SEVEN THINGS THAT ARE BETTER NOW THAN "BACK IN THE DAY"

1.      COFFEE --  Did your mom drink cup after cup of Folger’s — black as ink?  What would she have said to a cappuccino?  A latte?  A caramel double decaf macchiato with an extra shot?  But you don’t have to go that far to know that coffee is far better now than back then.

2.     BEER -- Go ahead.  Try one of the old brews, just for old times’ sake.  Maybe you still like Coors.  Or Miller Lite.  Maybe you remember when Heineken was considered “the best damn beer in the world.”  Your choice, but I’ll try a craft brew — a porter, an amber, an IPA — and be thankful.

3.     TV — Time was when TV was “a vast wasteland” and everyone seemed to like it that way.  Today, if you just turn on cable and roam, the wasteland is still vast.  But if you pick and choose, you will find more intelligence and decent drama on TV than ever before.  And then there are science shows, nature walks, documentaries, news analysis. . .  TV has grown up since “the good ol’ days,” though not everyone who watches it has.

4.     WATER — In the spring of 1969, the Cuyahoga River near Cleveland caught fire.  Now you can swim in it.  Pockets of dangerous water still exist but overall our water is cleaner than it was before the Clean Water Act, and so is…

5.     AIR — There were days in LA, when I was growing up, when your eyes just stung and stung, and a fist was in your lungs.  Then LA cleaned up its act.  The rest of the nation followed.  Don’t take my word for it.  https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/analysis/the-air-is-getting-cleaner-but-the-media-are-nowhere-to-be-seen/

6.     RESTAURANTS — What’ll it be tonight — in 1959?  Another greasy burger at Joe’s?  That Eye-talian place with the checkered table cloths?  Chop Suey at the Chinese Palace?  Okay, what’ll it be tonight in 2017 - in most cities.  Thai?  Greek?  California cuisine?  Sichuan or Hunan?  The absolutely best burger and fries ever?  Those who claim food used to be better can just eat it.

7.  HUMOR -- Sure, we all loved MAD, Mort Sahl, and other stand-ups, but that was about all you got to laugh at.  Today, comedians and satirists have carved out an alternative America.  And from SNL's latest, shared on cable and Youtube, to the witticisms of "The Daily Show," Samantha Bee, John Oliver, Bill Maher, and dozens more, American humor never had it so good.