I'm so old I remember... (driving, words, Ohio, weather)

[delusianne]

Originally Posted by Redrover

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

S.W.A.K. morphed into S.W.A.L.C.A.K.W.S. - Sealed With a Lick 'Cause a Kiss Won't Stick!

Never would have remembered either one, Redrover, thanks - wow, what else have we forgotten?!

[rrtechno]

I remember taking quarters into sixth grade each week and putting them in slots in a folder. Once the folder was full, it got sent in and we got our own US Savings Bond. Kind of a neat way to learn to save.

[Redrover]

As I was driving home from work I thought of several more:

I'll bet most of you here probably read some part or all of that scandalous novel by Grace Metalious (sp) - Peyton Place. I could hardly wait to get to my babysitting job because the family had that book hidden (hah!) in a closet.

Any of you have those madras shirts or dresses that bled like a sonofagun every time they were washed?

Ladies, anybody you knew rolled their hair around orange juice cans to smooth out curly hair?

Bet everybody here "dressed out" for gym - the girl's outfits were usually hideous bloomer shorts and matching shirts.

While in college, I actually had a curfew and if I didn't make it back to the dorm in time I would be locked out until I banged on the door and the dorm mother came down on me like a ton of bricks. And let's not forget when a PDA was a public display of affection (big no-no) instead of a personal digital assistant.

Anybody remember Maypo cereal - yummy!

As a post script, a lot of the products we are remembering can still be found in a funky little catalogue called the Vermont Country Store (online also). They carry lots of the candies especially and I know they have Tangee lipstick and Evening in Paris. Take a look!

[rrtechno]

My first lawn mowing job that wasn't for a relative was for an elderly widow lady. She provided the mower and gas, but she always had "white gas" for the lawn mower. She kept it in an old clear glass gallon vinegar jug, and the gas was perfectly clear. If I remember correctly it was the early version of "lead-free" gasoline.

This was in the mid-60s and she had a 48 Ford sitting in her garage. It hadn't been out of the garage since her husband passed away about 10 years earlier. She would go out and wash that car every week and start the engine up and run it for a few minutes every month or so. Oh, how I dreamt of someday owning that car. I always hoped she would give it to me sometime, but if necessary I was willing to buy it. I wonder what ever happened to that beauty...

[delusianne]

Originally Posted by RDSLOTS

I never missed an episode of what's-her-name with Lamb Chops.

Why, that was Shari Lewis, with the dark red ponytail. I thought she was the prettiest woman on earth. (After my mother, of course (like everyone's mother!), who to me was prettier than the Blue Bonnet Margarine lady.)

Great memory you got there, RDSLOTS.

[delusianne]

Originally Posted by Redrover

I'll bet most of you here probably read some part or all of that scandalous novel by Grace Metalious (sp) - Peyton Place. I could hardly wait to get to my babysitting job because the family had that book hidden (hah!) in a closet.

OMG I read it babysitting, too! That book remains the filthiest thing I've ever, ever, EVER read. I still remember long piquant stretches. In a way it was a horror story.

Im sorry Grace Metalious is no longer with us. She made those tales as grotesque as she possibly could - was it her sense of humor? Was she brave, or just...nuts?

[square peg]

Ahhh, the Vermont Country Store. Yeah, it'll take you back so hard you won't want to return! Good place to stock up on Beeman's Black Jack gum. Of course, your mouth will still sport that hideous blackness for hours. It's fun!

I remember adding bluing to a load of wash, instead of bleach, to make things brighter. Color safe too!

placing pennies in my new loafers from Kresge's Department Store (best if pennies were current year)

white levis

clamdiggers; snugly tailored shorts the length of football pants (apparently, they're back)

gas powered model planes that did stunts tethered to hand-held cables

Hardy Boys mysteries

dungarees

my parents going out dancing every Saturday night

hood ornaments

old Mr. Duquette, down the street, always calling me Paddy Buckshot

being the test driver for my older brothers' new homemade go-cart (uh, you guys forgot about brakes!)

watching home movies with the whole family and diggin' it like it was a world premiere event.

[RDSLOTS]

Remember when blue jeans were dungarees, and meant for working in the yard? My Mother was horrified when we started wearing them to HS, and that was only after jeans were 'approved' for school wear.

Friday night was family night at McDonald's, and for less than $5.00, all five of us had cheeseburgers and fries, soft drinks, and milkshakes for dessert. I walked to school my entire academic career, roller-skated on the sidewalks, and rode my bicycle around the neighborhood. Library fines were a penny a day.

Women choosing not to wear bras, for the first time as a political statement. Reading Erica Jong's Fear of Flying, and blushing at the language. Not even knowing what *sex* was until I was roughly 14, and then it was a word and not really anything I understood. My uncle shocked the entire family over Thanksgiving dinner when he announced he had seen Hair on Broadway. I had to hide my Jesus Christ Superstar album as my Dad thought it reeked of sacrilege, and I couldn't convince him otherwise.

Some time after that, I had to suppress giggles if the family was watching a comedy like Laugh-In -- how would I ever explain knowing what the joke meant?

And I'm so old that I remember getting a little ESSO tiger from one of the gas stations, because we had put a 'tiger in the tank' so we could see the USA from our Chevrolet.

The day President Kennedy was assassinated, we were called in from the playground, and our teachers were crying. My Dad bought me those first two Beatles albums, much to my mother's chagrin. And then the two of us rocked with 'em on Ed Sullivan.

I remember scenes from Viet Nam on the black and white TV, and boys in HS and college sweating their draft numbers. I remember the ones who didn't come home. We took to wearing bell bottoms, and tie-dyed shirts we made ourselves, pinned peace buttons on our floppy leather hats, and posted anti-war slogans around the school.

I started going barefoot -- and still do!

[Rita Mordio]

I'm so old.......... I remember that the first political event that caught my eye was the Lewinsky-Clinton fiasco. I was like 10 or 11 years old at the time....

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by delusianne

Why, that was Shari Lewis, with the dark red ponytail. I thought she was the prettiest woman on earth.

She was to me, too! You must be a long-lost sibling or something ... Oh, and as an adult, I rarely missed an episode of "Lamb Chop's Play Along" on PBS.

I wore out a couple of her records when I was a preschooler; my favorite was "Fun in ShariLand," with Shari wearing a turquoise sweater and holding Charlie Horse over her shoulder (I tried to find a picture of the record, but came up empty).

I wonder if my mom got as sick of Shari Lewis over and over and over again as she did several years later of the Rolling Stones?