Am I just rusty or is this a problem?

If your MC went low in 1-2 years you have a leak somewhere.. it should be able to sit a LONG time without every moving the level in there.. start checking around for brake fluid.. it's gotta be going somewhere

P.S. if they are drum brakes and lock it's due to not being adjusted properly... if they are too loose when not applied they will lock soon as they hit the drums