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Remembering when (for the over-50 crowd!)
#3349 04/01/10 11:34 AM
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+ @ti2d Offline OP
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I'm over the ripe (and getting better mind you!)old age of over 50, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia!

You kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!

There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!

Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our @$$! Nowhere was safe!

There were no MP3's or Napsters or iTunes! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!

Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless. Cause, hey, that's how we rolled, Baby! Dig?

We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it!

There weren't any freakin' cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't make a damn call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your "friends". OH MY GOD !!! Think of the horror... not being in touch with someone 24/7!!! And then there's TEXTING. Yeah, right. Please! You kids have no idea how annoying you are.

And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your parents, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, the collection agent... you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

We didn't have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! Â With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'. Your screen guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen... Forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!! NO REMOTES!!! Oh, no, what's the world coming to?!?!

There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-finks!

And we didn't have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove! Imagine that!

And our parents told us to stay outside and play. All day long. Oh, no! No electronics to soothe and comfort. And if you came back inside you were doing chores!

And car seats - oh, please! Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on. If you were luckily, you got the "safety arm" across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that was your fault for calling "shot gun" in the first place!

See! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled rotten! You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980's or any time before!

Since I am that "over 50" crowd, I appreciate the CDs, cellphones, and the like.

Have fun (with this one!)


Journey well...
Re: Remembering when (for the over-50 crowd!)
+ @ti2d #3351 04/01/10 01:38 PM
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Originally Posted By: + @ti2d
I'm over the ripe (and getting better mind you!)old age of over 50, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia!

But we had cigarette commercials on TV. They were more entertaining than most of today's shows. Try finding one of those now.

Sure we had to move to change channels, but there was never more than one decent show to watch anyway (besides those cigarette commercials, which were the same on every channel). Today, you can wear out your fingers looking for anything decent to watch.

Our parents could not keep track of us with cell phones, GPS, and the like.

In our day, people went to the moon. And back. Today, all we have is science fiction.

And, of course, I could decide to hike Mt. Whitney on Friday morning, drive up that evening, and do it the next day. No permit, no hassle. And I'm talking Labor Day weekend.

Re: Remembering when (for the over-50 crowd!)
+ @ti2d #3353 04/01/10 02:51 PM
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Gary, that was freakin' classic! I still maintain that the posts by you and wagga make this the most entertaining message board out there.

It was only 3 short years ago that I could look at a topic title like yours (For the Over-50 Crowd) and ignore it. Unfortunately, no longer.

As I was born in 1957 and therefore grew up pretty much in the 60s, bells were ringing all over the place while I read your diatribe. Are you sure you didn't live just down the street from me? Coupl'a thoughts that struck me while I was reading:

TV - there were only 3 networks back in the 60s - ABC, CBS and NBC. Maybe you got PBS if you were lucky. No cable, no Direct TV, just the stupid rabbit ears on top of the (black and white) TV set - which only worked if you were standing by the set holding on to them.

Music - if you were lucky there was a Top 40 AM station, and that was it. Later on in the early 70s you got an FM album station, but you pretty much heard what the DJ and the record companies wanted you to hear. Portable music was the harmonica in your back pocket and your imagination. A big day was grabbing your 45s and going over to a friend's house to listen together - usually on some tiny, carry-case mono turntable with tinny speakers. Oh yeah - and popular music actually consisted of tunes that could be hummed.

School - started after Labor Day, ended by Memorial Day. The summer was 3 months long, like it's supposed to be. None of this starting the first week in August crap. And your teachers usually had permission to paddle you within an inch of your life.

Comfort - The first 13 years of my life I lived in a home with no air-conditioning. In the 1960s cars weren't generally air-conditioned - other than those 4 windows. Schools weren't usually air-conditioned. You had to go to the grocery store and hang out in the frozen food aisle to get cool on those 95-degree, 90 percent humidity days. In Atlanta, that was pretty much May through September. Strangely enough, I don't recall being miserable or uncomfortable in the summer. It was all I knew at the time. Imagine that now, especially you folks in the Mojave and the Central Valley.

Culture - I remember in 1968 or 1969 the Beatles were scheduled to make a live appearance on some variety show - I don't remember which one. They were actually doing it remotely (wow, what technology!), and there was this huge build-up for two weeks beforehand. I and all my friends were so jazzed to see them. The night of the show I turned it on with a high level of anticipation. When my dad heard the opening notes ("Revolution", as I recall), his exact words were, "Oh hell no you don't - no hippie $%#@ in THIS house!" Click went the channel - to something like Lawrence Welk or Hee Haw. I was so bummed.

Oh yeah - and the "Ratfink" was an extremely popular toy - along with the Trolls, Rock-em Sock-em Robots and GI Joe. I miss my Rock-em Sock-em Robots . . .

Re: Remembering when (for the over-50 crowd!)
Bulldog34 #3354 04/01/10 03:51 PM
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Originally Posted By: Bulldog34
As I was born in 1957 and therefore grew up pretty much in the 60s,

1955

Originally Posted By: Bulldog34

TV - there were only 3 networks back in the 60s - ABC, CBS and NBC. Maybe you got PBS if you were lucky. No cable, no Direct TV, just the stupid rabbit ears on top of the (black and white) TV set - which only worked if you were standing by the set holding on to them.

Car54 WhereAreYou, MyFavoriteMartian...


Originally Posted By: Bulldog34

Music - if you were lucky there was a Top 40 AM station, and that was it.

yeah.

Originally Posted By: Bulldog34

Culture - I remember in 1968 or 1969 the Beatles were scheduled to make a live appearance on some variety show - I don't remember which one.

The Ed Sullivan Show...1963


Mark

"Fetchez la vache." the French Knight

Re: Remembering when (for the over-50 crowd!)
melville1955 #3355 04/01/10 04:53 PM
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In those days, I lived in a country town. (You could Google it, I suppose) I had a friend from a well-off family who owned a TV set - B&W. They had moved 300 miles from Sydney, which, unlike my town, had actual TV stations.

So what to do? We hooked up a wire from the clothes line to the spark plug of the lawn mower, started it up, & watched the resulting snow.

More content than many of the channels available today.


Verum audaces non gerunt indusia alba. - Ipsi dixit MCMLXXII
Re: Remembering when (for the over-50 crowd!)
melville1955 #3358 04/01/10 05:27 PM
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Originally Posted By: melville1955
Car54 WhereAreYou, MyFavoriteMartian...


Gunsmoke, Mr. Ed, The Addams Family, The Green Hornet, The Rifleman, Andy Griffith, Dragnet, Batman, Bonanza, Leave It to Beaver, The Munsters, the Beverly Hillbillies, Mighty Mouse, The Lone Ranger, Tom & Jerry, Speed Racer, The Disney Hour, and on and on and on! For only 3 networks, there was a lot of good programming.

Actually, it was later in the Beatles career - I'm thinking 1969, during their Abbey Road phase. I was 11 or 12 at the time. When they all had really long hair and beards - as my dad loved to point out to prove they were "hippies". They performed two songs from somewhere in London - I believe I heard them start off with "Revolution" before my dad changed the channel. I found out the next day at school that the second number was "All You Need Is Love". Helluva combination when you think about it . . .

Re: Remembering when (for the over-50 crowd!)
Bulldog34 #3360 04/01/10 06:28 PM
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Back then it was not possible to hear the terms "Corrupt Data", "Five Years" and "Backup" in the same sentence.


Verum audaces non gerunt indusia alba. - Ipsi dixit MCMLXXII
Re: Remembering when (for the over-50 crowd!)
wagga #3361 04/01/10 06:44 PM
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Originally Posted By: wagga
Back then it was not possible to hear the terms "Corrupt Data", "Five Years" and "Backup" in the same sentence.


Bet John Lennon could have done it. Anyone who could pen the lyrics to "I Am the Walrus" and "Strawberry Fields" would've had no trouble. Of course, just like in those two songs, no one would have a clue what the hell he was talking about. Including John.

Re: Remembering when (for the over-50 crowd!)
wagga #3364 04/01/10 07:09 PM
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Originally Posted By: wagga
Back then it was not possible to hear the terms "Corrupt Data", "Five Years" and "Backup" in the same sentence.


Nor did you probably hear the new, inane, made-up word, "Recessionary"

Example sentence:

"Don't spend too much -- we must be recessionary!"

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!


The body betrays and the weather conspires, hopefully, not on the same day.
Re: Remembering when (for the over-50 crowd!)
Bulldog34 #3367 04/01/10 07:45 PM
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Client had a mere 800 MB of data, so the single flipped bit (alpha rays?) was in a collection of 6.4 gigabits. Located & repaired. I'm off to buy a lottery ticket!. Nah, fix is logical, not luck.

I'm listening to Ludwig's 1st piano concerto (Serkin pere playing), just as unfathomable as John's lyrics.

Today my son & I have celebrated a Century between us.


Verum audaces non gerunt indusia alba. - Ipsi dixit MCMLXXII
Re: Remembering when (for the over-50 crowd!)
Bee #3369 04/01/10 08:10 PM
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I guess I am the old man so far. Born 1/21/53. I remember getting our 1st TV in 1958. B&W with "Rabbit ears" antenna to tune in our snowy picture.Wires and clothes hangers helped occasionally to get a better picture.Loved Mickey Mouse Club with episodes of Spin and Marty and Popeye cartoons."I'll fight to the finish cuz I eat my spinach."
The Nelson Family; Father Knows Best; I Love Lucy; were a few of the family favorites that we all watched together cuz we only had one TV and 3 stations to choose from.Programs were few and when there were no shows to broadcast the staion went off the air leaving only a test pattern on the TV.

Re: Remembering when (for the over-50 crowd!)
Rod #3370 04/01/10 09:42 PM
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Rod you are just a kid. I was born in 1937 (age 72) We had about an 8 or 10 inch black and white TV and bought one of those magnified glass lens on a stand in front of the TV that made the TV set look like it was 15-18 inches.

Last edited by CMC2; 04/01/10 09:43 PM.
Re: Remembering when (for the over-50 crowd!)
CMC2 #3371 04/01/10 09:45 PM
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Originally Posted By: CMC2
Rod you are just a kid. I was born in 1937 (age 72).

If you were 72 when you were born in 1937, you would be 144 now! eek

Re: Remembering when (for the over-50 crowd!)
CMC2 #3372 04/01/10 10:15 PM
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CMC2
Kids!! They can barely read.
M Squad, Bat Masterson, Naked City, to name only a few. What's with the video games? My birth date shall remain a mystery.


Mike
Re: Remembering when (for the over-50 crowd!)
Mike Condron #3373 04/01/10 10:23 PM
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Mike= Old Dude

tee hee!

Re: Remembering when (for the over-50 crowd!)
Anonymous #3375 04/01/10 11:51 PM
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I wouldn't know anything about all of the above, since I'm only 38. smirk

Re: Remembering when (for the over-50 crowd!)
Bulldog34 #3376 04/02/10 07:28 AM
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Whoa, great responses from everyone. You, too, Steve C. and wagga. grin

I remember those days...

I remember going over to a neighbor's house (with my parents) to watch the Wizard of Oz. Our neighbors bought this weird contraption called a "color television." Whoa, Judy Garland looked hot in those ruby reds! Yowzer, Yowzer.

Don't forget the TV repair guy. Gee, I wonder how many children are offspring from those visits? Remember, the man worked while the woman stayed at home. I'll stop here.

I remember my father asking for "fill-up" with $2.00. Oh yeah, the service attendant washed your windows and checked your during in the process.

Speaking of under the hood. I remember seeing an engine and being able to change the oil, air, spark plugs. Carburetor! Now, there's a word googling for!

A/C? Yeah, didn't know about that until the mid-70s. Fans or swamp cooler were the order of the day. A/C in autos? I remember my Grandfather purchasing a 1967 Buick with power windows, A/C, and the like. Granddad was a cruisin' dude. He loved to drive from Bancroft, ID to Soda Springs (SE Idaho) to go a bowlin'.

I will think of more as the day progresses.

This is FUN!

Have fun


Journey well...
Re: Remembering when (for the over-50 crowd!)
AlanK #3377 04/02/10 07:53 AM
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Alan after all the medical difficulties the past 2-3 yrs I
frequently feel like I might be 144 instead of a youthful 72.

Serious, when I wrote the (72) I immediately thought I should
have clarified it but talked myself out of it. Shows what a quick & bright group we have on Steve's site here!!

Re: Remembering when (for the over-50 crowd!)
CMC2 #3381 04/02/10 11:32 AM
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Originally Posted By: CMC2
Alan after all the medical difficulties the past 2-3 yrs I frequently feel like I might be 144 instead of a youthful 72.

Serious, when I wrote the (72) I immediately thought I should
have clarified it but talked myself out of it. Shows what a quick & bright group we have on Steve's site here!!

You kindly served up an opportunity for cheap humor. cool

You saved me from trying to be the oldest one on the thread for a brief period. For the record, I hail from 2/11/52 (I was 0 then).

Re: Remembering when (for the over-50 crowd!)
AlanK #3382 04/02/10 01:02 PM
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I was born in '47, and I remember when I was 3 or 4 watching B&W TV. My favorite show was Dave Garroway's news progam - I think it was on NBC - because I liked his sense of humor, but even more was that he had a chimpanzee named J. Fred Muggs. It was a gimmick, of course, but I remember watching the show hoping for a glimpse of J. Fred.

Am still a bit of a news hound today. J. Fred Muggs has passed on, but his place has been taken by humans with names like Beck and Limbaugh.

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