# When I was your age...



## shorty70 (Jun 29, 2008)

We didn't have mobile phones, we had rotory phones and party lines..

That's one example, What have you got?

Are ya feelin' it?


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## mastercylinder60 (Dec 18, 2005)

the milkman brought two fresh gallons of milk to the back door twice a week.


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## boom! (Jul 10, 2004)

We had to write and mail letters, then wait at least a week for a response.


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## Pablo (May 21, 2004)

We had to listen to albums and 8-track tapes.


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## WilliamH (May 21, 2004)

We rode on the "deck" under the rear window in the family car.


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## Reel Time (Oct 6, 2009)

We tightened our roller skates onto our tennis shoes with a key.


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## InfamousJ (May 21, 2004)

the convenience stores kept snuff in the refrigerated section


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## PeteD (Sep 21, 2005)

mastercylinder said:


> the milkman brought two fresh gallons of milk to the back door twice a week.


And we didn't have electronic games to waste our time. Instead, we took those flat cardboard stoppers off the tops of the milk bottles, and played games with them. One player would toss his to the ground, and the other would toss his; if you landed on top of your opponent's, you won his stopper. Wealth was measured in the number of milk bottle stoppers you owned.


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## Reel Time (Oct 6, 2009)

We would get our baseball cards and use a clothesline clip to attach them to the spokes on our bike to make them sound cool.


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## 9121SS (Jun 28, 2009)

It was a real treat to get to go to Dairy Queen once every couple of weeks.


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## capt.sandbar (Aug 31, 2007)

getting a color tv was the bomb!
had Christmas and Easter, not a winter and spring vacation..
got licks with a paddle when we got in trouble at school, then at home too...


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## seattleman1969 (Jul 17, 2008)

PeteD said:


> And we didn't have electronic games to waste our time. Instead, we took those flat cardboard stoppers off the tops of the milk bottles, and played games with them. One player would toss his to the ground, and the other would toss his; if you landed on top of your opponent's, you won his stopper. Wealth was measured in the number of milk bottle stoppers you owned.


That game is still a craze in Hawaii... "POGS" they call 'em...

My mother always knew what I'd done before I ever got home because the neighbors watched out for everyone and were all friendly to one another (And the party line had some to do with it too...over hearing conversations about what little so and so had done today).

You actually had to WALK TO THE TV to change the channel....


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## Hollywood1053 (May 15, 2009)

we had 3 TV channels and you had to get up and walk to the TV to change the channel


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## PBD539 (May 4, 2010)

God, you people are old!!:tongue:


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## capt.sandbar (Aug 31, 2007)

getting a color tv was the bomb!
we had Christmas and Easter, not winter and spring vacation
we got licks with a paddle when we got in trouble at school, then when we got home too...


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## Reel Time (Oct 6, 2009)

You could go down to the drugstore and get a cherry phosphate.


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## PBD539 (May 4, 2010)

My dad used to yell from the living room for me to come out of my room and change the channel. Lazy B!


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## Reel_Blessed II (Jun 24, 2004)

PeteD said:


> *And we didn't have electronic games to waste our time.* Instead, we took those flat cardboard stoppers off the tops of the milk bottles, and played games with them. One player would toss his to the ground, and the other would toss his; if you landed on top of your opponent's, you won his stopper. Wealth was measured in the number of milk bottle stoppers you owned.


yea...we wasted time with milk stoppers.

:rotfl:

No x-box live. It was Intellivision.


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## Bull Red (Mar 17, 2010)

You could go in the convenience store with a quarter and walk out with a bag full of candy.


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

We made our own model airplanes from balsa sticks and tissue paper. If we were lucky, we used a plan cut out of a magazine.


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## FINNFOWLER (Sep 2, 2004)

When I was 6-7 I would ride my bike down to the corner store and buy cigs for my mom. No questions asked who I was buying them for...


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## shorty70 (Jun 29, 2008)

I don't really remember calculators in school, either. For sure not these high tech gadgets.


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## Jim Martin (Jun 3, 2009)

Reminds me of a song my old band used to do:

School always started the same every day
The pledge of allegiance then someone would pray
Not every kid made the team when they tried
We got disappointed and that was all right, we turned out all right


That was the 1970's....


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## Cowboy1uhB (Nov 19, 2008)

*If you needed posterboard on Sunday*

For a project due Monday...you were screwed.


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## Miles2Fish (Dec 2, 2008)

InfamousJ said:


> the convenience stores kept snuff in the refrigerated section


I wish they still could do that!


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## Reel_Blessed II (Jun 24, 2004)

My friend and I (age 10 or 11) would ride our bikes to Tres Amigos, order a cherry coke, get 3 free baskets of chips while telling the waitress we're still deciding what to order. Then say we're not hungry, pay .75 for the coke and ride some where else.

Good Times


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## capt.sandbar (Aug 31, 2007)

Reel Time said:


> You could go down to the drugstore and get a cherry phosphate.


 Thought you said prostate at first.... sphweeewwww...


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## Seahuntress (May 1, 2006)

We played outside all day with out anyone worrying. And then, you knew it was time to go home when the street lights came on at dark. But we didn't come in the house until we had a jar full of lightning bugs to show off.


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## shorty70 (Jun 29, 2008)

Anyone had an Outhouse? Ewww, that's gettin up there.


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## 100% Texan (Jan 30, 2005)

We had metal trash cans that every drunk in town would clip and they always had an ant bed under them.


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## FINNFOWLER (Sep 2, 2004)

I remember going to Houston and not having any construction on I-10!


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## Overboard (Feb 20, 2008)

I could get off the bus and walk home without having to worry about anything-

But.... them days are over-


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## Reel Time (Oct 6, 2009)

shorty70 said:


> Anyone had an Outhouse? Ewww, that's gettin up there.


We didn't but my grandfather did. I hated to spend the night there because well you know. We also had to draw our own water from the well.


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## 9121SS (Jun 28, 2009)

When I would be at a friends house and did something wrong my friends dad could whup my butt and it was ok. If my dad found out I would get another whuppin!


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## RB II (Feb 26, 2009)

Computers were programmed using punch cards. The "computers" filled an entire room, the only actual computer I ever saw back then was in college. Premium gas was .95 per gallon. We hauled hay from the field and stacked it in a barn for .10 per square bale when I was in high school. One long day 3 of us hauled 1500 bales, a whopping $150 between the three of and we thought we were rich.


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## Tail Chaser (May 24, 2004)

100% Texan said:


> We had metal trash cans that every drunk in town would clip and they always had an ant bed under them.


Now that got a laugh out of me, green for you.


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## sofa king (Aug 25, 2005)

Drank water from the garden hose. Also for a treat we would have Kool aid or Fizzies


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## rlw (May 21, 2004)

Told my girls the other day " you want new shoes? Back in my day we didn't even have FEET, we had to crawl where ever we went!!!" LOL


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## Wading Wonder (Apr 18, 2010)

We said a prayer in the classroom and the pledge of alligiance.


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## LIVIN (Oct 31, 2006)

We did not have internet.


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## FINNFOWLER (Sep 2, 2004)

Speaking of hauling hay...

I had a friend in school that his dad would hire us to load square bails on a flat bed trailer to haul to the barn. My friend would put the truck in 5th gear in 4 low and would get out and stack the hay as we threw them to him on the trailer while it was driving itself down the field. Every now and again we would have to jump in and point the truck in the right direction.


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## rlw (May 21, 2004)

sofa king said:


> Drank water from the garden hose. Also for a treat we would have Kool aid or Fizzies


And when we drank from the hose we made sure the little kids went first so they got the hot water in the hose and we got the cool water. I learned that from being the younger cousin.


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## Mike77015 (Dec 27, 2007)

Used to take the coke bottles back for the deposit. We would search all day until we filled up about 4 crates of them. Used to go deer hunting at Wallisville and Beltway.


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## Rack Ranch (May 25, 2004)

If you wanted your leftovers heated up you had to put them in a pot and turn the stove on...Walker


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## fangard (Apr 18, 2008)

Built HEATHKIT with my dad. Built first digital clock, stereo, computer, pinball machine, even a mini-bike. Rode it in fields off of Bob White- where Fondren Southwest is now. Good Times. Harder to find kits, but can't wait to start doing electronics with my 7 year old.

Good Memories guys.

fangard


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## FINNFOWLER (Sep 2, 2004)

we used to put playing cards in our spokes on our bikes.


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## Danny Jansen (Sep 15, 2005)

No TV. No AC in the house or car. Lived on the farm. Milk from our cows, eggs from our chickens, beef & pork from our calves and pigs. Pond in the pasture was our swimming hole. Wore shirts my mom made but got store bought jeans and PF Flyer tennis shoes. Nickle cokes.


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## Hullahopper (May 24, 2004)

Man you guys are young!

Music was played on 45's
Air conditioning was opening your house windows
FM radio came along when I was in junior high

There, I should be fine until Tortuga finds this thread. :biggrin:


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## Two Headed Dog (Jun 4, 2009)

*"Smashing" Good Time*

We used to thow bricks and other sizable objects through plate glass windows so we could experience the glorious crash that accompanied. Then they came out with the improved plastic that wasn't murkey and took all our fun away.


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## KJON (May 1, 2006)

mowing the front yard with a reel mower, goats and cows took care of the back. Shirts made from feed sacks. Remember "duck and cover"?


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## FATfisherman (Mar 13, 2009)

Mom made dinner every night and eating-out was a special occassion.

You ate what mom made or you didn't eat.

You didn't have to worry that the ice cream truck guy was a child predator.

There was not a time-out there was just arse whoopin's with dads thick leather belt!

There was no A.D.D or A.D.H.D. because mom would smack it out of you.


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## maco (Jan 13, 2008)

35 CENTS TO GO TO THE SHOW @ THE JEWELL THEATER IN HUMBLE & A 5 & 10 DIME STORE


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## Johnny9 (Sep 7, 2005)

You could buy gasoline for 25 cents a gallon and fill up your car for $8.00


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## BigRoo (Jul 26, 2009)

Im not that old but there was no Facebook, MySpace, or 2Coolfishing.com!


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## chivochavez (Jan 19, 2008)

We put steel taps on the soles of or shoes to sound cool walking in the halls..Honda 50's, Mustang MC'S and Cushman eagles....mainly Honda 50's and everyone did wheelies


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## Matteo (Feb 22, 2006)

Gas was not unleaded. it had lead in it.

No microwave ovens no cell phones.

people waved to each other when passing on the road (even if they never met).

I trapped raccoons to sell the fur and it wasn't politically incorrect.

we learned how to raise food that did not come from the grocery store.


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## Wedge (Apr 29, 2005)

We used to ride our bicylces around the neighborhood looking for bottles to turn in to the convenience store to buy candy and soda.


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## jwomack (Jun 16, 2009)

grandmother's house with "coal-oil" lamps before REA brought in power lines
daddy driving up in a brand new 1949 Plymouth
no traffic problem on I-35 ( no I-35)
1st tv (b&w of course) in '53 - only programming from 7:00am to 10:30pm


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## Wading Wonder (Apr 18, 2010)

FATfisherman said:


> Mom made dinner every night and eating-out was a special occassion.
> 
> You ate what mom made or you didn't eat.
> 
> ...


X2


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## shorty70 (Jun 29, 2008)

It all seems so barbaric now, wow, keep em coming.

We are young!


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## Bobby (May 21, 2004)

Gas was $0.15 a gal. When you pulled into the station somebody met you at the pump, pumped your gas, and checked your oil, and washed your windshield.

When I was raising my kids cops didn't tell parents how to raise their kids. They had enough trouble just staying married.:slimer:


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## PeteD (Sep 21, 2005)

These all brought back more memories for me ...



capt.sandbar said:


> getting a color tv was the bomb!
> had Christmas and Easter, not a winter and spring vacation..
> got licks with a paddle when we got in trouble at school, then at home too...


Getting a B&W TV was awesome! Never got many licks with a paddle .. I learned fast!



Reel Time said:


> You could go down to the drugstore and get a cherry phosphate.


Or get a milkshake, and they would leave the can with the extra milkshake in it. Like getting two for the price of one.



Reel_Blessed II said:


> yea...we wasted time with milk stoppers.


Believe me, my generation had plenty of time-wasters!



shorty70 said:


> Anyone had an Outhouse? Ewww, that's gettin up there.


As a kid, it was a very long way to the outhouse. Until many years later when I went back, it wasn't very far at all.

And there was nothing like going to the outhouse in the dark, opening the door, and finding who-knows-what kind of critter in there! Made you believe there really were monsters!



FINNFOWLER said:


> I remember going to Houston and not having any construction on I-10!


I remember driving from San Antonio to Baytown via a two-lane road -- U.S. 90 ... There was no I-10.



Hullahopper said:


> Man you guys are young!
> 
> Music was played on 45's
> Air conditioning was opening your house windows
> ...


Music was played on 78's. Air conditioning was driving your black car with your windows down.

Listening to am from anywhere on my crystal radio I built from scratch.



KJON said:


> mowing the front yard with a reel mower, goats and cows took care of the back. Shirts made from feed sacks. Remember "duck and cover"?


And they call gasoline mowers push-mowers. Yeah, right!

Here are some more: making kites from brown bags, sticks, and rags for the tail.

Remembering that an ice box was just that -- a big box with a block of ice in it.

Lying on the lawn at night on a quilt, looking at the stars. No fire ants to worry about.


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## shorty70 (Jun 29, 2008)

Anybody get yelled at for dragging the dreaded needle across the record on a phonograph?? Were they 45's or 70 something?


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## corpus shorty (Oct 31, 2007)

Christmas present's we're bought with S&H green stamps.Lincoln logs we're replaced by erector sets.metal army men we're replaced by plastic ones.creepy crawlers really burned your fingers.shake and bake tasted like saw dust.Rin tin tin and Lassie never got in a fight with other dogs. rat patrol and combat we're not violent shows.Ranger Rick and Sandy never saw marker 37 on a weekend. Admiral Nelson and the Sea View would be all over BHP. Mr Ed was a hoot,my god,a talking horse !!.Marshal Dillion and Miss Kitty never kissed.star trek lunch boxes replaced tater cans.Sears sold boats,
motors and even houses.8 mm movies we're the bomb.jiffy pop killed pop corn kettles.cherry cokes and pixie sticks gave you all the rush you needed..coke bottles had deposits.2 beers,pearl and lone star.reels we're ABU,Mitchel and Zebco.plastics we're Kellys,hoggies and nortons (all texas people ).red ball jets we're passed down till converse came out.dad allways swore when he saw a Volkswagen or Corvair on the road.said when those came out,America died...Rowdy Yates was a hero.2 cereals,oatmeal and corn flakes.no espresso machines, just coffee pots and percolators.banana bikes replaced western flyers.


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## Ragman (May 21, 2004)

Back then I didn't know anyone who had a pool in their back yard! We went to the "swimming hole" at the river!


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## Hollywood1053 (May 15, 2009)

jwomack said:


> grandmother's house with "coal-oil" lamps before REA brought in power lines


now THAT's a long time ago...


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## Tortuga (May 21, 2004)

Hullahopper said:


> There, I should be fine until Tortuga finds this thread. :biggrin:


:rotfl:....Hell, HH....I ain't even goin' to bore you with my sad tales...LOL

(Things did get a lot easier, though...once we invented the wheel..):rotfl:

Edit..OH !! and Bobby...don't forget that gas station attendant also pulled open yore front doors, reached in his hip pocket and grabbed his whisk broom and swept out the floorboards for ya... Now I don't even get a THANK YOU when I pump my own gas a give the bandit $50 bucks for doin' NUTHIN')LOL


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## knotacare (Feb 1, 2010)

Leave It To Beaver


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## jimk (May 28, 2004)

1. No health insurance and no premiums.
2. No electrical bill.
3. No telephone bill.
4. No garbage bill.
5. No water bill
but then again, no running water/no electricity/no telephone/burned our trash/windmill for well.


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## Eagle180 (Oct 24, 2009)

We played outside till dark, no electronic games..

Moms cooked meals and we all sat down for supper..

If you flunked in school, you repeated that grade level again..

If you tried out for the team and didn't make it, oh well!!! Try harder next year!

If you lost a game, oh well! Not everybody can be a winner every game!!!

Homemade ice cream with a crank ice cream maker...

The house was unlocked during the day with nobody home and dad would leave the car keys in his car at night, sometimes with the windows rolled down..


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## Hullahopper (May 24, 2004)

Another one I just remembered...

Riding in the station wagon coming home from the deer lease with a buck strapped to the luggage rack.


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## speckledred (Jun 1, 2004)

Going to the Majestic Theater downtown Houston for $.35. Woolworth's hoagie sandwich for $.29. No happy meals and Mc Donalds on Main to hang out.


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## jimk (May 28, 2004)

Treating a rattlesnake bite was painful...and bloody.


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## DigDog57 (Dec 29, 2009)

Snorkling with our homemade spear guns (buy the prong and nail to an old broom handle. 

Always cutting shark bellies open to see what they been eatin.

Kick the Can

Late night radio

First tv remote was a squeeze bulb attached by tube to the b/w tv.


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## flashlight (Jul 9, 2007)

I remember getting to celebrate Washingtons birthday and Lincolns birthday seperately, not "Presidents Day". I remember celebrating Columbus day in school as well.

I use to LOVE Sunday night and Wednesday nights on channel 11... One night was for Incredible Hulk and the other night was for Dukes of Hazzard...Daisy was my first love...


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## haparks (Apr 12, 2006)

pary lines oh ya we had the beep line u talked between the beeps--im still waiting fer rotorey phone to come back i have never owned a cell and prob never willangelsm



shorty70 said:


> We didn't have mobile phones, we had rotory phones and party lines..
> 
> That's one example, What have you got?
> 
> Are ya feelin' it?


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## capt.sandbar (Aug 31, 2007)

How about the dimmer switch located on the floorboard..??


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## Tortuga (May 21, 2004)

You guys and dolls are bringin' back a lot of fond memories.. Got me to thinkin about our family car.. The good old reliable Packard sedan.. This is the first one I can remember.. You got your choice of two colors...Black...or ..Black...LOL

Dad and Mother would pile me and my brother in the back of that sucker every summer and he would DRIVE ..and I mean DRIVE..us all over the country. By the time I got out of highschool we had been in 47 of the 48 states.. About every three years we'd end up in Detroit...swap the car for a new one and head home. He always said he saved enough money with the 'Factory Discount' to pay for the trips...Man..those old suckers were HUGE. Me and my brother could stand up in the back seat and walk around.... Prolly got about 5 miles to the gallon...but gas back then was about 15 cents a gallon, so no harm done...

Good times....good times...


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## Texas Jeweler (Nov 6, 2007)

I did not limp from a bad leg then and had all my hair.

Safe sex was not getting caught!


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## FATfisherman (Mar 13, 2009)

You could have a fight and if you won you didn't have to worry about getting shot. Y'all would probably be friends soon anyways.


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## jimk (May 28, 2004)

capt.sandbar said:


> How about the dimmer switch located on the floorboard..??


..and turn signals were your left hand out the window...pointing up for Right and straight out for a left turn...and the starter on the floorboard next to the footfeeder....uh, accelerator.

Uptown in the outhouse...we had a 2-holer and used an old catalog for tp.


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## Harbormaster (May 26, 2000)

Sneaking mustard greens to your neighbors mule on Saturday evening...so they could enjoy the ride to church the next morning...with the smell in their clothes it made for a short service too! :biggrin:


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## Row vs Wade (Jul 7, 2009)

capt.sandbar said:


> How about the dimmer switch located on the floorboard..??


Moving the dimmer to the blinker switch was not such a great idea, I was almost killed in a wreck when my dad got his foot hung in the steering wheel trying to dim his lights one night...


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## iridered2003 (Dec 12, 2005)

i had to walk to school up hill both ways in the rain.


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## OrangeCloud (Jul 29, 2009)

MTV Played Music

and

Could bring Shotguns and Rifles to school on a gun rack.


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## coogerpop (Sep 3, 2009)

I had a 4 cyl Mercury outboard and it's output was a whopping 25 HP.....2 blade prop.....


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## DMC (Apr 2, 2006)

Jesus in my yearbook. Had a pet T-Rex. My dad always yelled "Yabadabadooo" as he slid down the rock lifter into his foot powered sedan.


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

We collected stray coke bottles and returned them to the grocer for the deposit. Went to the movie on Saturday to see a Western and those great serial shows.


Grandpa sent me to Tony's corner store at 6 AM to buy hot Mrs. Baird"s donuts two for a nickle.

I watched the Southern Pacific steam locomotive run across Silver Street every evening hauling the express train to Dallas called "SUNBEAM"


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## Bilge Bait (Apr 13, 2010)

They still had the buckskin rubber and deerskin douche...


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## schmitty (May 16, 2006)

My great uncle in southern Minnesota did not have electricity or running water. Not exactly true he had a flashlight and a transistor radio to listen to the Twins games.
My dad always had a station wagon. All fords except 1. Sunday night coming back from fishing after church was the only time we ate out. Chicken mostly.
We had a wurlitzer juke box that played 78's, the only song I can remember is the "too fat polka" It retired at my uncles farm never to play again.
Played outside dawn to dusk, Mom never worried.
Wished my Grandkids could have it llike that.


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## cuzn dave (Nov 29, 2008)

Instead of cell phones we had to use 2 tin cans and a piece of string.
We had Big Chief tablets w/ paper so coarse you had to write around the chunks of wood. Pencils the size of 2x4's you had to rest on your shoulder they were so big.


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## osobrujo (Jan 13, 2005)

Then the wrist watch replaced the pocket watch, which let to the new watch you didn't have to wind everyday. It self winded as you moved your arm.


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## 3rd Coast Aggie (Oct 9, 2009)

rlw said:


> Told my girls the other day " you want new shoes? Back in my day we didn't even have FEET, we had to crawl where ever we went!!!" LOL


ROFLMAO...green


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## sea sick (Feb 9, 2006)

Looney tunes, elmer fudd,sylvester and tweety etc...
rode our bikes every where, not these electric scooters
we could give the corner store attendant 2 bux, and get enough gas to fish and make it back home.


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## Won Mo Kasst (Mar 27, 2008)

When I was your age Pluto was still a planet!


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## Saltwater Soul (May 31, 2005)

I can actually remember my grandfather plowing his field with a steel plow and mule. Tractors had been invented already but he couldn't drive anything including a car. Of course, he was poor too so the no driving might have been an excuse.


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## RG (Jun 7, 2006)

Taking a ride with your folks at night and listening to mystery theater stories on the car radio. Scoring a case or two of beer and going out to someone's pasture to drink and have more friend than beer. All with out cell phone or any of the new ways of letting any one know you had beer!!!!

PS no one went to jail or destroyed any property, had some beers, music, BS stories and went home.


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## jimk (May 28, 2004)

Speaking of planets, Uranus was pronounced differently!


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## phil k (May 8, 2007)

listining to the ASTROS baseball games on a hand transistor radio after driving to the other side of the ranch onto of the hill for good reception,,( early -early- 60's)


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## bassguitarman (Nov 29, 2005)

Trying to decide whether to spend my money on cherry bombs or M-80s, then deciding what to blow up next.........

Outhouses made me very nervous as a kid. I could do my business very quickly while watching where the next yellowjacket was going to land.


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## Profish00 (May 21, 2004)

Our telephone # was GR-413 before they went 7 digits.


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## Bruce J (Jun 27, 2004)

ball point pens were new and high tech

we had slide rules instead of calculators

we had to stay within close reach of the vertical hold knob on the TV to get the picture to stand still

We had to change plugs, points, and condenser to tune up the car - often

We kept starting fluid in the car

Kept a screwdriver to jump the starter

The car still didn't run

Maybe I just had a lot of bad cars!


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## PeteD (Sep 21, 2005)

Bruce J said:


> ball point pens were new and high tech
> 
> we had slide rules instead of calculators
> 
> ...


Good ones!

Does anyone remember fountain pens and the bottles of ink and the mess they always made?

Slide rules? When I was in college, my chemistry professor was using a slide rule and I used a computer for homework (an early main frame). Her answers were always wrong -- really wrong, and I had a hard time convincing her of that. It's a wonder science and engineering ever made progress using slide rules!


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## IsleSurfChunker (Sep 25, 2009)

When I was your age, we lived so far out in the country that we had to walk towards town to go hunting! True story!


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## Pocketfisherman (May 30, 2005)

When you turned on the TV or Radio, you had to wait a minute for the tubes to warm up before you could receive anything.

You had to mix your own oil in your outboard, and the ration was 12:1 gas to Oil. 

The only line you could get for your knuckle buster reel was braided dacron or lead core.

Shotshell hullss were made of waxed heavy paper

There were Milkman who made home deliveries twice a week of milk and eggs

Recycling meant you rode your bike back home the same way you came.


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## elpistolero45 (May 9, 2010)

People didn't call the Cops on roving groups of kids with BB guns.

My high school principal called me from class to tell me he'd locked my 69 chevrolet because he'd seen my Mod 12 Winchester duck pump in the back seat. We went to the parking lot so he could check it out.

Watched "Wrasslin" in the Hoffheinz Pavillion on Saturday Nites with my Big Brother.

Was offered a BEER from the Chief of Police (in my hometown) before I left the house with his daughter on a date.

The ALL METAL Zenith TV would shock the HELL outta ya if ya turned it on with sweaty bare feet on moms Terrazzo Floor.

KQUE FM was "Popular" music format.

Winchester Firearms were still made in Hartford, with American Steel

We all carried an emery board for cleaning contacts on our points/condenser when you left the ignition on too long.

A CB radio was the "Push to Talk" wonder of the Day.


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## EGT Limited (Jul 30, 2004)

Fender skirts and curb feelers


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## ML56 (Dec 30, 2008)

Black and white TV with a whopping 13" screen
No a/c in the house
hand cranked icecream in the shade of the oak tree at Grandma's
Pull rope starters on all lawn mowers, all of our outboards
"Sissy bars" on the bike with bananna seats
Having to rotate to radio to get reception
the broadcast code of ethics proudly announced when TV stations "signed on and off" 6 a.m and midnight

butch wax
watching for Sputnic satillite to pass over
red rover, crack the whip, bloody knees from being dragged behind the "radio flyer", goose down comforters and pillows(hand made)
everyone jostling for a position in front of the gas heater to get dressed on those clod winter days.
Hand cranked cash registers at the Mom and Pop grocery


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## ddakota (Jun 28, 2009)

Baseball Trophies were for Winners

Losers cried in the dugout with the coach telling them to shut up and play better next time, it was their fault they lost

none of those guys ever shot up a school..........


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## Life Aquatic (Oct 24, 2006)

Converse All-Stars were cool sneakers...wait, they still are!


----------



## yakfinaddict (Jan 25, 2010)

9121SS said:


> When I would be at a friends house and did something wrong my friends dad could whup my butt and it was ok. If my dad found out I would get another whuppin!


Yep, my buddies dad, or mom, would beat the heck out of me. I would get home and get twice the whooping for doing something wrong over there. Nothing wrong with that!!!! I hold a great job, don't kill people, pursue higher education, help anyone that needs it, don't use drugs (besides for a lil booze now and then), obey the law and still have time for fishing and community service. A good whooping helps sometimes... it's not abuse... ...it's teaching them a lesson!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Whiskey Girl (Jan 13, 2010)

Yep, remember the milk man

Run to the barn every morning to get eggs for breakfast - run out there again when I got home from school if Mom wanted chicken for supper

First car was a lime green maverick - had to punch the gas a couple of times before it started - two more times if it was cold outside

If you said you were bored, Mom told you to go outside and watch the grass grow

If Dad wanted to go fishing on the weekend, we had to make sure he had plenty of earth worms in the bait bucket

Stood behind the tv many times moving the antenna around for a good picture - hoping Dad wouldn't tell you to change the channel again

A/C . . . huh? . . . open the windows and turn on the attack fan. . . wg


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## rockyraider (Feb 1, 2006)

Man, I've heard many of these from my parents. They tell about growing up in Austin in the 50's. Kids were outside all day, every day, had a couple sets of clothes, got into fistfights, ran all over town with BB guns, no A/C, moms that cooked every meal and served everyone b/f they sat down to eat, etc..... I'm only 33 and times are so much different even for me. I'm always telling my wife that our kids have too much, too quick, and they are going to grow to expect to be entertained every second. The best way I can describe it is that kids nowadays have so much more but so much less.


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## Stumpgrinder (Feb 18, 2006)

You actually had to win the district championship to get in the playoffs.

5 of us lived in a 1600 square foot house and me and my brother shared a room ( we were upper middle class)


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## mikeleeski (Nov 17, 2005)

skim boarding in ditch.. attic fan..riding bikes behind the mosquito truck..bb gun wars..drinking coke with a hole punched in the top from an ice pick..getting ice from the ice house..tent camping above beaumont fron a boat launched from pt neches..clothes lines..field trip in boyscouts going to holsum bakery..getting a "new" bat when one broke at baseball practice and fixing it with a finishing nail and electrical tape..wood burning sets and chemistry sets when you were 10yrs old..


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## Hullahopper (May 24, 2004)

One last one...

Seeing who could make the longest chain out of beer and soda pop aluminum pull tabs.


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## Mike77015 (Dec 27, 2007)

Hullahopper said:


> One last one...
> 
> Seeing who could make the longest chain out of beer and soda pop aluminum pull tabs.


Breaking them apart so you could fling them at each other.


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## PeteD (Sep 21, 2005)

Cars with manual chokes.


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## StrikerX (Aug 31, 2009)

I'm not that old but this what I tell the kiddos:

When I was your age I use to roam the city on my bike from sun up till sun down and my parents never had to worry (well not worry much). I'm sorry that today you can't even play in your own front yard without an adult.


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## Overboard (Feb 20, 2008)

*some more*

when dad was on call for work, no one was allowed to answer the phone (no caller ID back then)

everyone had pagers- you had to stop and use the pay phone to make a call if you were on the road ($0.25 back then to make a call)

no video games either- when the sun came up, we would go play until dark.

Shirts were required at the dinner table- no hats- and everyone ate dinner as a family, not in front of a TV

If my bed wasn't made and my room cleaned before I left to go to school, then mom would take everything I had in my room, put it in the middle of my bed spread and ball it up- then it would make its way to the middle of the floor for me to do when I got home.

The cook in the house did not do the dishes- us boys did. I learned to cook at a young age b/c I hated doing dishes.

I did my own laundry- if not, it wasn't getting done.

If the dishes weren't done right, we would have to wash every dish in the entire house, every night, for a week. I learned my lesson.

If the music was too loud in my car, then dad considered it invading his air space. If it happened again, well, no more radio.

If a girl came to the house, we were required to sit at the kitchen table and talk. No going to the bedroom.

If I wanted to use the phone, I was required to sit at the kitchen table and talk.

If I got in trouble in school, I got my arse whooped when I got home. (he used to let us pick the belt of our choice out though)

If we argued, we had to fight in the yard- loser got his butt whooped.

My brother got a note home one day from school from the teacjer explaining that he was acting like a clown in class. Sooo, dad made us all gather at the table and watch him for 30 minutes act like a clown. he didn't do it again.

If you did not say yes ma'am or sir, you got slapped on the spot.

It was ok for parents to whip their kids in the grocery store if they acted up- now, someone threatens you with CPS.

If you said a bad word, mom washed your mouth out with soap.

Kids have it so easy these days- I thought my parents were the meanest in town, but looking back, I respect them for everything they did. Those traits have rubbed off on me and I use them today- I generally get compliments when I am out with my children.

sorry for the long post, but after reading all of them, it brought back memories.

And I am only 35.


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## moorefishing (Aug 28, 2009)

Going to drive in movies in Victoria and hiding in the trunk to get in for free. Then when the theater opened we used to watch all three movies playing in one day. Walk out of one right to the next one. Movie,Popcorn, candy and coke was cheap!


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## Pokey (Jan 25, 2007)

Shotgun Shell came 20 boxs to a case. You owned only one shotgun an 870. Cleaned duck in AG shop. Guns in truck at school. The smell of DDT following the County Truck spraying just before dark.


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## Mike77015 (Dec 27, 2007)

And you know you cant go back to some of these things. My stepsons were fighting when they were younger, so I made them stand out by the street hugging each other. Next thing you know my neighbors are knocking on the door asking what is going on with them. I had to tell them to mind their own business. Brothers fight all the time, but they were always there for you if you really needed them. Nowdays brothers seem to HATE each other.


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## Mike77015 (Dec 27, 2007)

I miss the drive-in theatre. 

Going to the movie indoor was looking on the schedule seeing what movie was playing at what time since there was only one screen.


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## JDM1967 (Oct 16, 2006)

Reel Time said:


> We tightened our roller skates onto our tennis shoes with a key.


and the STEEL BEARING WHEEL THINGS !!!!! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

They were so loud you could hear anyone coming a mile away


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## Shallow_Minded (Sep 21, 2004)

Man this brings back memories.

I still remember our phone number, PA9-0095

Beer cans were opened with can openers, (church keys)

They would stop class in school to watch rockets launch, The Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs.

We got swats in school and boy did they burn!

We had comic book collections.

Star Trek was cool!

Only had 3 television stations, 2, 11, and 13. (anyone remember Dialing for Dollars?)

Tuesday night prime time played Johnny Quest, and the Flint Stones

You had a choice for gas, either regular or ethyl

Halloween was a big deal and everyone went trick or treating, without their parents.

Candy bars cost a dime.

The only conveince stores I remember was U ToteM

Ahhhhhhhhhh


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## cva34 (Dec 22, 2008)

*REMBERING*

17 cent GAS The attendant filled it, washed windows,swept out with WISK broom,checked oil,checked tire pressure and added if needed,and last checked water in radiator.
_____________________
Got our first indoor toilet 1956
_____________________
Uncle had band that played 3 nites a week.If someone got out on dance floor with hat or cap they would stop playing tell they removed it.RESPECT FOR THE LADIES YOU KNOW
_______________________ 
Wind up record players 78rpm 
_________________________
Did'nt wear shoes to school (except winter) until 7th grade JR.HIGH you know.
________________________
Barely rembember Uncle wireing house for electric lites
_______________________
No AC in school no fans we had windows .Graduated El CAMPO in 1963 don't think we had AC then .
____________________ TOO DAM OLD CVA34


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## JDM1967 (Oct 16, 2006)

FATfisherman said:


> You could have a fight and if you won you didn't have to worry about getting shot. Y'all would probably be friends soon anyways.


I had a few of those !!!!!!


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## Reel Time (Oct 6, 2009)

phil k said:


> listining to the ASTROS baseball games on a hand transistor radio after driving to the other side of the ranch onto of the hill for good reception,,( early -early- 60's)


Astros? They were the Colt 45's. Went to many a game with my Dad.


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## moorefishing (Aug 28, 2009)

cva34 said:


> 17 cent GAS The attendant filled it, washed windows,swept out with WISK broom,checked oil,checked tire pressure and added if needed,and last checked water in radiator.
> _____________________
> Got our first indoor toilet 1956
> _____________________
> ...


 My grandmother had the taxi service in El Campo.


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## PeteD (Sep 21, 2005)

Necker knobs. How many of you youngsters know what that is?


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## Tortuga (May 21, 2004)

Reel Time said:


> Astros? They were the Colt 45's. Went to many a game with my Dad.


Whoa, there, Young Lady !!!!

They were the "Houston Buffs" back in my day....:rotfl:

Spent many a miserable summer night out there perched on them splintery wooden planks at the old Buff Stadium (out where Finger Furniture Warehouse is now..on the Gulf Fwy...but there wuzn't no Gulf Fwy.lol) sipping on warm Jax beer and getting eaten alive by mosquitos.. Man..them were the good old days.....NOT....:rotfl:


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## JDM1967 (Oct 16, 2006)

Mike77015 said:


> And you know you cant go back to some of these things. My stepsons were fighting when they were younger, so I made them stand out by the street hugging each other. Next thing you know my neighbors are knocking on the door asking what is going on with them. I had to tell them to mind their own business. Brothers fight all the time, but they were always there for you if you really needed them. Nowdays brothers seem to HATE each other.


My dad, has a story very similar to yours. he used to fight with my UNCLE so much that my grandma (sweetest soul) got tired of it one day beat the heck out of both, brought them out to the sidewalk and tied them both face to face and ordered them not to move until she said so (2 hours or so) lmao!!!:rotfl::rotfl: and if they moved the 1/4 inch thick belt (leather) would tear their butts up


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## chad (Sep 7, 2006)

33 years old and I remember...

drying our clothes on the clothes line

getting our first VCR

getting satellite tv that took a small crane to install on a small slab in the back yard

getting up on Saturday am to watch cartoons and starring at color lines for an hour before they came on

dad's first "cell" phone that he carried around in a small duffle bag because it weighed about 10 pounds

single side band radio in the living room for dad's work to talk to the shrimp boats, it was always making all kinds of noises and was about the size of a small couch

standing in the front seat of my dad's truck every where we went, his arm was the child restraint


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## ralph7 (Apr 28, 2009)

only the rich people had ac in their cars and color tv.


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## nightgigger (Oct 13, 2008)

In Southeastern Louisiana, before I was in school, I remember the older kids had "summer" vacation from March to June. This was so the kids could help bring in the strawberry crop. As a teenager in Houston, I remember shotguns in most pickups back windows, and dove Hunting during lunch,(Yes I kept my shotgun in the trunk at school)


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## Johnboat (Jun 7, 2004)

*You could fill up your Camaro*

with regular gas that cost between 29c and 35c per gallon.


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## moorefishing (Aug 28, 2009)

Ice chest full of beer on the boat. Drinking,driving the boat,( no DUIs) Game warden would come to camp while river fishing and drink with the old man. No boat ramp,boat trailer. Motor and fishing gear loaded in 15' homemade wooden boat that was loaded in truck every time you went fishing. Had to unload gear from boat,drag down steep bank then tote everything down bank to boat. Then when you got home had to unload everything put in garage. Set up tent to air out. Motor had wooden stand to hang on. Seined our own bait. No live well. Didn't have to worry about someone stealing all your stuff or shooting a hole in your boat down on the river to run to town to get beer and ice. Pump up Coleman lantern that could be used for a bomb, it would burn all your hair off your arm when you lit it. ( If it worked. Had to rebuild it often) Hunting for squirrel under the bridge at while fishing. Could go on and on!!


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## CoastalOutfitters (Aug 20, 2004)

gas was 23 cents

got paid a dollar to mow, but i had to buy a gal. gas with it. rode my bike to gas station 2 mi away on banana seat bike w cards on spokes ...............mowed yard

sat. kid's **** matinee was 50c so I had 25c left for a pickle or popcorn and a 10c coke

2 smoking hot sisters were the HS cheerleaders 3 houses down and my sitter when the folks went out to eat. bathtime was always fun, cleanest kid on the block.


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## shorty70 (Jun 29, 2008)

And, yep, doctors really did make house calls...


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## Blastn & Castn (Mar 11, 2010)

Most people & all kids were outside the house playing & not in!


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## Retired Hunter (Jun 28, 2005)

I remeber getting up on Sunday morning, going to church and coming home to watch wrestling with my dad. Then go collect bottles and take them to the store to buy a soda pop. Can't remeber the name of the drinks but they had several differnet flavors. You looked under the cap and hoped to win 5-25 cents to buy a pocket full of candy with. anyone remember the name of the drinks?


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## Privateer (Nov 28, 2009)

Me and 3 of my friends (age 12) would catch the bus at Sepulveda and Rosecrans in Manhatten Beach and for .35 cents we rode it all the way to Knotts Berry farm on the other side of L.A.. Our parents gave us $5.00 for a day pass and sent us off ... no worries! We spent the day riding rides and then went home on a bus! (1967)


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## redduck (Jul 26, 2006)

At grandparents house in Arkansas (no indoor plumbing and had outhouse) the doctor came to our house cause I had a bad ear infection. He lanced the ear drum to let out infection while I was in grandmother's bed. I recall a telephone you had to crank.


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## Bull Red (Mar 17, 2010)

We used to slug it out with our friends when we had a reason to. When it was over we were still friends....sometimes better than before.


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## shorty70 (Jun 29, 2008)

Babacho said:


> I remeber getting up on Sunday morning, going to church and coming home to watch wrestling with my dad. Then go collect bottles and take them to the store to buy a soda pop. Can't remeber the name of the drinks but they had several differnet flavors. You looked under the cap and hoped to win 5-25 cents to buy a pocket full of candy with. anyone remember the name of the drinks?


I only remember Genesee Cream Ale...with the jokes or something under the cap. A long time ago. Haven'n seen that stuff in ages.


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## saggrock (Oct 15, 2008)

Blastn & Castn said:


> Most people & all kids were outside the house playing & not in!


How true!

After Hurricane Ike, there was a bunch of kids playing outside, I asked my wife, where did all these kids come from, she said "I think they are the neighbors kids"


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## polacko (Jun 24, 2009)

Everyone learned to drive in a car or truck with a manual transmission.


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## boat (Mar 7, 2005)

I was the secondary antenna for the TV. Grandfather told me they made the TV with me in mind.

Bicycle seats were big enough for you rumb.

You could actually open the hood of you car and know what you were looking at.

Tires had white walls.

Girls back then were..... well nevermind. There're still hard to figuer out.


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## MrG (Apr 10, 2005)

.....'sissy' bars were macho.


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## goodonya (Feb 21, 2007)

Picking up pop bottles to buy ammo & tackle & go to the movies.

Hauling hay all night long because it was too hot during the day.

Getting up early on Sat. mornings to walk the stands at the high school football stadium looking for money that people dropped during the game the night before. (Once found a $20 & thought I was rich)

We had to burn our trash so each weekend my friend & I would ride on the tail gate of the pick up to haul the trash "out in the country". We both had our BB guns and shot everything in sight out & back.

The milkman came right inside the house and put the milk in the fridge.

Nobody ever locked their houses. If you needed a drink or bathroom break you could always go into your friend's house unannounced.

Wooden baseball bats.

In central OK the summers were brutal. You could go the the movie theatre for $.35 and watch all 4-movies back-to-back in luxurious A/C!

We had to drive 25-miles to go to the public swimming pool. We had to ride our bikes 5-minutes to the swimmin' hole on the river.

I learned quickly to never "go get a mess of okra from the field" without long sleeved shirts and scarves.

My friends and I could sit in old man White's watermelon truck patch and eat the heart out of as many melons as we wanted and he didn't care.

Wool baseball uniforms & caps.

Drinking cool water directly out of the pump tap on the windmill in summer.

In-window evaporative "coolers" & attic fans.

Chemistry sets with enough ingredients to make major explosives (particularly sodium bisulfate)

Like many before have said; leaving out on your bike early in the morning with your fishing pole & BB gun and staying gone until the street lights came on and trying to figure out how the day went by so fast.

The man that managed the grain elevator asked my friend and I to "shoot all the birds we could cause they are eatin' me out of my profit". Heaven. He even bought a case of BB's and kept them in his office for us.

Many, many more, particularly ones that have been mentioned above. I miss those days more than I ever imagined I would.


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## Privateer (Nov 28, 2009)

We didn't know to be afraid of people....


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## Fishin Fast (Oct 13, 2008)

We lived in caves and ran down animals and killed them with throwing spears, then cooked them over a fire started with flint.


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## ChasingReds (Jul 31, 2009)

we'd go over to the rich kids house to watch color TV and the picture was so horrible we wondered what all the fuss was about

nothing ever wore out or broke, you would just make something else out of it

a night at the movies involved hiding under a blanket so the ticket dude at the drive-in didn't see you in the back of the station wagon. once you got in the speakers were so poor you could never hear the movie anyway

the doors you slammed all winter could now remain open all summer


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## Bonito (Nov 17, 2008)

We built our own forts and tree houses. We built our own rafts from drift wood. A trip to A & W Root Beer for a frosted glass of root beer was incredible. 

10 cents to go the the Rex Theater and 25 cents to go the the Sanger Theater.


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## PeteD (Sep 21, 2005)

Bonito said:


> A trip to A & W Root Beer for a frosted glass of root beer was incredible.


Yeah, and it was served to you by cute girls on roller skates. Order a burger, and you got a metal tray to sit in your window.


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## PeteD (Sep 21, 2005)

Putting pennies in slits on your shoes -- you know, penny loafers.


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## Gluconda (Aug 25, 2005)

Before Uranus was officially named Uranus, it was called Urectum!


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## Bull Red (Mar 17, 2010)

Going out to eat was a RARE TREAT.

Admission to the Saturday matinee (movie theater) was 2 coke bottles and it was a double feature.


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## Bull Red (Mar 17, 2010)

Full Service Gas Stations!


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## Gluconda (Aug 25, 2005)

My recollection is a little different from the rest...


First kid to get an abacus!

Black powder make BOOM!

Genghis Khan was a juvenile delinquent!

The Great Wall went around the block!

Nothing was Made in China!


BTW..I'm Asian just in case you couldn't tell...


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## Tucsonred (Jun 9, 2007)

I bought ice cream for a nickel a dip and the playground had a wooden slide!! I don't remember ever gettin' any splinters!!


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## Tucsonred (Jun 9, 2007)

And I actually did go to 1st grade in a 2 room school house!! No I didn't walk a mile in the snow..I took the bus


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## fowlwaters (Jun 14, 2006)

A car could pull the boat, Horses were hauled in a big cage in the bed of the truck,kids could ride in the back dash, standing up beside daddy on the truck seat,beer cans had pull tops,if someone had car trouble you stopped and helped because next time it could be you broke down,


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## teeroy (Oct 1, 2009)

Pluto was a planet.


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## fowlwaters (Jun 14, 2006)

Motor oil came in cans,everyone at school was taught in English,When we screwed up it was our fault not everyone elses.


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## Barefoot Boy (Sep 27, 2005)

I hope I didn't double too much. I didn't read all the replies.

We collected Coke bottles on bikes to trade for cash. 3 cents each. Regular candy bars were 5 cents. Fancy ones like Almond Joy were a dime.

Can Cokes with a pull tab were a dime . Shasta with no tab a nickel.

Fina gas wars were 18.9 cents/ gallon.

You could buy real Cherry Bomb firecrackers.

Almost out of high school in early '70s gas was 25c/gal. Everyone had a 62-66 Chevy. All were small block V8. Paid $225-500 for a used clunker.
Get a few guys in a car, each chipped in a buck, cruised all nite.

Somehow could always get someone to buy beer/ wine. No DWIs.

Metal car dashboard, but we had all our teeth.

Next.


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## teeroy (Oct 1, 2009)

fowlwaters said:


> Motor oil came in cans,everyone at school was taught in English,When we screwed up it was our fault not everyone elses.


Amen


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## Bevo&Pevo (Jul 22, 2008)

Fox Photo is where you dropped off the film to be developed in a day or two.
You could rent a VCR in a big red plastic box.


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## brotherDave (Dec 17, 2004)

Bevo&Pevo said:


> Fox Photo is where you dropped off the film to be developed in a day or two.
> You could rent a VCR in a big red plastic box.


Ha, I remember my mom dropping off film at the drive-thru Fox photo "booth" 
:texasflag


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## kim e cooper (Feb 18, 2006)

The frigator was called a icebox, mom got new stuff if she had enough green stamps and drive/in were a family thing and everyone sat down for dinner at the same table.


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## Privateer (Nov 28, 2009)

You were considered a wuss if you fought with anything but your fists.


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## kim e cooper (Feb 18, 2006)

HWY90 to La there was no I10 and Hwy225 was 2 lanes and Pasadena had a KKK building RED BLUFF..


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## jimk (May 28, 2004)

Sometimes people used a crank telephone to call up the fish hwell:


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## wet dreams (May 21, 2004)

jimk said:


> Sometimes people used a crank telephone to call up the fish hwell:


Some still do, BUT with the new techno most use a 'gizmo' now....WW


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## Johnboat (Jun 7, 2004)

*That old lifestyle is alive and well today....*

Sitting on the porch....music outside.....cooking outside...playing outside.....ice cream man has a route in front of your house.....dogs unchained...unsupervised kids playing in the street and riding everywhere on their bicycles.

The only difference is that everyone now living that way in Texas is speaking Spanish!


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## quickrick (Aug 10, 2009)

Sonic Booms!!!!


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## wet dreams (May 21, 2004)

Wouldn't a cold Nehi Peach be good on a hot day....WW


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## 123456 (Apr 6, 2005)

Playing "Smear the Queer"!!!! Those were the days......


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## 9121SS (Jun 28, 2009)

My Mother( we called her mamma ) would freeze cool aid in the ice tray with a tooth pick in each cube. That was our popcycles.


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## JDM1967 (Oct 16, 2006)

Johnboat said:


> Sitting on the porch....music outside.....cooking outside...playing outside.....ice cream man has a route in front of your house.....dogs unchained...unsupervised kids playing in the street and riding everywhere on their bicycles.
> 
> The only difference is that everyone now living that way in Texas is speaking Spanish!


SI SENOR !!!!! :spineyes::spineyes::spineyes:


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## justin-credible1982 (Sep 12, 2006)

I don't remember any of this stuff... just sayin' :rotfl::rotfl:


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## JDM1967 (Oct 16, 2006)

A Blackberry was a Fruit not a Phone

Michael Jackson was black !!!


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## Hullahopper (May 24, 2004)

I just thought of another one!

Sitting at the table helping my Mom roll coins from my piggy bank. Man, I sure wished I would have saved them! Half or more of the pennies were "wheaties", most of the nichols were "buffalos" and the dimes, quarters and half dollars were all silver!


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## jimk (May 28, 2004)

justin-credible1982 said:


> I don't remember any of this stuff... just sayin' :rotfl::rotfl:


Justin...just take notes and ponder the differences...this is good for youngsters.


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## Portside (Jun 21, 2007)

sitting in class in 2nd grade waiting for the steam wagon to deliver lunch to our class. You could smell it coming down the hall and it was impossible to pay attention to the teacher once that thing entered our hallway. Then when the 2:00 chocolate milk break came we were all happier than a retard at Christmas.


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## cloudfishing (May 8, 2005)

We did not have BIGROOS' avatar


----------



## TUNNEL HAND (Aug 5, 2009)

I wish that I had enough greenies to give to all of the 'ol timers' on this thread that have brought back some wonderful memories. Life was hard in the 50's & 60's but, dang, we had fun!!


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## justin-credible1982 (Sep 12, 2006)

jimk said:


> Justin...just take notes and ponder the differences...this is good for youngsters.


 I remember some. I was just fooling with you "more experienced" people :slimer:


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## Buffett Fan (Aug 31, 2006)

built model cars, plane and ships...and didn't even think about sniffing the glue.

played army with toy guns that were very realistic looking...can't imagine kids doing that today. The police would be called for kids having a weapon.

throwing a football around with George Blanda and Bob Talamini.

Good Times!!!


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## Shaky (May 21, 2004)

Buffett Fan said:


> built model cars, plane and ships...and didn't even think about sniffing the glue.
> 
> played army with toy guns that were very realistic looking...can't imagine kids doing that today. The police would be called for kids having a weapon.
> 
> ...


Gotta expand on this one!

Building model cars and planes...then blowing them up with cherry bombs, bottle rockets and pellet guns

Played Army with real pellet guns and rocks for grenades....if someone pumped their gun up more than 3 times, you just took it.....or got even with them! lol


----------



## Mountaineer Mark (Jul 15, 2009)

Picked up pop bottles - 3 cents each, then they up to 5 cents each and a milk jug was 25 cents !!

Flash bulbs for the camera...:flag:


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## PeteD (Sep 21, 2005)

No one has mentioned playing marbles. I spent a lot of hours shooting marbles. And each of us had a special "shooter." Ball-bearing marbles ("Steelies") were not allowed because they would destroy your opponent's marbles.

Whatever happened to playing marbles? I never see kids playing marbles anymore.


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## FATfisherman (Mar 13, 2009)

Riding my bike all day until dark.

Building ramps to jump our bikes with rocks and plywood in the middle of the street, and if you busted your arse you just shook it off because if you went home and mom found out you were hurt she would make you stay inside which was torture.

Throwing rocks at bee hives. 

Building tree houses in the wooded area near home.


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## FATfisherman (Mar 13, 2009)

PeteD said:


> No one has mentioned playing marbles. I spent a lot of hours shooting marbles. And each of us had a special "shooter." Ball-bearing marbles ("Steelies") were not allowed because they would destroy your opponent's marbles.
> 
> Whatever happened to playing marbles? I never see kids playing marbles anymore.


When I was about 5, I remember when we still lived in Wichita Falls, my grandpa used to go to the flea market and buy us marbles and wooden tops to play with. Those were the best times.


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## JDM1967 (Oct 16, 2006)

PeteD said:


> No one has mentioned playing marbles. I spent a lot of hours shooting marbles. And each of us had a special "shooter." Ball-bearing marbles ("Steelies") were not allowed because they would destroy your opponent's marbles.
> 
> Whatever happened to playing marbles? I never see kids playing marbles anymore.


You are so right, I miss those days, also playing baseball in any empty lot around the neighborhood.  God I miss those days


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## jwomack (Jun 16, 2009)

according to some aquaintences, *"When I was your age...." *dirt was brand-new and rock was in beta testing


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## SargentfishR (Apr 23, 2007)

We called Lunch "dinner" , and Dinner "supper" down in the valley.


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## sweenyite (Feb 22, 2009)

I remember standing outside turning the antenna while dad yelled "left, right, stop, now back a little" from inside the house every time the picture got fuzzy. We also had one of the remote controls with the wire that ran to the set. I remember the first time mom and dad rented a vcr and a movie from the video store.
I remember our first microwave and how I only like microwave popcorn. Everything else tasted funny.
I remember watching Jaws in 3-D.
I'm still a pup though.


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## PeteD (Sep 21, 2005)

JDM1967 said:


> You are so right, I miss those days, also playing baseball in any empty lot around the neighborhood.  God I miss those days


The other thing we had in "those days" was learning how to self-govern. Find an empty lot, agree on where first base was, where the foul lines were, etc. and what the rules were. No adults to tell us what the rules were, we had to make them up. And no adults to enforce them; we had to learn how to enforce them ourselves.

Sure, kids now have regulation ball parks and great equipment, but I wonder if something has been lost.


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## Barefoot Boy (Sep 27, 2005)

Uhh Marbles? Those were made for your WristRocket slingshot, right? Or was that the .50cal steel Pachinko balls?

No, I remember my Dad had a special marble collection: Agates, and some were blue and white like that Wedgewood china plates.

We used to buy the cheap marbles at the dime store, bake in the oven at 350 for half hour. They would come out totally cracked on the inside only.

And how many of you got stories to tell about gettin into trouble with a big box of wood matches? ( we gotta be past the statute of limitations by now).


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## 9121SS (Jun 28, 2009)

I remember setting our back yard on fire with a magnifing glass. Boy, did I get a whuppin for that!


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## PeteD (Sep 21, 2005)

Barefoot Boy said:


> Uhh Marbles? Those were made for your WristRocket slingshot, right? Or was that the .50cal steel Pachinko balls?
> 
> No, I remember my Dad had a special marble collection: Agates, and some were blue and white like that Wedgewood china plates.
> 
> ...


Never had a "Wristrocket"; my slingshots were home-made, and I never used marbles -- too valuable. I used rocks or chinaberries.

All kinds of marbles in our collections: "aggies", "cat-eyes", "clearies", "peewees", "boulders". "Steelies" were illegal, and clay marbles broke too easily. A lot of different kind of games, a lot of us played for "keeps". We even played at school until some whiney kid got his parents to complain when he lost his marbles, and the school outlawed marbles. (I think that was the beginning of the downfall of our schools!)

Never had trouble with those big boxes of matches, but there were plenty of homemade weapons that we employed (it's a wonder any of us survived childhood).


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## moorefishing (Aug 28, 2009)

Playing pick up stix and jax. Rebuilding and changing out our sprocket on our huffy bikes to go faster. Riding our motorcycles on the road to get to gravel pit or river to play tag on them. Little Honda 50 cc with handle bars that folded down. I still have the Wizard riding lawnmower daddy bought at Western Auto in 1970. Still runs! Catching mud bugs in the drainage creek with string and bacon. Floating down the street when it flooded on those big white styrofoam surf boards about 4" thick 3' long.


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## JDM1967 (Oct 16, 2006)

PeteD said:


> The other thing we had in "those days" was learning how to self-govern. Find an empty lot, agree on where first base was, where the foul lines were, etc. and what the rules were. No adults to tell us what the rules were, we had to make them up. And no adults to enforce them; we had to learn how to enforce them ourselves.
> 
> Sure, kids now have regulation ball parks and great equipment, but I wonder if something has been lost.


Sadly, too much has been lost, and partly I blame us parents for trying too hard to give as much comfort (for a lack of a better word) for our kids..:headknock:headknock I remember I got to do so much fun stuff with so little, heck I even remember having to mow the law with one of those push blade mowers and the edges were done with a machete.  Fun times


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## moorefishing (Aug 28, 2009)

Stoping at the army surplus store on the way to Magnolia beach. Not having to worry about who was at the beach! Putting peanuts in our cokes. Getting in the dumpster behind Coca-Cola and getting those 32 oz. bottles to take them to Kainers for redemption. Selling alunimum cans.


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## Hollywood1053 (May 15, 2009)

Portside said:


> we were all happier than a retard at Christmas.


That ain't right


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## JDM1967 (Oct 16, 2006)

Barefoot Boy said:


> Uhh Marbles? Those were made for your WristRocket slingshot, right? Or was that the .50cal steel Pachinko balls?
> 
> No, I remember my Dad had a special marble collection: Agates, and some were blue and white like that Wedgewood china plates.
> 
> ...


I also made my own sling shots out of iron wood or a GUAVA tree (some of the best wood for a sling shot ...


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## PeteD (Sep 21, 2005)

JDM1967 said:


> Sadly, too much has been lost, and partly I blame us parents for trying too hard to give as much comfort (for a lack of a better word) for our kids..:headknock:headknock I remember I got to do so much fun stuff with so little, heck I even remember having to mow the law with one of those push blade mowers and the edges were done with a machete.  Fun times


I guess this is the way life goes. Something gained, something lost. I would have given anything to have good functional equipment, a baseball field with no rocks and holes, uniforms, and good teachers. But now that our children have that, they've had to give up the imagination, inventiveness, and working on their own to develop teamwork and solve interpersonal problems.

Same with those lawnmowers. I mowed many a lawn with one of those push mowers (reel mowers), and I appreciate my gas mower now, especially on a hot day. But now I have to spend time maintaining it so it starts -- never had that problem with the old mower. Again, something gained, something lost.

Now, I can't find a neighborhood boy who wants to mow my yard without charging me professional prices.


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## Main Frame 8 (Mar 16, 2007)

I could walk into the local Stop-N-Go and buy cigarettes for my uncle when I was 8 years old. Made many a cig runs for uncle Jerry. 

When visiting my grandparents in Oklahoma, it was an event to "go to town and get a pop and candy bar". 

Got our fishin' worms from the dirt, with a shovel and folgers coffee can to hold them; not from a refrigerator at the bait shop in a plastic container. 

Catching crappie with a cane pole


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## boat (Mar 7, 2005)

When you went bowling you had to keep your own score. No fancy monitor showing you what the score was. 

When you went to a ball game you kept the box score inning by inning. My grandfather told me that was part of going to the ball game. I still do it to this day.


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## osobrujo (Jan 13, 2005)

Hippo soda water, 16 oz bottles for a nickel, orange, rootbeer, pineapple, grape.
Buck soda water, orange.

Lighting kitchen matches with your red rider bb gun.

Fighting homemade kites with friends.


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## Omanj (May 21, 2004)

Academy sold Army surplus goods instead of outdoor equipment. Gas was .39 a gallon when I got my first car, a 1963 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 for $200. I also remember the so-called gasoline shortage and the long lines on days when it was your time to fill-up according to your plate number! My eary teen years were spent listening to FM radio-mostly KAUM and eventually K101. I hated when phone calls went from .10 to .25 on payphones. I did not have an air-conditioned classroom until 6th grade and recall us watching the lunar landing.


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## Fishin' Soldier (Dec 25, 2007)

I ai't as old as ya'll  but, I do remember my dad yelling at me through he screen door how much to turn the antenna outside. A bit more...a bit more..back a little...RIGHT THERE!!!!! I go in and its still a bit fuzzy..he says thats the best we got sit down and watch it! Or Maybe thats cause we were poor lol...same thing though...


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## Crow's Nest (Dec 4, 2009)

Cut off jeans.

Hee-Haw

Going to the junk yard and pulling parts to keep your junker going. And fighting the Yellow jackets while doing it.

Glass Packs

Drive-ins

Armadillo World Headquarters!

Drinking and driving at age 18 and being 100% legal. I still can't believe that one!


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