mstar - I like the way you think. Here's an email joke I received today.
An 85-year-old man went to his doctor's office to get a sperm count. The doctor gave the man a jar and said, "Take this jar home and bring back a semen sample tomorrow."
The next day the 85-year-old man reappeared at the doctor's office and gave him the jar, which was as clean and empty as on the previous day. The doctor asked what happened and the man explained:
"Well, Doc, it's like this. First I tried with my right hand, but nothing. Then I tried with my left hand, but still nothing. Then I asked my wife for help. She tried with her right hand, then her left, still nothing. She tried with her mouth, first with the teeth in, then with her teeth out, and still nothing. We even called up Arleen, the lady next door and she tried too, first with both hands, then an armpit, and she even tried squeezin' it between her knees, but still nothing."
The doctor was shocked! "You asked your neighbor?"
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The old man replied, "Yep. None of us could get the jar open."
I'll tell you something that will make you feel old - check out the National Museum of American History in Washington.
This is part of the Smithsonian. You know the Smithsonian. It's full of really old stuff like the Wright Brothers plane, Civil War muskets, George Washington's false teeth, like that. Artifacts from the distant past.
Well now in the museum you can view such "artifacts" as rotary telephones, manual typewriters, console tvs, record players, Commodore computers, Roy Rogers lunch boxes. That stuff's not ancient enough to reside in a museum exhibit. It's not history. It can't be!! It wasn't that long ago was it? Yeah, I guess it was.
About five years ago my office decided to go out to lunch. I had the luck of driving with the new guy, a very young 19 year old man. On the way back I decided to stop for gas, and left a cassette playing for him, which had odds and ends of music I liked. It was an older cassette that I had just found during a recent move.
I warned the young man that while I was out pumping, and the cassette was playing, that he may hear a man's voice: that is because the cassette I used was once an answering machine cassette, and I hadn't recorded over the man's message.
Well, his eyes got as big as saucer's and he said, "You mean answering machines used cassette tapes!?".
I had those earth shoes. I also had lord boards, those sandals that wrapped all the way up your calves. And the high platforms, the lethal ones where you could fall off and hurt your ankles.
I had Hash jeans, from Canada--the extra wide bell bottoms. I had a pair of those ladie's bib overalls that had the zipper all the way down the front, through the crotch and up the back, very racy.
I had the cutest pink print polyester pant suit, with a halter top and that little frilly apron thing in front that hung down to your waist. For hot dates, ya know? And some of those Indian gauze buttoned shirts that shrunk right away.
Give him a real shock - phone calls cost a dime at one point and you had to stop the car to find a phone booth to make a call....
...and those were in the days BEFORE atm's existed (or were ever thought of). Of course there was no on-line banking, cause there was no such thing as on-line or home computers!
Most of us 40 somethings loved to tell him about the old days just watch his mouth drop with astonishment.
I think that's what always makes me aware of the passage of time, seeing the reactions of the younger crowd when discussing how things used to be...I am more aware than ever that every generation goes through that. I am much more sensitive now to how our parents and grandparents must viewed us vs how we viewed them.
It's still fun to watch the kid's expression's, though: became kind of a hobby to get a reaction out of him.
Car #1, A Chevy Vega -- 1971 (I know, I'm a young sprout)
Car #2, An Opel Kadett (Remember when they used to sell Opels in this country?) -- 1969
I was taking a night school class on telecommunications a few years ago and had this kid (adjunct professor) try to explain the ancient history of the Internet to a largely early to mid 20s class. He only knew what was in the books and had no clue what the book was talking about.
So I had to get up and explain it because I was there...
I had to pick up my kid from a school dance the other day (remember, she goes to a Catholic school). The last song the DJ played was an old retro song from the 70s. YMCA by the Village People. Neither she nor any of the other kids had the slightest clue who the Village People were and she was absolutely horrified when she found out what the song YMCA was about!
I pulled out my old VIC-20 a while ago...
Do we remember how horrified we were during the first Arab Oil Crisis when gas went all the way up to 55 or 60 cents a gallon?
Does anybody remember what Motel 6 rooms used to cost?
Remember back when Vegas was relatively cheap (except for the gambling)?
Remember when party lines were an fact of life and not a 900 number?
Remember when you didn't need a degree in computer science in order to tune up your car?
Remember when gas prices were 15 cents? I hate to say I do.
I know that in relative terms it's true, but when I hear the term "old song from the 70's" I wanna scream. It's just mentally hard to grasp the concept of "30 years".
Kit...I love that: I hadn't thought of ethyl in a while, and it came crashing back, especially having guys actually pump your car for you, clean your windshield, check your oil and tires. That had begun to fade by the late sixties.
BTW: America is celebrating its 230th aniversary this year. Assume four men since 1776 each had a child at age 50.
I remember S & H green stamps....got them at the grocery store...my mom would give them to me to lick and put in the books. Then we'd go buy something when we filled a few up....wow....
When I go to NY to visit my mom, she still has all her rotary phones plugged in and working...typewriter...she finally got a color TV, altho there is still a Black and White in her bedroom...
she still uses one of those rotary hot irons (I forgot what they're called) to iron her pillow cases!!!! She's 89 this year, bless her heart.
My first car was a hand me down '64 VW bug...light green....got into the Word in that car....was a CWOW in that car....I loved that car!!!! My brother has a '63 VW bug I bought for him a few years back. He's fixed it up for me and it's sitting in his garage, when I feel nostaglic enough, I'll go ride it around....
Still uses points and plugs and all that. Remember points? setting them with a matchbook cover?
My bug could ride on fumes...I believe a few of us drove to our first ROA in that bug. I painted little butterflies with another Way friend on the rust spots I worked over....
"And the seasons, they go 'round and 'round....
...we can't return we can only look, behind from where we came....."
Great thread. Here's one I bet others could relate too... I weighed 118 when I went into the Army. Now It's a constant struggle to keep it under 200.
First real car that I paid my own money for - 1968 Mustang. Seems to be a lot of ex-Mustang owners here.
Dial phones with real dials. Anyone remember "Call Directors" That was the standard small business dial phone with a row of lighted pushbuttons along the front edge and an obnoxious buzz when the receptionist wanted you to pick up.
Radio Shack battery club. Crappy batteries, but my musician friends were dilligent about carrying and using several cards to get batteries for their effects boxes.
Real pinball machines.
Going to a double feature movie with 50 cents and still having 15 cents for candy and popcorn.
Running the projector at the same theater for minimum wage after I got to high school.
Film cameras will be pretty much gone in a couple of years. I've retired my Hasselbad for a Nikon D70. I was at the dentist last week and she used a very cool digitial imaging system when she X-rayed a tooth. The image came up instantly on a LCD screen right next to the chair.
Anyone up for posting some gradeschool-highschool pictures of themselves? I'm sure I could dig out a couple.
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bowtwi
mstar - I like the way you think. Here's an email joke I received today.
An 85-year-old man went to his doctor's office to get a sperm count. The doctor gave the man a jar and said, "Take this jar home and bring back a semen sample tomorrow."
The next day the 85-year-old man reappeared at the doctor's office and gave him the jar, which was as clean and empty as on the previous day. The doctor asked what happened and the man explained:
"Well, Doc, it's like this. First I tried with my right hand, but nothing. Then I tried with my left hand, but still nothing. Then I asked my wife for help. She tried with her right hand, then her left, still nothing. She tried with her mouth, first with the teeth in, then with her teeth out, and still nothing. We even called up Arleen, the lady next door and she tried too, first with both hands, then an armpit, and she even tried squeezin' it between her knees, but still nothing."
The doctor was shocked! "You asked your neighbor?"
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The old man replied, "Yep. None of us could get the jar open."
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coolchef1248 @adelphia.net
think i got you all beat as far as a first car! 1950 plymouth
it never ran but was a great parking car parked in a lonly field
ah for the old days!
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dmiller
Good one Bowtwi!!! Here's another ~~~
A 70 year old man goes to the doctor for a checkup.
The doctor says -- "you're really, really healthy. You've got a lot of years left.
How old was your father when he died??"
The old man said, "Dad's not dead, he turned 95 last July."
"Amazing!! Well, how old was your grandfather when he died??"
"Grandpa's still alive too. He turned 115 last May, and just got married."
The doctor was incredulous. "Why on earth would he want to get married at 115???
The old man replied --- "who says he wanted to!?!?"
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Dot Matrix
Tonto
BTW, you are adorable! I recall those hats and a bag purse made of suede with long shredded strands of threads hanging.
As the saying goes, yeah I am old -- I don't buy green banana's anymore.
My first car was a light blue Pontiac Tempest Lemans
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GarthP2000
:huh: So what is it with green bananas?
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Pirate1974
I'll tell you something that will make you feel old - check out the National Museum of American History in Washington.
This is part of the Smithsonian. You know the Smithsonian. It's full of really old stuff like the Wright Brothers plane, Civil War muskets, George Washington's false teeth, like that. Artifacts from the distant past.
Well now in the museum you can view such "artifacts" as rotary telephones, manual typewriters, console tvs, record players, Commodore computers, Roy Rogers lunch boxes. That stuff's not ancient enough to reside in a museum exhibit. It's not history. It can't be!! It wasn't that long ago was it? Yeah, I guess it was.
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topoftheworld
I may have told this story once.....
About five years ago my office decided to go out to lunch. I had the luck of driving with the new guy, a very young 19 year old man. On the way back I decided to stop for gas, and left a cassette playing for him, which had odds and ends of music I liked. It was an older cassette that I had just found during a recent move.
I warned the young man that while I was out pumping, and the cassette was playing, that he may hear a man's voice: that is because the cassette I used was once an answering machine cassette, and I hadn't recorded over the man's message.
Well, his eyes got as big as saucer's and he said, "You mean answering machines used cassette tapes!?".
I nearly made him walk back.
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tonto
Thanks, Dot. I remember those purses! A Lemans...that looks like what one of my friends had.
And top, when my parents bought this car for me I was disappointed because I wanted a new PINTO. What a goofball!
Anyone remember Earth Shoes with the negative heel?
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Bramble
I had those earth shoes. I also had lord boards, those sandals that wrapped all the way up your calves. And the high platforms, the lethal ones where you could fall off and hurt your ankles.
I had Hash jeans, from Canada--the extra wide bell bottoms. I had a pair of those ladie's bib overalls that had the zipper all the way down the front, through the crotch and up the back, very racy.
I had the cutest pink print polyester pant suit, with a halter top and that little frilly apron thing in front that hung down to your waist. For hot dates, ya know? And some of those Indian gauze buttoned shirts that shrunk right away.
I was fashion's b!+ch.
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socks
Give him a real shock - phone calls cost a dime at one point and you had to stop the car to find a phone booth to make a call....
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moony3424
...and those were in the days BEFORE atm's existed (or were ever thought of). Of course there was no on-line banking, cause there was no such thing as on-line or home computers!
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topoftheworld
Most of us 40 somethings loved to tell him about the old days just watch his mouth drop with astonishment.
I think that's what always makes me aware of the passage of time, seeing the reactions of the younger crowd when discussing how things used to be...I am more aware than ever that every generation goes through that. I am much more sensitive now to how our parents and grandparents must viewed us vs how we viewed them.
It's still fun to watch the kid's expression's, though: became kind of a hobby to get a reaction out of him.
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Kit Sober
There was a service station at the gas station pumping gas. . . .I asked for ethyl, and he looked at me like I was from out of space. . .
"...ethyl is what we used to call supreme," I mumbled.
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markomalley
Let's see...
Car #1, A Chevy Vega -- 1971 (I know, I'm a young sprout)
Car #2, An Opel Kadett (Remember when they used to sell Opels in this country?) -- 1969
I was taking a night school class on telecommunications a few years ago and had this kid (adjunct professor) try to explain the ancient history of the Internet to a largely early to mid 20s class. He only knew what was in the books and had no clue what the book was talking about.
So I had to get up and explain it because I was there...
I had to pick up my kid from a school dance the other day (remember, she goes to a Catholic school). The last song the DJ played was an old retro song from the 70s. YMCA by the Village People. Neither she nor any of the other kids had the slightest clue who the Village People were and she was absolutely horrified when she found out what the song YMCA was about!
I pulled out my old VIC-20 a while ago...
Do we remember how horrified we were during the first Arab Oil Crisis when gas went all the way up to 55 or 60 cents a gallon?
Does anybody remember what Motel 6 rooms used to cost?
Remember back when Vegas was relatively cheap (except for the gambling)?
Remember when party lines were an fact of life and not a 900 number?
Remember when you didn't need a degree in computer science in order to tune up your car?
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topoftheworld
Remember when gas prices were 15 cents? I hate to say I do.
I know that in relative terms it's true, but when I hear the term "old song from the 70's" I wanna scream. It's just mentally hard to grasp the concept of "30 years".
Kit...I love that: I hadn't thought of ethyl in a while, and it came crashing back, especially having guys actually pump your car for you, clean your windshield, check your oil and tires. That had begun to fade by the late sixties.
BTW: America is celebrating its 230th aniversary this year. Assume four men since 1776 each had a child at age 50.
1776-1826 a. Great Great Grandfather
1826-1876 b. Great Grandfather
1876-1926 c. Grandfather
1926-1976 d. Father
1976-2006 e. Son
See-doesn't seem that long ago.
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moony3424
It was called Motel 6, cause that's how much it cost: $6 per night and Super 8 was $8. Amazing, isn't it!
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Dot Matrix
Tonto- I wore and loved earth shoes, went looking for them, they have them called something else but real expensive.
Garth- Green bananas? You might not live long enough for them to ripen.
I'm so old I don't buy geen bananas anymore.
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coolchef1248 @adelphia.net
i remember the 20 cent gas with full service and they used to give you saving stamps,glasses towels etc.
what a flashback!
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moony3424
I forgot about the stamps. You got either the green stamps or the yellow (I think they were called Top or something like that).
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Wacky Funster
I remember S & H green stamps....got them at the grocery store...my mom would give them to me to lick and put in the books. Then we'd go buy something when we filled a few up....wow....
When I go to NY to visit my mom, she still has all her rotary phones plugged in and working...typewriter...she finally got a color TV, altho there is still a Black and White in her bedroom...
she still uses one of those rotary hot irons (I forgot what they're called) to iron her pillow cases!!!! She's 89 this year, bless her heart.
My first car was a hand me down '64 VW bug...light green....got into the Word in that car....was a CWOW in that car....I loved that car!!!! My brother has a '63 VW bug I bought for him a few years back. He's fixed it up for me and it's sitting in his garage, when I feel nostaglic enough, I'll go ride it around....
Still uses points and plugs and all that. Remember points? setting them with a matchbook cover?
My bug could ride on fumes...I believe a few of us drove to our first ROA in that bug. I painted little butterflies with another Way friend on the rust spots I worked over....
"And the seasons, they go 'round and 'round....
...we can't return we can only look, behind from where we came....."
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dmiller
I used to have one of these --- a 1966 bug. :)
It was 6 volt, and I remember going to Radio Shack to get an adapter
so I could install a tape player!
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Kit Sober
Is the iron you are looking for a Mangle? (That's what my aunt had. I sure wish I had one now.)
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Jim
Great thread. Here's one I bet others could relate too... I weighed 118 when I went into the Army. Now It's a constant struggle to keep it under 200.
First real car that I paid my own money for - 1968 Mustang. Seems to be a lot of ex-Mustang owners here.
Dial phones with real dials. Anyone remember "Call Directors" That was the standard small business dial phone with a row of lighted pushbuttons along the front edge and an obnoxious buzz when the receptionist wanted you to pick up.
Radio Shack battery club. Crappy batteries, but my musician friends were dilligent about carrying and using several cards to get batteries for their effects boxes.
Real pinball machines.
Going to a double feature movie with 50 cents and still having 15 cents for candy and popcorn.
Running the projector at the same theater for minimum wage after I got to high school.
Film cameras will be pretty much gone in a couple of years. I've retired my Hasselbad for a Nikon D70. I was at the dentist last week and she used a very cool digitial imaging system when she X-rayed a tooth. The image came up instantly on a LCD screen right next to the chair.
Anyone up for posting some gradeschool-highschool pictures of themselves? I'm sure I could dig out a couple.
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Linda Z
I'll try to post a photo if it's not too large. Senior prom, 1963 (no, that's not a typo--I've got 10 years on most of you):
I stumbled across this while looking for a photo of my red 1957 Chevy...still looking!
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