I'm so old I remember... (sidewalk, scene, woman, baby)

[square peg]

...and wash your windshield & check your oil, maybe even do a minor repair or two.

And then there were those real old gas pumps that had those bouncing gum balls inside a small window. I have no idea why they existed other than to entertain me and other little kids.

[DOUBLE H]

I forgot about the gum balls! Great! Yea, the gas attendants would come out and check your oil, wipe your windshield, replace your wiper blade for free, and the blade would be cheap, usually less than $1. Growing up in Colorado Springs I remember the Carter gas stations would advertise "Put a tiger in your tank"! Later they were renamed Enco- now called Exxon!

[Ohiogirl81]

My parents acquired an entire set of glassware from the local gas station; every time they filled up, they got another glass. Gas was about 25 cents a gallon at the time.

Originally Posted by DOUBLE H

I'm so old that I actually remember when real estate is affordable.

My parents paid $16,500 in 1964 for their 3-bedroom ranch on a third of an acre, which my mom could sell now for 10 times that, or more. When they paid off their mortgage 25 years later, their house payment, with taxes and all, was half of my rent. I think that was about the time I decided to buy a house.

[Rcm58]

I'm so old I remember buying Fizzies, its was a tablet you dropped in a glass of water to make Cola, Rootbeer and many other flavored drinks that was much cheaper than bottled soda.

[delusianne]

LOVED Root Beer Fizzies! I can still smell them. Did you place them on your tongue and let 'em fizz away in there?

[Rcm58]

Hi delusianne, no but I did put then in a RC cola bottle full of water and sell them to my friends...lol

[delusianne]

I remember when "stewardess" was a glamorous occupation, with vaguely naughty connotations.

[quiet walker]

Coffee, tea or me?

[Redrover]

I remember getting jelly in the Howdy Doody jars that when emptied were drinking glasses.

Anybody remember spoolies? They were little rubber thingies that you wrapped your hair around the middle and then pulled the top half down over the bottom to secure.

And going to bed with a head full of brush rollers (what was I thinking?)

And rushing home from school to watch Bandstand with Dick Clark.

Safety Patrol with those webbed sashes.

Sending away for what turned out to be boxes of greeting cards you were expected to sell (and hiding them in my closet until the threatening letters started showing up and I had to 'fess up to my dad...)

Weejun loafers that caused major blisters

50 yard petticoats

White buck shoes and "bunny pads" full of talc to keep them clean

Metal lunch boxes to take to school

Diagraming sentences in English class

Memorizing the "times tables" - do they still do that?

Tangee lipstick

Evening in Paris

And the oh so charming leisure suits for men - where were Stacy and Clinton when they were really needed?

When you wrote to a boyfriend you put S.W.A.K on the back and put the stamp on upside down

Trying to decipher the words to "Louie, Louie"

[RDSLOTS]

You do realize, I hope, that a lot of these things we recall are now either collectibles or antiques? That really slays me.

I strolled through an Antiques/Flea Market not too long ago and almost choked I was laughing so hard -- who had cleaned out the garage at my Dad's? On shelves were character glasses like Archie/Betty/Veronica and those blue and white Currier and Ives dishes (from the A&P?), and the gold wheat patterned glasses and dishes (another supermarket give-a-way)

My two nephews stumbled onto my vinyl albums from the 60s (my parents) and the 70s - 80s (mine! mine! mine!) and wanted to know if they could have them. "NO." I think some of them are collectors' items now, like the first two Beatles albums?

I remember when you got a real prize, of sorts, in a box of Cracker Jack. On the first day of school, many local businesses gave us school supplies. My father has a beautiful pencil/6" ruler set in a little red box, from Coca-Cola. We used to drive Mom crazy wanting her to buy a cereal(s) only because we wanted what was inside, or offered if you mailed-in boxtops.

The cars were SO big, until, on a long family trip, I could actually lay across the back dash, just under the windshield, to watch the stars. My parents had to buy an a/c unit to hang on the back window of their '54 Pontiac when we made a trip cross-country.

Shirley Temple, Popeye the Sailor Man, and Howdy Doody were my heroes. I never missed an episode of what's-her-name with Lamb Chops, and I wanted to be a Mickey Mouse Club Mouseketeer. (Remember Annette?)

DisneyLand in CA was new when I went for my 5th birthday.