[speaker001:] Okay, um, what do you think about the war recently?
[speaker002:] The war?
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] You mean in terms of the economy or,
[speaker001:] Uh, the economy, the, our soldiers going over, uh,
[speaker002:] Oh,
[speaker001:] just everything.
[speaker002:] I thought we were going to talk about social changes. Is that, is that what you're kind,
[speaker001:] Yeah,
[speaker002:] of directing it,
[speaker001:] yeah.
[speaker002:] Oh okay [lipsmack].
[speaker001:] Yeah,
[speaker002:] Okay well [LAUGHTER],
[speaker001:] that's the first thing I thought of [LAUGHTER] I don't know.
[speaker002:] Um. Well, I think it's caused a lot of, you know, big difference between when people had gone to war before,
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] like compared to Vietnam because,
[speaker001:] [Very faint] Right.
[speaker002:] I mean, I know that there was so much more support for the soldiers going over, and even people that didn't agree with the war still seem to be able to separate that,
[speaker001:] Right and,
[speaker002:] you know, and support the soldiers, so.
[speaker001:] I know that, uh, I've heard people say that you know when people that went to World War Two you couldn't become a political figure or president unless you had [baby crying] served in the war,
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] but then in Vietnam that was totally different, you know, you couldn't be a political figure if you were in Vietnam probably.
[speaker002:] Yeah,
[speaker001:] And now,
[speaker002:] yeah.
[speaker001:] if you've served in Desert Storm you probably would be a, a good candidate.
[speaker002:] Yes, it would be like a bonus for your,
[speaker001:] E-,
[speaker002:] image or something.
[speaker001:] exactly, exactly.
[speaker002:] Yeah [breathing], it, I'm sure it caused a lot of changes in terms of how many families had to have their income,
[speaker001:] Oh, torn apart. Oh, yea-,
[speaker002:] just drastically altered. We had people down the street that the guy was in the reserves and he was just about ready to go and they have a, just had a new baby,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and, uh, they would have, she would have had to go back to work and,
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] I think she said their income would have dropped by like two thirds.
[speaker001:] So it, that's also a good reason why it, it, or good that it ended as soon as it did.
[speaker002:] Yeah, yeah. I think the biggest change that we've seen, um, in, in my life or whatever lately is the economy,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and things are so tight, and like my husband hasn't gotten a raise in two years and,
[speaker001:] Exactly,
[speaker002:] you know.
[speaker001:] and it seems like everything is raising, every-, everything that can be, cigarettes,
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] not that I smoke, but cigarettes, um, uh, stamps, I mean it seems like ever-,
[speaker002:] Even dog licenses [LAUGHTER] I mean,
[speaker001:] Exactly, everything single thing that we do,
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] is higher,
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] you know. And they just raised the minimum wage today but that's not like, you know,
[speaker002:] Going to effect too many,
[speaker001:] as much as they should have raised it I'm sure.
[speaker002:] Yeah, yeah.
[speaker001:] But, uh,
[speaker002:] So, that's the hardest thing for us and, um, we've been trying to kind of maintain traditional lifestyle in the sense of meaning home. We have a three year old and a two year old and I'm trying to stay home as long as I can,
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] but, you know, every week [LAUGHTER] it gets harder because I could go out and be making money,
[speaker001:] Right. Right.
[speaker002:] you know, so that's a big, uh, stress I think,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] you know, for the social changes in our family.
[speaker001:] I don't, I don't have any children or anything right now I'm, uh, I work as a news reporter in Waco,
[speaker002:] Oh,
[speaker001:] and so,
[speaker002:] I see.
[speaker001:] I get to see, I got to see a lot of not firsthand [NOISE] but, uh, probably a good part of the war, um, as far as what people thought about it,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and a lot of things like that, so.
[speaker002:] Yeah, yeah. Well i-,
[speaker001:] It was kind of amazing people were coming to me to ask me, you know, what's going on, you know, like I knew,
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] or like I sat in on the meetings or something.
[speaker002:] Yeah, you have an inside track or something.
[speaker001:] Yeah, yeah. So, I got to hear a lot of what the people thought about, you know, changes in, in the war and everything, so that was pretty interesting.
[speaker002:] Yeah, yeah. Let's see, what other social changes in the past ten years, oh, I guess between men and women I've seen a lot of changes,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] in terms of women feeling like they have to have a career, be mom, be,
[speaker001:] Exactly, be everything, be supermom,
[speaker002:] everything, superperson [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] exactly.
[speaker002:] Yeah, because I know, you know, I, I really get pressure from, because I have a career also,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and I get a lot of pressure from people that, you know, my colleagues that why am I staying home. You know,
[speaker001:] Right. And,
[speaker002:] whereas before that never would have happened [LAUGHTER],
[speaker001:] Whereas it would have been,
[speaker002:] people would have said, why are you going to work.
[speaker001:] Exactly, um.
[speaker002:] So, that's kind of a difference for us. I think there's more pressure to, um, not necessarily a negative thing but on my husband to be more involved with the family.
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] So he's,
[speaker001:] The roles are changing a lot.
[speaker002:] Yeah, he's gotten a lot, uh, you know, you see all kinds of men being involved in the housework and taking care of the kids and all, but in terms of his amount of hours at work, nothing on that has lightened up.
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] So, it's now he has the pressure too of being superdad and supercareer and,
[speaker001:] And even, you know, I think a lot of the movies we see now kind of, kind of play a good part in our changes because, you see that they have THE THREE MEN AND A BABY type movies.
[speaker002:] Yeah, that's true,
[speaker001:] And I think, you know that,
[speaker002:] MISTER MOM and,
[speaker001:] yeah, and then you have the women, uh, detectives now and, you know, different roles,
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] just in what we see and so we probably want to do that even more now.
[speaker002:] Yeah, yeah.
[speaker001:] You know since the women's movement in the, wh-, seventies,
[speaker002:] That's true.
[speaker001:] and, you know, we've come a long way but I think it's still a, still have a good ways to go.
[speaker002:] Yeah. Yeah.
[speaker001:] So,
[speaker002:] I think there's still, I, I know that, um, I grew up in Chicago in the sixties,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and was part, my family was real liberal, and I think there's a lot of, um, kind of myths that we've come a long way just in terms of our society,
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] and race relations and things like that, and, you know, I think there's so much prejudice still there,
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] and it's kind of more covert now. People used to be more clear and say,
[speaker001:] Exactly.
[speaker002:] you know, well, I believe in this or I believe in that,
[speaker001:] Exactly.
[speaker002:] and now, you know, I think there's still tremendous amount of prejudice,
[speaker001:] It's just not as,
[speaker002:] but people think, oh, we're in the nineties, we're beyond all that, you know [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Exactly. But it's, I mean like I say, we've come a long way, but we have, I mean, twice as far to go,
[speaker002:] Yeah,
[speaker001:] still,
[speaker002:] yeah.
[speaker001:] and I don't think a lot of people, you know, realize a lot, the plight of a lot of people.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] You know, and you may be in good standing and everything may look hunky-dory to you,
[speaker002:] But there's so many more people,
[speaker001:] but there's so many more people,
[speaker002:] that are homeless and,
[speaker001:] exactly, that you don't even, *slash marks right? Should there be one after 'exactly'?
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] and that you don't even see or know about.
[speaker002:] Yeah. It's real easy to get isolated in your own little community,
[speaker001:] Oh, oh, yeah.
[speaker002:] you know, because wh-, when I was growing up in Chicago, um, we were in a real ethnic neighborhood and there were people from all, first generation Chinese, German, {D you know } all different nationalities,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and everything.
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] And now we're kind of like in Lewisville, Miss White Little suburbia,
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER] Yeah.
[speaker002:] you know. I mean I don't even know anybody that [LAUGHTER],
[speaker001:] [Very faint] Yeah.
[speaker002:] you know, from any place other than Texas hardly,
[speaker001:] I grew up in,
[speaker002:] you know.
[speaker001:] in Brooklyn, New York,
[speaker002:] Oh, boy.
[speaker001:] and so I was just, I was just surrounded, you know, by Black people,
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] because I'm Black, and so, you know I lived, that's where I lived.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] And so now, I, I feel lucky actually because I've almost lived around everyone. I've, I went to U T to college,
[speaker002:] Oh.
[speaker001:] and so they, you know, they have a lot of different people go there,
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] different kinds of people. And so I feel really enriched in that a lot of people don't get to see,
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] you know, some people have lived in Lewisville all their life, you know,
[speaker002:] Yeah, and they,
[speaker001:] and so they don't get to see,
[speaker002:] they think the whole world, [LAUGHTER], is like that.
[speaker001:] Exactly [LAUGHTER]. And th-,
[speaker002:] We lived in a dorm. My husband and I met in graduate school,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] at Indiana University and I was, ours was, uh, international co-, you know, co-ed dorm,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] and there were twelve hundred students, they're graduate students from all over the world. And once we came here it was like, gosh, I just miss that,
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER] Exactly.
[speaker002:] because it really is exciting,
[speaker001:] It is.
[speaker002:] to be around people of different cultures and different backgrounds. We got invited to, one guy practically roasted a goat in his, in his dorm [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Oh, my God.
[speaker002:] I wonder if he was from, Iran, or some place, I don't know where but, um, you know.
[speaker001:] Well, there's so many people who have never, you know, even gotten to do that,
[speaker002:] Yeah,
[speaker001:] so that's great.
[speaker002:] yeah.
[speaker001:] My sister was telling me she met a gi-, she's going to the University of Pennsylvania in, in Philadelphia,
[speaker002:] Oh, uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and, uh, she just met a girl from, um, I think, Barbados or Jamaica, or something,
[speaker002:] Oh.
[speaker001:] like that. And I mean this girl she had like two outfits that she would just wear all the time,
[speaker002:] Yeah,
[speaker001:] and everything and,
[speaker002:] yeah.
[speaker001:] she got some kind of money from her government like five hundred dollars. So my sister had to take her shopping and, you know, show her what to wear, show her how to match up colors and,
[speaker002:] Oh, God.
[speaker001:] I just thought that was so very exciting,
[speaker002:] Yeah, yeah.
[speaker001:] you know, to go and, and just witness, you know, this girl just coming to America type thing, you know.
[speaker002:] Yeah, really [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER] So, you know, I would have loved it, the opportunity to do that,
[speaker002:] That is part,
[speaker001:] but,
[speaker002:] of the change I think that I've seen probably, you know, in the past twenty years or whatever, is now kids have to have so much. I mean I even get caught up in it with our kids,
[speaker001:] Oh, yeah.
[speaker002:] even though I buy most of the things at garage sales for their Christmas,
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] I mean, people ha-, you know think they're kids have to have five, [LAUGHTER], hundred dollars worth of toys.
[speaker001:] the latest cereal about, you know, th-,
[speaker002:] Oh, yeah, it's just,
[speaker001:] Yeah, that's ridiculous,
[speaker002:] it, it's,
[speaker001:] too. When I first moved here I was only thirteen but, everyone had a car in school, you know,
[speaker002:] Oh, gosh.
[speaker001:] and I couldn't, and I just couldn't belie-, you know, I was from New York and so, you know, we road the bus.
[speaker002:] Yeah, me too,
[speaker001:] And if you had a ca-,
[speaker002:] in Chicago [LAUGHTER],
[speaker001:] Yeah.
[speaker002:] I didn't even date a guy that had a car until I was in college [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER] Exactly. And if you had a car y-, there was nowhere to park it anyway or, you know, it's just, you just didn't have a car,
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] but then we came here and they had parking lots in the schools and I couldn't understand it.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] You know, all the kids had cars,
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] and they, you know, have to have a car.
[speaker002:] Oh, gosh,
[speaker001:] So that was,
[speaker002:] my kids are going to be hating me,
[speaker001:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] I'll give them a bike and say,
[speaker001:] Yeah [LAUGHTER], yeah, right.
[speaker002:] here's it so you can afford to pay the insurance,
[speaker001:] Really.
[speaker002:] you know [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Or live really close to school and have them walk.
[speaker002:] Yeah, no,
[speaker001:] But,
[speaker002:] kidding.
[speaker001:] uh, yeah, a lot of changes.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] So,
[speaker002:] Well [lipsmack], did we cover it everything Betty [LAUGHTER]?
[speaker001:] I think so [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] Okay. I guess I'll get back to my laundry [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Okay, well, it's good, it's good talking to you.
[speaker002:] You too, good luck.
[speaker001:] Okay.
[speaker002:] Bye-bye.
[speaker001:] Bye-bye.