Things growing up have fallen by the wayside

[omni550]

Pantyhose - thankfully women today have enough sense not to bother with that daily nylon constriction.

And pre-pantyhose...they had NYLONS! and the girdles or garter-belts to hold them up.

omni

 

[Koolau]

Walking/riding bike to school

Creating our own diversions/games to play (few store-bought toys beyond maybe a cap pistol or ball/glove.)

Boy scouts

Relatives within easy driving distance

Long distance phone calls

3 channels of TV (maybe)

Mitch Miller/Lawrence Welk

Game shows at night

Cowboy shows on TV

Serials on Saturday at the movies

 

[Montecfo]

I wonder if the delivered milk is merely pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized?

Man: I wanted to do something totally luxurious so I took a bath in milk

2nd Man: oh was it pasteurized?

Man: no, just below my chin.

:: Rimshot ::

 

[Badger]

Yep!

My dad owned a shoe store in a small town and sold a lot of those [-]cheap[/-] inexpensive split cowhide lace up ankle boots to "old guys". But in my neck of the woods they sat around the domino parlor, not the pool hall, and were more likely to be dipping snuff or chewing tobacco than smoking.

My mother's parents lived in a small NC town and my grandfather chewed tobacco. I guess I was about 5 yrs old and thought that little brick of Apple tobacco smelled good. He cut off a piece for me to try. A couple of chews and I couldn't spit it out fast enough. Couldn't understand why it smelled so good but tasted so bad and made my mouth numb.

Cheers!

 

[Amethyst]

I still like them, and wear them on the rare occasions that merit a dress.

Nobody's leg skin looks that great after 60, no matter how much we exercise.

Pantyhose - thankfully women today have enough sense not to bother with that daily nylon constriction.

 

[Amethyst]

I vaguely remember women using "hankies" of cotton or linen, rather than tissues, to blow their noses. Never liked the notion of folding up the used hanky and putting it back in one's pocket or purse, instead of throwing away a soiled tissue.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

I saw a public water fountain the other day in a small town.

Ash trays. They were everywhere. As a kid it was my job to put them out for dinners in the church basement. We kept them next to the old spitoons from the previous generations....Never saw them in use.

 

[Time2]

I Love Lucy,

As a kid I saw Lucy with the loaf of bread coming out of the oven, I'll never forget it, I'm not sure why it made such an impression, but it did!

 

[pacergal]

This thread is a walk down memory lane!

Buster Brown shoes for back to school, saddle shoes and ankle sox.
Getting dressed up to go anywhere, girls not allowed to wear pants to school.
The freedom to be out and about, less worry about crime (i know it happened, just not as noticeable)
Polyester clothes of the 70"s--wild patterns, mens jumpsuits!

 

[REWahoo]

Buster Brown shoes for back to school, saddle shoes and ankle sox.

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This triggered a memory. The store in town that sold Buster Brown shoes had one of these. Anyone recognize it?
.

 

[pacergal]

.

This triggered a memory. The store in town that sold Buster Brown shoes had one of these. Anyone recognize it?
.

Oh, yes! I think my feet should glow from all the radiation

 

[omni550]

.

This triggered a memory. The store in town that sold Buster Brown shoes had one of these. Anyone recognize it?
.

Yup...an X-ray machine to see how well the shoes fit a kid's feet.


omni

 

[Qs Laptop]

my biggest "worry" as a kid i. the summer was getting enough guys to get a ball game going at a vacant lot.

Yep. When we didn't have enough guys to form full teams we would play pitcher's hand with ghost runners and use defensive shifts. If anyone wants these things explained, just ask.

Also, playing sandlot ball with a cracked wooden bat that had been repaired with a nail because Little League® season was over and my parents were not going to buy me a new bat until next season since I'd outgrow it by the time next season rolled around.

after dinner we could play outside until the street lights came on.

Same here. When I didn't come in right away after the lights came on my dad would let loose a distinctive--and loud--whistle using his mouth and fingers. I knew to come running when I heard that. Other kid's dad's had their own distinctive whistle or yell. (I wonder if they got together and assigned signature sounds?)

 

[pacergal]

Same here. When I didn't come in right away after the lights came on my dad would let loose a distinctive--and loud--whistle using his mouth and fingers. I knew to come running when I heard that. Other kid's dad's had their own distinctive whistle or yell. (I wonder if they got together and assigned signature sounds?)

One family in our neighborhood had a cow bell she rang that could be heard, loud and clear, all over. It would go off about 6pm and 9pm.
All the kids knew it was time to go home for dinner or bed when she rang it!

 

[Rummy]

Most of my 10-12 year old friends had 22 rifles. We'd head to our fort by the "crick" and shoot cans floating downstream. On the way we'd "borrow" field corn and potatoes and cook over a fire for lunch at our "fort". If we were lucky we may add a couple of "chubs" or trout to the meal.
The fort is where many of us smoked our first cigarettes.

 

[MuirWannabe]

Making model airplanes. Hanging them with string from my bedroom ceiling. Then we would shoot at them with these Star Trek phaser guns that fired little plastic discs.

Flash light tag

Neighbors and us shooting off so many firecrackers in the neighborhood streets on 4th of July that you couldn’t even see the pavement anymore due to the shredded paper.

Washing cars in the driveway

Desperately desiring one of those all in one receivers, 8-track, cassette, round table units for Christmas.

May pole dance at kindergarten. As a young boy I wasn’t a big fan of this. Standing in the corner with a dunce cap for talking over teacher. Wasn’t a big fan of that either.

Catching horned frogs in the backyard. They used to be everywhere.

Tuning the UHF dial on the TV to try and find Gillian’s Island.

Being my dads remote control. Son, get up and change the channel. Get up turn the volume down.

 

[JoeWras]

.

This triggered a memory. The store in town that sold Buster Brown shoes had one of these. Anyone recognize it?.

My friend said he used to spend what seemed like hours watching his toes wriggle with that thing. He always suspected that foot cancer would get him. He's still OK at age 75.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Also, playing sandlot ball with a cracked wooden bat that had been repaired with a nail because Little League® season was over and my parents were not going to buy me a new bat until next season since I'd outgrow it by the time next season rolled around.

What?!? Your parents didn't buy you [-]oven mits[/-] a sliding glove to keep your nails clean? For shame!!!

 

[JoeWras]

My neighbor friend and I used to spend hours throwing a D cell battery on his garage roof and catching it when it rolled back. It was kind of like "Plinko", the battery would dart back and forth and you never knew where it would land.

Hmmm... Probably not too good for the shingles.

Still, those kid games that cost nothing were the "Rosebud" of my youth.

 

[Qs Laptop]

My neighbor friend and I used to spend hours throwing a D cell battery on his garage roof and catching it when it rolled back. It was kind of like "Plinko", the battery would dart back and forth and you never knew where it would land.

I did this with a tennis ball and then catch it in my baseball mitt. But instead of it rolling off the roof I would throw the ball high in the air so it would bounce off the roof. I got so good at it eventually I was throwing the tennis ball on the garage roof, then ducking under the overhang so I was blind to the ball coming off the garage, then quickly reacting and trying to make the catch. There were many over the shoulder catches ala Willy Mays in the 1954 World Series. Good times.

With my two boys I'd hit them fly balls with a tennis ball and tennis racket in the back yard. We have a big backyard and I could hit the balls fairly high, maybe 75-100 feet or so. I could make them run down fly balls. Also put spin on the balls to make it tougher. Then there were the line drives...

 

[freedomatlast]

Muscle cars of the 60s and 70s that were simple enough mechanically that you could swap out an engine or transmission in a couple of hours in the driveway Saturday afternoon, and be ready for cruising late into Saturday evening.

 

[Ronstar]

Pantyhose - thankfully women today have enough sense not to bother with that daily nylon constriction.

Ah yes pantyhose. After a day in high school, a friend and I were driving around. A girl we knew was coming out of a local store, and we asked her if she wanted a ride. She hopped in the car, and struck up a conversation about the pantyhose she just bought.

We dropped her off at her house, and rode around a little more before we noticed that she left her purchase in my car. So we went back to her house, I walked to the door with the bag, and when her mom answered the door, I said: “Here’s Nancy’s pantyhose - she left them in my car”

 

[homestead]

Candy cigarettes, can't find them anywhere anymore!

 

[Montecfo]

The ball games:

Tennis baseball, played with regular bat but tennis ball which had limited flight. Worked in a big front yard or vacant lot.

Nerf baseball, played with a whiffle bat. Underhand pitching with speed changes and lots of spin. Hard to really "get hold of one" with the bat. Played on driveway, preferably against a fence or garage where a well hit ball could leave the yard and score invisible runners. Just needed 2 to play.

Pickup basketball, played anywhere there was a hoop. Fewer leagues or organized play then.

Riding bikes everywhere. To school, to the mall, to friends' houses, to the pool, to the rec center.

Student safety patrols- 5th and 6th graders who had uniforms and long flags helped stop traffic in front of the school so kids could safely cross the street. No cell phones then so everyone stayed safe as far as I know.

Good memories but a bit sad.

 

[jollystomper]

Written thank you notes - a relic of my youth. I still write them, but no one else I know does.

Interestingly, we still get these for the high school/college graduation and wedding gifts we give. Maybe because the recipients see the gifts as generous and want to stay on our good side for the future . Or their parents force them to write them .