Remember When
70's and owned a TV and radio repair shop from the late
40's thru the 80's.
He said in the 50's and 60's, twice a year, an IRS agent
would be on his doorstep when he opened, unannounced.
He would spend the entire day going over the books and
never found anything untoward. Of course my friend kept
two sets of books, he had 12 kids to support. But thats
how much money TV repairmen made in those days,
they were constantly watched by the Fed's. People almost
always paid in cash, there were no Visa's or Mastercard's
yet.
Those characters reminded me of the guys that hung in the pool room. No cell phones back then, so when they had a prospect, the company would call and a slaesman would answer on the pool hall pay phone.
Occasionally Henry would throw a Dr Pepper bottle at the TV set there. Lots of 1940-50'a movie on TV. Every time somebody in a crime or detective movie needed an arsonist, hit man , safe cracker, etc they would go to the pool hall !
Remember when people could ski at Crystal Mountain on Mt. Rainier? Remember when Aspen was a tourist resort? Now all the glaciers are gone and there's too many disease-carrying mosquitoes.
Remember when our kids could fly home for the holidays? Now there's only one airline and fuel prices make it waaaaay too expensive for such frivolous trips.
Remember when birds sang in the springtime? Now pesticides made the shells too thin and most have died out.
Remember when we drag-raced our Mustangs on the deserted highway on Saturday night? Now combustion engines are outlawed and electric cars are government-watched by the chip in the battery.
Remember when we could visit touristy destinations like Jackson, WY and Telluride, CO on long weekends? Now there's no flights there, housing is depressed and rail traffic has bypassed such nonsense towns. They're just ghost towns now.
Remember when we could make pointless trips to Wal-Mart for a bag of plastic crap? Now we make do with the same ball-point pen we've had for 5 years. Big-box stores died out decades ago and ma-n-pa local markets have made a comeback with fresh local produce. In fact, nothing is shipped OTR long-distance anymore (too expensive).
Remember when the US Post Office used to deliver any mail we sent for 45 cents? Too bad it went bankrupt back in 2015.
Remember when summers in America were only 90 degrees and we all had air conditioning to cool us off? Now populations have moved away from the equator making Canada and Russia the most populous countries by far.
Remember when we all went to Vegas for the weekend? Now $22/gal gas makes car travel illegal, air travel is the escape of the wealthy, and Lake Mead dried up back in 2023 anyway, so the desert reclaimed the desolate town in 2039.
went to watch the fireworks. Today we'll go and watch
the fireworks. In 1910 they did the same. None of
the holidays have changed. Even in the 50's the Detroit
Lions played on Thanksgiving day. There's comfort in
tradition.
Quote: EvenBob...Even in the 50's the Detroit Lions played on Thanksgiving day. There's comfort in tradition.
Yea, but in the '50s the Lions often won on Thanksgiving. That's something they haven't done since 2003.
:)
(Note: I'm a Lions fan.)
Back in those days, The Sally would always have a bowl by the door with pieces of chalk so that a wandering man might be able to travel well and be able to "chalk a man up" if he encountered a situation such as being set upon by dogs when he approached a farmhouse for a stand-up or for used coffee grounds.
Quote: zippyboyInteresting to think if you had asked this question in 2060, people might reminisce that:
Remember when people could ski at Crystal Mountain on Mt. Rainier? Remember when Aspen was a tourist resort? Now all the glaciers are gone and there's too many disease-carrying mosquitoes.
Remember when our kids could fly home for the holidays? Now there's only one airline and fuel prices make it waaaaay too expensive for such frivolous trips.
Remember when birds sang in the springtime? Now pesticides made the shells too thin and most have died out.
Remember when we drag-raced our Mustangs on the deserted highway on Saturday night? Now combustion engines are outlawed and electric cars are government-watched by the chip in the battery.
Remember when we could visit touristy destinations like Jackson, WY and Telluride, CO on long weekends? Now there's no flights there, housing is depressed and rail traffic has bypassed such nonsense towns. They're just ghost towns now.
Remember when we could make pointless trips to Wal-Mart for a bag of plastic crap? Now we make do with the same ball-point pen we've had for 5 years. Big-box stores died out decades ago and ma-n-pa local markets have made a comeback with fresh local produce. In fact, nothing is shipped OTR long-distance anymore (too expensive).
Remember when the US Post Office used to deliver any mail we sent for 45 cents? Too bad it went bankrupt back in 2015.
Remember when summers in America were only 90 degrees and we all had air conditioning to cool us off? Now populations have moved away from the equator making Canada and Russia the most populous countries by far.
Remember when we all went to Vegas for the weekend? Now $22/gal gas makes car travel illegal, air travel is the escape of the wealthy, and Lake Mead dried up back in 2023 anyway, so the desert reclaimed the desolate town in 2039.
That is prescient stuff, Zip.
Quote: EvenBobRemember, 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.
IIRC I saw once that the GED was instituted right after WWII as they both didn't want and didn't feel right about 20-23 year olds who just fought the war mixing at the local HS. But that is what it was, a last-ditch thing for someone who had very bad circumstances to get the paper to move up into more education or a better slot at work. It was not what it has become, which is a way for kids to quit school then get a paper saying they know all the material. Today if I see a a young person with a GED, unless they have a good reason like supporting the family I see a quitter. Many people do.
On the bomb shelter/nuclear disaster thing, I tell younger people that if you have no memory of the 1980s you just not understand the mentality of the USA having a real and capable enemy. I still remember the "relief" you got when the EBS said "this is only a test." Comparing it to the 1950s I am sure the fear was greater in the 1950s, but in the 1950s you knew it was still bombers and there would be a few hours at the least for it to play out, and the bombers could be shot down. In the 1980s it was ICBMs and you knew you had no chance, even if we had figured out SDI.
Quote: EvenBobI realize now how useless it would have been, but peace of mind was hard to come by.
Well, most of the area hit by a nuclear weapon is only hit by tornado or lower level pressure and fallout. That way, all you need is a tornado shelter with a few extra supplies to greatly increase your chances of survival.
Quote: zippyboyRemember when people could ski at Crystal Mountain on Mt. Rainier? Remember when Aspen was a tourist resort? Now all the glaciers are gone and there's too many disease-carrying mosquitoes.
Remember when summers in America were only 90 degrees and we all had air conditioning to cool us off? Now populations have moved away from the equator making Canada and Russia the most populous countries by far.
Laying it on a little thick aren't you?
It's too late: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-10/russia-may-lose-15-000-lives-15-billion-of-economic-output-in-heat-wave.html
Quote: P90Laying it on a little thick aren't you?
It's too late: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-10/russia-may-lose-15-000-lives-15-billion-of-economic-output-in-heat-wave.html
The article is 2 years old.
