Remember When

I'm starting this thread because there are so many old fogeys
like me on here, and we constantly hijack threads with 'remember
this'. Maybe we can go here when that urge hits us.

Remember how scared we were of the atomic bomb
in the 50's? My dad even built an underground bomb
shelter. He called it a tornado shelter but we found
out later what it was. I realize now how useless it
would have been, but peace of mind was hard to
come by. They had us hiding under our desks with
our hands over our heads at school, do you know how
terrifying that is to a little kid?

Go back to hijacking...we like it.

i may not be old enough to qualify (46),
but quite frankly i was pretty certain reagan was going to nuke something in the eighties...
i know it isn't nearly as surreal as "duck and cover" must have been though

My grandparents have a bomb shelter in their backyard. It's pretty much filled with water.

The biggest thing I remember is when some old fart would be talking about the good old days and my dad would jump right into his shit. I mean some guy talking about how he remembered when liver was a nickle a pound. My dad would tell him " Yeah, and you didn't have a nickle and neither did I. These are the good old days "

He was right about that in a lot of ways. In the 1950's if you could get your son to graduate from high school, get a GED, or an honorable discharge in the military, he could get a union job. In Baltimore that meant Fisher Body Works, Bethlehem Steel, or even Retail Clerks. I had to quit MT. St. Joe's in 11 grade to support my family.

At age 16 I was making $67 a week with FULL medical benefits. Butchers made $100 a week. A guy could buy a house , a car, and his wife could stay home with the kids. Those days are gone forever.

No, I did not walk 6 miles to school, uphill both ways. But I am amazed that I hardly ever see kids outside anymore. We rode bikes,
played baseball, raided the stockyard, etc. from sunup to sundown on weekends and all summer. No wonder there is so much childhood obesity.


My dad drove a cab for 20+ years, then got cataracts on his eyes. That's why I had to quit school. Years later, we would be at the race track and he would run into another driver. Usually the guy would be catching up, telling Dad how bad his kids were, or wife left him, etc. My Dad would always say " AW , you got your health don't you ? "

So happy 4th of JULY and if you have good good health, enjoy it !!!

In 1983, when they made the movie, "The Day After" described as a graphic, disturbing film about the effects of a devastating nuclear holocaust on small-town residents of eastern Kansas, they had telephone operators on stand by if anyone had a mental break. No one called,

Although there were apocalyptic movies back into the 1950's, after a transition period with the Planet of the Apes movies and the Vampire movies about New York, apocalyptic movies became pretty standard fare in the late 1970's. By 1983 people weren't scared of them, even if they were realistic.

Beyond the Time Barrier [ 1960 - US ] An Air Force test pilot accidently flies an experimental aircraft into the future, where a plague
The Last Woman on Earth [ 1960 - US ] A mysterious”incident” temporarily removes all the oxygen from the earth’s surface.
Panic in Year Zero [ 1962 - US ] As nuclear bombs explode in nearby Los Angeles, A father tries to protect his family.
In the Year 2889 [ 1967 - US ] A made for television, apocalyptic, sci-fi, movie about a futuristic nuclear war.
Night of the Living Dead [ 1968 - US ] When the dead begin to rise a group of strangers take refuge in a rural house.
No Blade of Grass [ 1970 - UK ] After a disease infects all cereal crops around the planet the world is plunged into starvation

Last Man on Earth [ 1964 - US ] Last Man on Earth is based on the novel I Am Legend by Richard Matheson.
The Omega Man [ 1971 - US ] Biological warfare has devastated all life on Earth

Planet of the Apes [ 1968 - US ] 3 astronauts that survive a crash begin to explore the strange but familiar world around them.
Beneath the Planet of the Apes [ 1970 - US ] This is the second movie in the series of Planet of the Apes films
Escape from the Planet of the Apes [ 1972 - US ] This is the third in the series of 5 Planet of the Ape movies.
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes [ 1972 - US ]This is the fourth movie in the Planet of the Apes series.
Battle for the Planet of the Apes [ 1973 - US ]This is the fifth and final film in the series.


Soylent Green [ 1973 - US ] Soylent Green takes place in the not so distant future in New York City.
Where Have All The People Gone [ 1974 - US ] Solar flares destroy a majority of the inhabitants of earth.
Survivors [ 1975 - UK ] The world's population is almost annihilated by a mysterious pandemic.
A Boy And His Dog [ 1975 - US ] Post-nuclear follows the adventures of desert nomad Vic (Don Johnson) and his dog
The Ultimate Warrior [ 1975 - US ] It's Post Apocalyptic New York.
The Noah [ 1975 - US ]It tells the tale of a man called, Noah (Robert Strauss) who’s the world ...
Logan's Run [ 1976 - UK ] All cares and pleasures are provided for in this futuristic domed city, but no one lives past their 30th birthday.
Wizards [ 1977 - US ] Two million years after a devastating nuclear war changed the face of the earth that few humans survived.
Damnation Alley [ 1977 - US ] This 70’s B movie is a kind of post-nuclear road movie although it isn’t fantastic it’s not dreadful either.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers [ 1978 - US ] A reimagining of the 1950’s sci-fi classic of the same name,
Dawn of the Dead (1978) Following an ever-growing epidemic of zombies that have risen from the dead...
Nightwing [ 1979 - US ] An ancient Indian chief summons the end of the world. Soon after a swarm of bats attack a village.
Ravagers [ 1979 - US ] Post-apocalyptic thriller set in the aftermath of a global catastrophe where lawless bands roam the earth
Mad Max [ 1979 - Australia ] In this bleak dystopian future, a ruthless bike gang

1964 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Quote: buzzpaff

In the 1950's if you could get your son to graduate from high school, get a GED, !

Remember, though, in the 50's there were no GED's,
in the 60's either. You had to actually go back to
HS to get a diploma. We always had several guys in their 20's
in the senior class when I was in HS. It was common place,
we thought nothing of it. And girls were forced to drop
out if they got pregnant.

Quote: FinsRule

My grandparents have a bomb shelter in their backyard. It's pretty much filled with water.

Thats funny, ours was always flooding and the sump
pumps were going. I would have hated the damp smelly
place if we ever had to use it. I was always afraid a tree
would fall on the entrance and trap us down there.

The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)

Watched it recently. Pretty good movie.