By Wanda Billbe
Did you catch the photo in the paper of the new sleek, black patrol cruisers? If so, you were probably as surprised as I was to discover the new look the police officers have added to their squad car division.
Remember when squad cars were black and white and the lights were only red; not blue clear and red?
Remember when fire trucks were red? Fifty years ago if a tiny tot asked for a fire truck for Christmas, the parents knew what to get, a red fire truck.
Today, it depends on the city where you live. There are a wide variety of colors for the modern fire truck. They range from yellow to fluorescent green, to orange and white, and once in awhile, if you're lucky, you'll see the big red machine whiz by with hook and ladder intact.
Remember when ambulances were white with a red cross on each panel?
The ambulances of today are red, silver, white and blue. Venture from city to city and you'll find your fill of interesting ambulances.
Back in the '60s there was another vehicle police personnel used to round up people -- a patty wagon.
This van was usually white and transported citizens to jail or another institution. Many were the jokes about "the patty wagon coming to get you." If asked, 90 percent of today's youth would be clueless if you asked them about patty wagons.
Forty years ago, if you mentioned hair gel, there was no guess, everyone knew you meant -- Dippty Do. It was a styling gel used liberally to roll hair in plastic rollers to keep the curl.
Microwaves were unheard of, except for the mention of them at Disneyland's Carousel of Progress. Walt Disney and his staff had the insight to understand that one day everyone would heat their leftovers in a microwave.
Could you imagine how difficult and time-consuming it would be to reheat everything on top of the stove or in the oven like they did in the past?
Think how much longer everything would take if we didn't have computers? In a George Jetson way, we are living the future people only dreamt about before.
Who would have thought a little box placed on your dashboard could announce your location and give you directions on how to get to your destination?
Or that more than half of Americans would speak into a portable phone so tiny it fits in the palm of your hand? Remember how large the first mobile phones were? Compared to the modern technology offered today, it was like talking into a shoebox.
Many things change. Sometimes we have a voice in the decision making and many times change happens, whether we want it to or not.
In this world of constant change, it's great to know that Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever.
