Remember When

Quote: billryan

I have a vague memory of watching a cartoon turtle wearing a helmet

That was "Bert, the turtle" helping fill young minds with false hope.

see:

Bert the turtle "Duck and Cover"

Quote: MrV

That was "Bert, the turtle" helping fill young minds with false hope.

see:

Bert the turtle "Duck and Cover"

If you're that close as it shows in this video that you see the flash and immediately experience the wave of air you're dead anyway from the radiation. You could duck and cover all you want but you're a dead guy walking.

Actual school kid.

Quote:

Kawamoto was a 13-year-old student at a middle school only about a half-mile from the site of the explosion. In the moment of impact, most of his classmates were instantly killed. Those left alive cried out, or sang to try to attract the attention of anyone who might help. The horror, however, had only just begun:

But then the singing and the cries grew weaker. My classmates were dying one by one. That made me very frightened. I struggled to free myself from the broken fragments, and looked around. I thought that gas tanks had exploded. Through a hole in the roof I could see clouds swirling in a cone; some were black, some pink. There were fires in the middle of the clouds. I checked my body. Three upper teeth were chipped off; perhaps a roof tile had hit me. My left arm was pierced by a piece of wood that stuck in my flesh like an arrow. Unable to pull it out, I tied a tourniquet around my upper arm to stanch the flow of blood. I had no other injuries, but I did not run away. We were taught that it was cowardly to desert one’s classmates. So I crawled about the rubble, calling, ‘Is there anyone alive?’

Then I saw an arm shifting under planks of wood. Ota, my friend, was moving. But I could see that his back was broken, and I had to pull him up into the clear. Ota was looking at me with his left eye. His right eyeball was hanging from his face. I think he said something, but I could not make it out. Pieces of nails were stuck on his lips. He took a student handbook from his pocket. I asked, ‘Do you want me to give this to your mother?’ Ota nodded. A moment later he died. By now the school was engulfed in flames. I started to walk away, and then looked back. Ota was staring at me with his one good eye. I can still see that eye in the dark.

I saw it.

In 1945, elementary student Keiji Nakazawa's mother wakes him up during an air raid and they rush into a wet shelter. Hungry and with there being little food, Keiji would steal and eat raw rice from storage bins. To earn money, the family painted wooden clogs. His father also did traditional Japanese paintings and his brother Yasuto welded the hulls of ships at the Kure Shipyard. Keiji's brother, Shoji, left during a group evacuation, keeping in touch through letters. On August 6, 1945, on his way to school, Keiji saw a B-29 flying overhead. At 8:15 am, it dropped an atomic bomb, nicknamed Little Boy, on Hiroshima. Keiji was knocked unconscious. The schoolyard wall had blocked most of the flames from the blast, though his cheek was impaled by a nail in a wooden board. Keiji returned to his home to learn that his mother, who had recently given birth to a baby girl, was waiting for him by the tracks on Yamaguchi Street. The rest of his family, except Yasuto, had just died. Their house had collapsed in the blast, and the father and children were trapped under the wreckage. Meanwhile, a fire had started elsewhere, but quickly spread from house to house, so the father and children were burned alive while pinned down, and while the mother listened to their screams. Later on, Keiji and Yasuto went back to their home to dig up their family's bodies.

On August 15, 1945, World War II ended and Shoji returned. The baby girl his mother gave birth to on the day of the bombing died and was cremated on the beach. Keiji returned to school and houses being rebuilt. His family was poor, and Keiji was always hunting for food. He also began collecting trash and glass to turn into items he could sell. One day, he found a copy of the manga Shin-Takarajima (New Treasure Island) by Osamu Tezuka. Inspired, he started writing his own manga and reading manga magazines at the local bookstores. Keiji submitted one of his manga creations to the magazine Omoshiro Book which accepted and published it. Wanting to improve his drawing skills, Keiji began working as a sign painter for a former war veteran. A second manuscript sent to Omoshiro Book won him second place in a contest. Keiji used the prize money to buy a palette.

One New Year's Eve, Keiji's mother Kimiyo began hemorrhaging. He purchased all the medicine he could, wanting to give her some good memories, and she slowly regained her health. Keiji moved to Tokyo to begin his career as a manga artist. Keiji's editor got him a job working as the assistant to Daiji Kazumine. One and a half years later, his manga titles began serialization in various magazines. When he returned to Hiroshima to meet his mother, she had recovered though she was unable to walk freely. She collected every issue of the magazines his works appeared in, and Keiji told her to get well so he can show her Tokyo.

Returning to Tokyo, Keiji met a woman who he fell in love with and married. Meeting Keiji's wife, Kimiyo told him that her life was now complete. She died while Keiji and his wife were en route to Tokyo. When they cremated her body, the radiation remaining in her from the bomb caused her bones to disintegrate, leaving only white dust instead of the usual ashes. Traumatized and angered, Keiji decided he would fight the atomic bomb through his manga's.

Five years have passed since Kimiyo died. Keiji is standing by a pond and wishing he had been born in a better time. Checking the time, he realizes it's close to the deadline for his work for Weekly Shōnen Jump. He goes back into the house to get down to work.

Media

Was there ever a more ridiculous military show on television than Gomer Pyle USMC. First and foremost the cast was way too old to be new recruits in the Marines. They were all in their thirties and the cutoff date for joining the Marines is 26. Jim Nabors was almost 40 when the show off the air Ronnie Schell, Ted Bessell and the rest were all in their thirties. The show was on during the worst part of the Vietnam War and it was never mentioned. Not one of these marines as far as I can remember was never shipped overseas anywhere. It was a ridiculous stupid and insulting show to the Marine Corps. They would never get away with that today.

It was shot on a Marine base and used real Marines as extras so the Marines had no problem with it. There were a lot of strange shows on at the time. Bob Denver was a super-hero, another show had a caveman, My mother the car, My favorite Martian.

Quote: EvenBob

Was there ever a more ridiculous military show on television than Gomer Pyle USMC. First and foremost the cast was way too old to be new recruits in the Marines. They were all in their thirties and the cutoff date for joining the Marines is 26. Jim Nabors was almost 40 when the show off the air Ronnie Schell, Ted Bessell and the rest were all in their thirties. The show was on during the worst part of the Vietnam War and it was never mentioned. Not one of these marines as far as I can remember was never shipped overseas anywhere. It was a ridiculous stupid and insulting show to the Marine Corps. They would never get away with that today.

- bold font added

Hogan's Heroes?

I Dream of Jeannie? (they were military (Air force?) officers).

McHales Navy?

The military show I liked a lot was Combat! starring Vic Morrow. I do admit that Gomer Pyle was so stupid and dull that I never could get interested in watching it.

F Troop.

Quote: EvenBob

Quote: MrV

That was "Bert, the turtle" helping fill young minds with false hope.

see:

Bert the turtle "Duck and Cover"

If you're that close as it shows in this video that you see the flash and immediately experience the wave of air you're dead anyway from the radiation. You could duck and cover all you want but you're a dead guy walking.

The flash from a nuclear weapon contains gamma rays and that is usually what immediately incinerates people into ash . Gamma rays are blocked by bricks and earth, but when (partially) absorbed by the human body-or bricks or wood - they are converted to heat. The gamma ray burst from a nuclear weapon is so intense that it immediately converts unshielded flesh into ash if the living organism is too close.

The intensity of the gamma blast falls off with distance as 1/r^3. People far enough away will have to deal with the thermal fireball which is created by the kinetic energy of the fission fragments. Within the fireball no structure survives. As the fireball dissipates with distance it becomes a thermal shock way - superheated air. A schoolhouse that is a few miles from the blast would have all of the windows blown in with great violence, and the walls might get blown in as well. The shelter in place action, often depicted as children under desks, was to protect people from being sliced to ribbons by flying glass or crushed by falling structure.

Quote: billryan

F Troop.

F Troop was hilarious! I loved that show and laugh my ass off. I watched a couple episodes of it a few years ago and it's still funny. It's a spoof it's not supposed to be mirror real life. Like the Wild Wild West what's a spoof on modern spy movies. With the supervillains and fancy high-tech equipment that could never have existed in the 1870s. I loved that show also. It was on Friday nights at 7:30 the same night as the Man from Uncle was on. and Hogan's Heroes and Gomer Pyle and the Smothers Brothers.

Wednesday was my second favorite tonight. Lost in Space, Green Acres, Beverly Hillbillies, Dick Van Dyke Show, and I Spy. Fantastic night of TV in 1965.

Quote: EvenBob

Was there ever a more ridiculous military show on television than Gomer Pyle USMC. First and foremost the cast was way too old to be new recruits in the Marines. They were all in their thirties and the cutoff date for joining the Marines is 26. Jim Nabors was almost 40 when the show off the air Ronnie Schell, Ted Bessell and the rest were all in their thirties. The show was on during the worst part of the Vietnam War and it was never mentioned. Not one of these marines as far as I can remember was never shipped overseas anywhere. It was a ridiculous stupid and insulting show to the Marine Corps. They would never get away with that today.

It is a silly show but a fun diversion. The beauty is Pyle always means well and that drives Sgt Carter crazy. If you manage people for long enough you will end up with someone like him. I still think my favorite is when Pyle was on sentry and some politician comes by and Pyle will not let him in. The guy makes a beef and Pyle is called in by some officer who the pol beefed to. Carter says, "You should have seen who he was and let him in, that is what I would have done."

Then Pyle is in front of the pol and the officer and asked to explain himself. He explains he was following orders given to him and he as a Marine follows orders. The pol asks the officer what he is going to do and the officer commends Pyle and tells the pol that good Marines follow orders and he is nothing special. Pyle somehow mentioned that his Sgt said he would have let the pol in against orders. Pyle IIRC got a weekend pass and Sgt Carter had to work Sentry duty all weekend.

There is no telling how many people signed up to Art Institute or went to truck driving school because of this show. Was on in reruns in daytime for decades, and always commercials for some kind of job training.

Gilligan’s island was ridiculous in every conceivable aspect. Except for being stranded and some normal human functions.

"Escapist tv" where you could just suspend belief was huge back then. Martians, Genies, KAOS, talking cars, flying nuns and more.
When you consider most people only had access to five or fewer stations, and only three ran most first-run shows, it's interesting what Hollywood thought Americans wanted to see.

Quote: billryan

"Escapist tv" where you could just suspend belief was huge back then. Martians, Genies, KAOS, talking cars, flying nuns and more.
When you consider most people only had access to five or fewer stations, and only three ran most first-run shows, it's interesting what Hollywood thought Americans wanted to see.

Today it is reality TV. I explained it to my dad once. I said you have to watch it like professional wrestling. Either admit you do not care it is fake and enjoy it or else watch something else.

I did not take my own advice on the "Dallas" reboot. Being a landman I saw all the holes in the oil deals and it got to the point my mother told me to just watch the show. Later it came up with a co-worked who agreed and said they should have hired us.

Quote: gordonm888

Quote: EvenBob

Was there ever a more ridiculous military show on television than Gomer Pyle USMC. First and foremost the cast was way too old to be new recruits in the Marines. They were all in their thirties and the cutoff date for joining the Marines is 26. Jim Nabors was almost 40 when the show off the air Ronnie Schell, Ted Bessell and the rest were all in their thirties. The show was on during the worst part of the Vietnam War and it was never mentioned. Not one of these marines as far as I can remember was never shipped overseas anywhere. It was a ridiculous stupid and insulting show to the Marine Corps. They would never get away with that today.

- bold font added

Hogan's Heroes?

I Dream of Jeannie? (they were military (Air force?) officers).

McHales Navy?

The military show I liked a lot was Combat! starring Vic Morrow. I do admit that Gomer Pyle was so stupid and dull that I never could get interested in watching it.

i have to admit I lost some respect for Gordon on this one.

Hogan's Heroes was great. A show full of Jewish people playing Germans in WWII.

McHale's Navy, Any show with Tom Conway is good in my book.

The difference today is there are a gazillion channels and streams and families gave more than one tv. The audience is so fragmented that shows that would have been canceled a generation ago are considered hits now.

Quote: rxwine

Gilligan’s island was ridiculous in every conceivable aspect.

Of course it was, it was written specifically to be ridiculous. It was written to be over-the-top outrageously unbelievable. And that's why it was hilarious. Stranded on a desert island and you wear an evening dress everyday? A different evening dress? They arrived in a tiny boat and had luggage that would not fit on the Queen Mary. The fun of the show was laughing at how stupid it was. Could not get off the island yet they had guest star after guest star easily find the island and easily leave it. Wonderful.

Quote: DRich

Hogan's Heroes was great. A show full of Jewish people playing Germans in WWII.

The actors who played the four major German roles—Werner Klemperer (Klink), John Banner (Schultz), Leon Askin (Burkhalter), and Howard Caine (Hochstetter)—were Jewish. Robert Clary, who played LeBeau, was in a German concentration camp and survived because he could sing and perform. He's the only survivor in a 14-member family, the rest were killed in the death camps. John Banner who played Sergeant Schultz, also spent time in a pre-war concentration camp.

there's any number of these old shows that were mildly entertaining enough , I have found I can watch them again some [not regularly]

but often with one problem: the theme song creates a terrible earworm

this rules out a lot of them, two come to mind instantly, Green Acres and Gilligan's Island. Hogan's Heroes could develop that , not so far, but instead currently my feeling is that the characters created were very good , but the plots are so ridiculous I can't sit through it

btw it doesn't work to just skip the opening theme music, they play it throughout

Quote: EvenBob

Of course it was, it was written specifically to be ridiculous. It was written to be over-the-top outrageously unbelievable. And that's why it was hilarious. Stranded on a desert island and you wear an evening dress everyday? A different evening dress? They arrived in a tiny boat and had luggage that would not fit on the Queen Mary. The fun of the show was laughing at how stupid it was. Could not get off the island yet they had guest star after guest star easily find the island and easily leave it. Wonderful.

Kind of like casinos.

The people find them so easily and after a few hours leave them.

But they return over and over again,

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Earl the Pearl Monroe. I saw his first home game in Baltimore
if he didn't have the ball the crowd would start screaming - "Pearl, Pearl - why don't you give it to Pearl"
he played much of the game (offensively) with his back to the basket
I know that at least 2 different opponents fell down trying to guard him - he faked them out so bad
I believe that he was the first to bring all of playground basketball to the NBA
Elgin Baylor brought some of it. But the Pearl brought all of it.

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Remember when TV commercials were about soap, cigarettes, beer, cereal and toothpaste, and not about new drugs?

Quote: MrV

Remember when TV commercials will a about soap, cigarettes, beer, cereal and toothpaste, and not about new drugs?

Or PI law firms, or car insurance. Ugh!

BTW, it's been my observation that there are still plenty of cereal commercials. You just have to watch the right program/network.

Quote: Joeman

Or PI law firms, or car insurance. Ugh!

BTW, it's been my observation that there are still plenty of cereal commercials. You just have to watch the right program/network.

Probably true, but I can't even remember the last time I saw a cereal commercial. Maybe 10 years ago.

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before stereo - my Dad was so excited when he got his first High Fidelity player - we called them "HiFi"
it was a huge improvement over what we had before
ours was RCA - a gigantic company that is now gone - their competitor was Zenith -
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Quote: odiousgambit

my feeling is that the characters created were very good , but the plots are so ridiculous I can't sit through it

Even the plots of Hogan's Heroes were ridiculous and silly. A prisoner of war camp run by complete morons, which the Germans were not even on their worst days. Shows like Green Acres, Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, were completely insulting to the rural population of the Southern States. Yet they were incredibly popular for years. Green Acres and Beverly Hillbillies only went off the air not because of ratings, but because CBS completely dumped all those types of shows. Beverly Hillbillies got so stupid and so ridiculous in its final seasons that it was unwatchable yet it would have been renewed for another season.

"Hee Haw" was popular. I think I lost fewer IQ points watching BugsBunny/Daffy Duck cartoons than the few times I watched part of that show.

Quote: EvenBob

Even the plots of Hogan's Heroes were ridiculous and silly. A prisoner of war camp run by complete morons, which the Germans were not even on their worst days. Shows like Green Acres, Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, were completely insulting to the rural population of the Southern States. Yet they were incredibly popular for years. Green Acres and Beverly Hillbillies only went off the air not because of ratings, but because CBS completely dumped all those types of shows. Beverly Hillbillies got so stupid and so ridiculous in its final seasons that it was unwatchable yet it would have been renewed for another season.

link to original post

I did a business paper on NFL expansion in college about 1992. I had the list of the most viewed TV shows of all time. Narturally the SBs and end of MASH were on top. But in 50-100 were several random episodes of Beverly Hillbillies. More than any other sitcom. Not talking special episodes, either. So the show must have been more popular than anything today comparatively.

Quote: lilredrooster

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before stereo - my Dad was so excited when he got his first High Fidelity player - we called them "HiFi"
it was a huge improvement over what we had before
ours was RCA - a gigantic company that is now gone - their competitor was Zenith

For the longest time, didn't we refer to composite AV cables as "RCA cables"?

Why was that? Did they create them? If only there were some kind of easily accessible resource that could give the history of that…

Quote: smoothgrh

For the longest time, didn't we refer to composite AV cables as "RCA cables"?

Why was that? Did they create them? If only there were some kind of easily accessible resource that could give the history of that…

link to original post

I remember calling the plugs "RCA Jacks." I just assumed RCA invented them.

Quote: AZDuffman

I remember calling the plugs "RCA Jacks."

They're still called that.

I remember the joy I experienced listening to LP's on my parents console Hi-Fi: this led me down the path of becoming an "audiophile."

RCA may be a memory; now I have American made equipment from companies most people have never heard of: Krell, Conrad-Johnson, Aerial, Parasound, Vincent, Chapman ...

America still makes some of if not THE BEST equipment, but you gotta look for it and no, it ain't cheap.

But it's worth it.

Quote: AZDuffman

were several random episodes of Beverly Hillbillies. More than any other sitcom. Not talking special episodes, either. So the show must have been more popular than anything today comparatively.

Don't misunderstand me, the 1st three or four seasons of the show were hilarious in the early 60s. It was a top 10 rated show and we always watched it and laughed. Remember after Goldfinger came out in 1964 and Jethro refitted the truck to be like the Aston Martin in the movie? And made a metal hat like Oddjob had? Those were the best years. It was the late sixties and into the early seventies when the show got really stupid because they ran out of material.

Quote: EvenBob

Don't misunderstand me, the 1st three or four seasons of the show were hilarious in the early 60s. It was a top 10 rated show and we always watched it and laughed. Remember after Goldfinger came out in 1964 and Jethro refitted the truck to be like the Aston Martin in the movie? And made a metal hat like Oddjob had? Those were the best years. It was the late sixties and into the early seventies when the show got really stupid because they ran out of material.

It was one of the last of call them "innocent" shows. In the early 70s the networks decided everything had to have an edge to it. Even "family" shows dealt in all kinds of serious issues and you might not want your kids to see. I cannot think of anything in "The Beverly Hillbillies" that a young kid should not see.

Quote: billryan

F Troop.

link to original post

That was my company's nick name in boot camp in 1968. Our last personnel inspection prior to graduation was a hoot. The other companies received no "hits" (demerits); my company had 42 hits. We were almost set back two weeks, but we managed to graduate because Vietnam was calling.

tuttigym

Quote: AZDuffman

It was one of the last of call them "innocent" shows. In the early 70s the networks decided everything had to have an edge to it. ]

TV changed because the movies changed. In the early 70s most of the light-hearted comedies of the fifties and sixties disappeared and were replaced with movies like Serpico and Taxi Driver and The Godfather and endless movies about criminals and crime and cops. TV had to try and keep up.

Quote: EvenBob

TV changed because the movies changed. In the early 70s most of the light-hearted comedies of the fifties and sixties disappeared and were replaced with movies like Serpico and Taxi Driver and The Godfather and endless movies about criminals and crime and cops. TV had to try and keep up.

link to original post

That goes with all of society changing. I have said it before, seeing JFK and Oswald killed right in front of everyone killed the post WWII "childhood" of America. Vietnam then put a stake thru its heart. Thus entertainment changed.

This was the toaster I grew up using in the early and mid 1950s. It was usually a disaster because there's no timer you have to constantly check it and for a kid that's really easy to burn toast. We finally got a Sunbeam pop-up toaster later in the fifties and the spring was so strong the toast flew up 3 in above the toaster and ended up on the floor if you didn't catch it.


This mid-fifties chrome Sunbeam toaster was in practically every kitchen you went into in the late 1950s.

Quote: EvenBob

This was the toaster I grew up using in the early and mid 1950s. It was usually a disaster because there's no timer you have to constantly check it and for a kid that's really easy to burn toast. We finally got a Sunbeam pop-up toaster later in the fifties and the spring was so strong the toast flew up 3 in above the toaster and ended up on the floor if you didn't catch it.


This mid-fifties chrome Sunbeam toaster was in practically every kitchen you went into in the late 1950s.

link to original post

My grandparents had a neat toaster which put the bread down automatically. It was ancient and I have never seen that feature since. When they died I got it and it barely worked. I only wanted it for that weird feature. Being a manly male I took it apart to see if it could be fixed. Seems it worked by when you put the bread in a spring moved a real thin piece of metal to make contact and lower it. Kind of take apart you saw on "American Restoration" where you take the old thing apart and are amazed at what they used to build in the USA.

It was a real thin piece of IIRC brass. But here is what happened. It was probably a wedding present they used for 60 years or more. And that real thin piece of metal they had just wore down to where it was too thin to make the contact! The rest of the thing would probably still be working today it was so well made.

Other weird toaster was my dad's mother. It "clicked" like a timer when you pushed the toast down.

Quote: AZDuffman

My grandparents had a neat toaster which put the bread down automatically.

My grandmother had an old stove with a chamber called a well. It seemed to be multi-purpose. You could use it to keep food warm, heat up rolls without using the whole oven, and many other things. I'm surprised this seems to have disappeared from modern stoves. I'd almost forgotten about them until I was recently house hunting and came across one in a restored 1940s farmhouse.

Quote: EvenBob

link to original post

That is exactly how it worked. A neat idea lost to time. Today they would use an electronic sensor and gum it up.

I don't remember ever seeing such a auto-toaster, so we must of gotten rid of it or it died before my time.

Mostly what I remember is my dad liked his toast charred black, and I didn't, but sometimes my mom would forget to change the setting, and if we were almost out of bread, then I'd end up with some charcoal bread, which I just broke off an didn't eat.

Quote: AZDuffman

Quote: EvenBob

link to original post

That is exactly how it worked. A neat idea lost to time. Today they would use an electronic sensor and gum it up.

link to original post

Toasters are quite collectible. In the period from 1900 to the 1950s all around the world there were hundreds and hundreds of different styles of toasters. It couldn't just be functional it also had to be art. Some of the more ornate ones go for a lot of money.

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pocket protectors - faves of nerdy guys you knew in h.s. who couldn't play ball but went ahead to rule the world and make tons of money in computers and such





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Quote: lilredrooster

pocket protectors
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link to original post

Those football shaped rubber coin purses.
Squeeze it to open.

Dad used a rubber-squeeze coin purse.
His dad used a leather coin wallet (folded octagon? squeeze to open).

Keeps the coins from rubbing and wearing out the "good pants" as quickly, plus it's slightly faster to dig change out of your pocket with one.

Quote: lilredrooster

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pocket protectors -

Pocket protectors were no joke, up until the early 60s we used fountain pens that needed to be refilled with real ink. When I was in grade school we didn't have ballpoint pens yet and fountain pens were a giant pain in the butt and they leaked all the time. Right around 1960 or 61 Bic put out a really cheap ballpoint pen and everybody had one. They were like ten pens for $0.39. They still make them and they look exactly the same and sell millions of them a year.

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back when credit cards first became widespread I had a little job as a cashier in People's Drugs - summers of h.s.

we didn't get a lot of cards - when we got one I had to look up the # in a huge book that had the nos. and names of people who didn't pay - had bad credit

I didn't actually look them up - it was a pain - the print was so small - I just pretended to - I approved every card

then we had to run it thru a metal gadget that produced a carbon cy

the customer signed and got a cy - and the retailer got the original





Peoples Drug stores were huge on the East Coast - now gone of course
everybody went there at some time for something
you will see them when streets are panned in old movies








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Quote: lilredrooster

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then we had to run it thru a metal gadget that produced a carbon cy

the customer signed and got a cy - and the retailer got the original

My dad had two credit cards in the early 60s, a Sears card and the Texaco card and they were both made out of metal so they would leave a good imprint when they were run through the machines. Those carbon copies were a mess, but they were around for a long time. They weren't called credit cards they were called charge plates.

This is not political although it starts out with a politician.

I was reading this morning of an upstate NY politician named John Salka. It caught my eye as I went to high school with a person of that same name. H was big in student government, was the anchor of the school tv news report, was a teenage republican, and thought the John Birch society was too liberal. It didn't really surprise me that he had gone into politics although I was surprised he would live in rural upstate NY.
So ,out of curiosity I googled him to see how he had aged and realized it wasn't the same man. time does not transform a 6'3 athlete into a 5'9 fatman, no matter how hard you abuse yourself.
Somewhat glad it wasn't my old friend, I took to the net to see if I could find the right John Salka and it took me a few seconds to find him.
It didn't surprise me to find he had pursued a career in firefighting, as he was a member of my town junior fire department. Not only had he risen to the top of his profession, retiring after thirty-plus years as one of the top Chiefs in the NYFD, but he had been elected to The National Fire Fighters Hall of Fame, and evidently has written fire policies adopted by hundreds of departments that are credited with saving thousands of lives. He also invented a procedure where trapped firefighters can somehow extend their oxygen, giving others more of a chance to rescue them, apparently saving dozens of firefighters' lives over the last twenty years.
It was good to know my friend hadn't grown up to be the guy I read about and great to see he reached such heights and saved so many lives.

Quote: EvenBob

Those carbon copies were a mess

this is the gadget - in the store we just called it a "thing" - as in "hand me the charge card thing"
the cashier - me - had to hand write the total, then the tax, and then the grand total in these little squares on the far right
then in the middle of the thing we wrote the grand total in large numbers and circled it
incredible to remember all of this - what a pain in___







the Manager - the poor guy - before the store closed had to check every single charge slip against what was on the register tape


Edit - oh yeah, I almost forgot - every cashier had a stapler and a box of staples in case the stapler ran out
the very last thing we did was staple the register receipt to the charge card carbon_________(-:\


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