regarding calls, we got cellphones to make them, and cyberspace, Siri, and Alexa lighting corridor halls, turning on washing machines, and closing our garage doors behind us, too!

But no matter what epoch: back then, now, or later, with its ensuing hallmarks, changes, and high-tech trends, there will ALWAYS be one, true constant that remains the same: we call him JESUS. It’s a comfort to know that in a world of dizzying change, large-scale inhospitableness, and terrifying community and climate-change, there’s STILL that ONE, mighty constant that will never, ever change, that’s Jesus. The Bible affirms that Jesus “is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) It’s a blessing to be blanketed by His providential care. I’ve found Him to be a refuge amidst the turbulent tides of these trying times. He’s the one true constant in a world of constant change.

Sonja D. Gracy, author, playwright, and NYC public school teacher is currently working on her next book,God and the Girls.