I'm old enough to remember when ...

mc5aw

mc5aw

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Having issues meant collecting magazines or comic books ...

Operators were people who worked switchboards ...

Finding something "on line" referred to having hooked a fish ...

Social networks were confined to bars and poolrooms.

The only popular acronyms were exclusively related to the military or government ...

Rappers were department store employees who made holiday purchases look festive ...

Swag was stolen goods not street attitude ...

Hoes were tools for tilling soil ...

The Dollar Store was the Five & Dime ...

Affordable health care meant a sale on ginger ale, crackers, and cans of chicken broth ...

Munchkins were those wee folk in Oz, not sugary doughnut holes ...

Gangsters were impeccably dressed ...

Pocket pistols and mouse guns were known as Saturday Night Specials ...

The Zombie Apocalypse was called Doomsday ...

Aliens were from other planets not other countries ...

Tattoos were the sole domain of servicemen and cons ...

Playing Cowboys & Indians was SOP for adolescents, and wasn't politically incorrect ...
 
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I knew guys in college in the 70s would buy old, dead pagers and carry them on their belts because it impressed girls.


Sgt Lumpy
 
....the 60's seemed like a lifetime.

..... when fountain pens stained my shirt pocket.

......script was cursive

......you had to be accompanied by a parent or guardian to see Rosemary's Baby.

.....10 cents would get you a subway ride from Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn to Manhattan.

......a slice and a coke was .25 cents.

......someone cleaned your windshield, for free.

.....people said thank you.

......I knew where the nearest fallout shelter was.

.....you didn't consider anyone a hyphenated American.

......there really were seven words you couldn't say on television.

.....cops would bring you home to your parents.

......the belt.

.......church every Sunday.

.........being an altar boy getting caught eating unconsecrated hosts and drinking altar wine in the sacristy.

.........dinner every night with my parents and siblings.

........the guy that would drive through the neighborhood sharpening knives.
 
ralph7 said:
A cellphone was something only a high profile priveleged prison inmate had access to. :)
Click to expand...

Sorry Ralph, you've gotta go back quite a bit further than that to start waxing nostalgic. :D
We actually had a young guy at work that didn't believe there were rotary telephones.


Ralph, sorry, I misread your post. 3 hours of sleep and a pot of hi-test coffee has my eyes and brain working at different speeds.
 
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Rotary phones

Party line phones that you had to make sure no one was on when calling out and had to know your ring from everyone else's

Black and white TV and getting our first color TV

Watching the moon landing on TV.

Having to adjust the rabbit ears on said TV

Walking down main street in your town carrying a bb gun or a 22 and no one freaking out about it.

25cent a gallon gas.
 
One of my first jobs after the Navy was with Home Service Laundry and Dry Cleaning in Lima, Ohio. I picked up dirty laundry at people's homes and apartments and delivered it back to them after it was washed or dry cleaned. Not everyone could afford washer and dryers or else they didn't want to be bothered. I was paid $90.00 a week and got to take the truck home and was allowed to use it for personal use. The trucks had a two way business radio so the office could call you. I really liked my job.
 
When my father retired from the USAF he bought a Citgo gas station. Regular was 19¢, premium was 21¢ a gallon.
I was in the 7th and 8th grade at the time. I pumped gas (i had one of those cool 4 cylinder change holders on my belt) and did small jobs in the garage like minor tune ups, belt replacements, and oil changes.
Can you imagine seeing a 12-13 year old working on your car today?
One thing I hated was when some tourist would pull up to the pump, wait for me to go out there, then ask for directions.
After a while I started sending those folks waaay out their way. Like 10-15 miles out.
Eventually my old man got wind of what I was doing, when he asked if I was really doing that, he shook his head, smiled, and said "don't do that", and went back to work, chuckling.
 
...when I could walk to school with my .22 rifle slung over my shoulder and drop it off in the Principal's office on the way into school - on the gun rack he had in front of his desk - for just that purpose.
 
How Old is Grandpa?


Stay with this -- the answer is at the end. It may blow you away. One
evening a grandson was talking to his grandfather about current events. The
grandson asked his grandfather what he thought about the shootings at
schools, the computer age, and just things in general..

The Grandfather replied, "Well, let me think a minute, I was born before:

television
penicillin
polio shots
frozen foods
Xerox
contact lenses and
Frisbees

There were no:
credit cards
laser beams
ball-point pens
cell phones or
computers

Man had not invented:
pantyhose
air conditioners
dishwashers
clothes dryers
and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and
space travel was only in Flash Gordon books.


Your Grandmother and I got married first, .. .... ... and then lived
together..
Every family had a father and a mother.
Until I was 25, I called every woman older than me, "mam".
And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title,
"Sir."
We were before gay-rights, computer-dating, dual careers, daycare centers,
and group therapy.
Our lives were governed by the The Bible, good judgment, and common sense.
We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand
up and take responsibility for our actions.
Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger
privilege...
We thought fast food was eating half a biscuit while running to catch the
school bus.
Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.
Draft dodgers were those who closed front doors as the evening breeze
started.
Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and
weekends--not purchasing condominiums.

We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt,
or guys wearing earrings.
We listened to Big Bands, Jack Benny, the Lone Ranger and the President's speeches on our
radios.
If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan ' on it, it was junk
'Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and instant coffee were unheard of.
We had 5 &10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10
cents.
Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a
nickel.
And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough
stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.
You could buy a new Ford Coupe for $600, . .. . but who could afford one?
Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.

In my day:
"grass" was mowed,
"coke" was a cold drink,
"pot" was something your mother cooked in and
"rock music" was your grandmother's lullaby.
"Aids" were helpers in the Principal's office,
"chip" meant a piece of wood,
"hardware" was found in a hardware store and
"software" wasn't even a word.

And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a
husband to have a baby.
No wonder people call us "old and confused" and say there is a generation
gap, or from the archives How old do you think I am? I bet you have this old
man in mind....you are in for a shock! Read on to see -- pretty scary if you
think about it and pretty sad at the same time. Are you ready ?????

This man would be only 70 years old.
 
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