GROWING UP IN THE 50'S-60'S

[V8403]

Hey Dad," one of my kids asked the other day, "What was your favorite
fast food when you were growing up?"

"We didn't have fast food when I was growing up," I informed him. "All
the food was slow."

"C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?"

"It was a place called 'at home,'" I explained. "Grandma cooked every
day and when Grandpa got home from work, we sat down together at the
dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate I was
allowed to sit there until I did like it."

By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to
suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how
I had to have permission to leave the table. But here are some other
things I would have told him about my childhood if I figured his system
could have handled it:

Some parents NEVER owned their own house, wore Levis, set foot on a golf
course, traveled out of the country or had a credit card. In their later
years they had something called a revolving charge card. The card was good
only at Sears Roebuck. Or maybe it was Sears AND Roebuck. Either way, there
is no Roebuck anymore. Maybe he died.

My parents never drove me to soccer practice. This was mostly because we
never had heard of soccer. I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds,
and only had one speed, (slow). We didn't have a television in our house
until I was married. It was, of course, black and white. Some people had a
lens taped to the front of the TV to make the picture look larger.

I was 20 before I tasted my first pizza, it was called "pizza pie." When I
bit into it, I burned the roof of my mouth and the cheese slid off, swung
down, plastered itself against my chin and burned that, too. It's still the
best pizza I ever had

he only car in our family was my father's Studebaker, He called it a
"machine" And it had a rumble seat, a seat outside the back of the car,
and it had running boards, like a step you stood on before getting in
the car. (MY BROTHER HENRY HAD ONE...HE TOLD THE GAS ATTENDANT, "FILL
IT WITH OIL AND CHECK THE GAS."

I never had a telephone in my room. The only phone in the house was in the
kitchen and it was on a party line. Before you could dial, you had to listen
and make sure some people you didn't know weren't already using the line

All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers. I
delivered a newspaper, six days a week. It cost 7 cents a paper, of which I
got to keep 2 cents. I had to get up at 4 AM every morning. On Saturday, I
had to collect the 42 cents from my customers. My favorite customers were
the ones who gave me 50 cents and told me to keep the change. My least
favorite customers were the ones who seemed to never be home on collection
day.

Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the movies.
Touching someone else's tongue with yours was called French kissing and they
didn't do that in movies. I don't know what they did in French movies.
French movies were dirty and we weren't allowed to see them

If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to
share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren. Just don't
blame me if they bust a gut laughing

Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it

MEMORIES

cleaning out my mother's apartment (she died in December) I found an old Royal Crown Cola bottle. In the bottle top was a stopper
with a bunch of holes in it. I knew immediately what it was, but my daughter
had no idea. She thought they had tried to make it a salt shaker or
something. I knew it as the bottle that sat on the end of the ironing board
to "sprinkle" clothes with because we didn't have steam irons. Man, I am
old.

How many do you remember?

Head lights dimmer switches on the floor.
Ignition switches on the dashboard.
Heaters mounted on the inside of the fire wall.
Real ice boxes.
Pant leg clips for bicycles without chain guards.
Soldering irons you heat on a gas burner.
Using hand signals for cars without turn signals.

Older Than Dirt Quiz: Count all the ones that you remember not the ones you
were told about Ratings at the bottom.

1. Blackjack chewing gum
2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water
3 Candy cigarettes
4. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles
5 Coffee shops or diners with tableside juke boxes s
6 . Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers and the
cream was on top of the milk.
7. Party lines
8. Newsreels before the movie and coming attractions and a serial.
9. P.F. Flyers
10. Butch wax
11. Telephone numbers with a word prefix (OLive-6933)
12. Peashooters
13. Howdy Doody
14. 45 RPM records
15. S&H Green Stamps
16 Hi-fi's
17 Metal ice trays with a lever
18 Mimeograph paper
19 Blue flashbulb
20. Packard’s
21. Roller skate keys
22. Cork popguns
23. Drive-ins
24. Studebakers
25 Wash tub wringers

If you remembered 0-5 = You're still young
If you remembered 6-10 = You are getting older
If you remembered 11-15 = Don't tell your age,
If you remembered 16-25 = You're older than dirt!

I might be older than dirt but those memories are the best part of my life.

[ShooterDSH]

I didn't realize at almost 48, you were older then dirt!! I seem to fit!!!

[DearMilSpouse]

Ok I remember 10 things which means I am getting older, however, my grandma was born in 1918 and set in her ways which means if it could still be used, she used it. (She survived the depression after all). Which is why I remember several of the things listed, because even in the 80's she was still using them. Hell it wasn't till the mid 90's that we convinced her to get rid of her cat glasses that she had for decades!

And I had a head light dimmer switch on my 1980 Camaro. I actually like it better than the ones on the steering column. Damn I miss that car!

[kmarier2001]

Thanks J.E., for the fond memories. That was a great read! I'd tell you how old I am, but according to my score, it says not to tell my age, lol. There are a few things on the list that were before my time - but my father was the type that if it still worked, don't get rid of it, so we still used those items until they broke. I wouldn't doubt he has several things still up in his attic or hanging on the walls of his garage.....

Thank again!

Kristin
PMM of PFC Nick
Camp Lejeune

[V8403]

I wish the dimmer switch was still on the floor of the car that is the upper left

[tdrago]

I'm 53, and some of them things just put a smile on my face and think of the good old days.

[BeirutBill]

my score was less than my age, and i Aced it, go figure

Older than Dirt
Bill

[Trapper]

Older Than Dirt Quiz: Count all the ones that you remember not the ones you
were told about Ratings at the bottom.

1. Blackjack chewing gum-I think so
2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water-used to buy them all the time-kids=sugar water!
3 Candy cigarettes-used to pretend we were smoking. My son likes them now!
4. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles-yes
5 Coffee shops or diners with tableside juke boxes s-yes, but probably throwback diners.
6 . Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers and the
cream was on top of the milk.
7. Party lines-sure do
8. Newsreels before the movie and coming attractions and a serial.yes, but probably from seeing shows referring to it.
9. P.F. Flyers
10. Butch wax
11. Telephone numbers with a word prefix (OLive-6933)
12. Peashooters-had one
13. Howdy Doody-on repeats
14. 45 RPM records-had some
15. S&H Green Stamps-had some
16 Hi-fi's-had one
17 Metal ice trays with a lever-my gram had them
18 Mimeograph paper-yep
19 Blue flashbulb
20. Packard’s
21. Roller skate keys-yep
22. Cork popguns-yep
23. Drive-ins-yep
24. Studebakers
25 Wash tub wringers-got my fingers crushed in one

If you remembered 0-5 = You're still young
If you remembered 6-10 = You are getting older
If you remembered 11-15 = Don't tell your age,
If you remembered 16-25 = You're older than dirt!

I might be older than dirt but those memories are the best part of my life.

I guess me and the ground have a lot in common, too.

[BeirutBill]

Hey Trapper, just how old are you?
couldn't be as old as Hank and I!

someone wanna pour me another prune juice cocktail and get me my Geritol!

Bone-yard Bill

[Trapper]

39 and counting