Bena Mae’s Kitchen: Drug problems when were growing up

Last week I received an e-mail from Della Rains, Vice President and Director of Nursing at Oak Tree Hospital in Corbin. She enclosed an article that’s too funny to keep. With my thanks to Della, here is the article which I’m sure you’ll agree contains more truth than poetry.  Enjoy:
The other day, someone at a store in our town read that a Methamphetamine lab had been found in an old farmhouse in an adjoining county and he asked me a rhetorical question, “Why didn’t we have a drug problem when you and I were growing up?” I replied I had a drug problem when I was young. I was drug to church on Sunday morning, I was drug to church for weddings and funerals, I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the weather.
I was drug by my ears when I  was disrespectful to adults, I was drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of the teacher or the preacher, or did not put forth my best effort in everything that was asked of me.
I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed out with soap if I uttered a profanity, I was drug out to pull weeds in Mom’s garden and flower beds and cockleburs out of Dad’s fields. I was drug to the homes of family, friends and neighbors to help some poor soul who had no one to mow the yard, repair a clothesline or cut firewood, and, if my mother had known I had taken a single dime as a tip, she would have drug me back to the woodshed.
Those drugs are still in my veins today and affect everything I do, say, or think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack, or heroin, and if today’s children had this kind of drug problem, America would be a better place.
God bless the parents who drugged us.
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My, how times have changed. This morning when I read about a school teacher being cited for child abuse for spanking an unruly student, I thought back to when I was in second grade and received about three paddlings one year from my teacher, Mr. Higgins.  About three licks in the hand. For chewing gum in class. No lawsuits, no reprimand from the school board, no suspension. Just a little stinging in the hand. Life was simple back then.
Copycat Best Western
Banana Orange Bread

3 medium-size ripe bananas, mashed
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup orange juice
2/3 cup butter, melted
3 cups flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cups chopped mixed nuts
Vegetable oil spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine bananas, sugar, eggs, vanilla, orange juice, and butter and mix until creamy.
In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Add nuts. Add flour mixture to banana mixture and beat just until combined.
Spray two 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch pans and divide batter between pans. Bake in preheated oven 35 to 45 minutes or until done. Makes 2 loaves.