Posted on 01/04/2003 12:12:42 PM PST by Dakotabound
"Hey Dad," My Son asked the other day, "what was your favorite fast food when you were growing up?"
"We didn't have fast food when I was growing up."
"C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?"
"We ate at home," I explained. "Your Grandma cooked every day and when your Grandpa got home from work, we all sat down together at the table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate I had to sit there until I did like it." By this time, my Son was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer some serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to get my Father's permission to leave the table.
Here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I had figured his system could handle it.
My parents never: wore Levi's, set foot on a golf course, traveled out of the country, flew in a plane or had a credit card. In their later years they had something called a "revolving charge card" but they never actually used it. It was only good at Sears-Roebuck. Or maybe it was Sears and Roebuck. Either way, there is no Roebuck anymore.
My parents never drove me to soccer practice. This was because soccer back then was just for the girls. We actually did walk to school. By the time you were in the 6th grade it was not cool to ride the bus unless you lived more than 4 or 5 miles from the school, even when it was raining or there was ice or snow on the ground.
Outdoor sports consisted of stickball, snowball fights, building forts, making snowmen and sliding down hills on a piece of cardboard. No skate boards, roller blades or trail bikes.
We didn't have a television in our house until I was 12. It was, of course, black and white, but you could buy a piece of special colored plastic to cover the screen. The top third was blue, like the sky, and the bottom third was green, like grass. The middle third was red. It was perfect for programs that had scenes of fire trucks riding across someone's lawn on a sunny day.
I was 13 before I tasted my first pizza. It was a Sam's Pizza at the East end of Fruit Street in Milford. My friend, Steve took me there to try what he called "pizza pie." When I bit into it, I burned the roof of my mouth and the cheese slid off, swung down and plastered itself against my chin. It's still the best pizza I ever had.
Pizzas were not delivered to your house back then, but the milk was. I looked forward to winter because the cream in the milk was on top of the bottle and it would freeze and push the cap off. Of course us kids would get up first to get the milk and eat the frozen cream before our mother could catch us.
I never had a telephone in my room. Actually the only phone in the house was in the hallway and it was on a party line. Before you could make a call, you had to listen in to make sure someone else wasn't already using the line. If the line was not in use an Operator would come on and ask "number please" and you would give her the number you wanted to call.
There was no such thing as a computer or a hand held calculator. We were required to memorize the "times tables." Believe it or not, we were tested each week on our ability to perform mathematics with nothing but a pencil and paper. We took a spelling test every day. There was no such thing as a "social promotion." If you flunked a class, you repeated that grade the following year. Nobody was concerned about your "self esteem." We had to actually do something praiseworthy before we were praised. We learned that you had to earn respect.
All newspapers were delivered by boys and most all boys delivered newspapers. I delivered the "Milford Daily News" six days a week. It cost 7 cents a paper, of which I got to keep 2 cents. On Saturday, I had to collect the 42 cents from my customers. My favorite customers were the ones who gave me 50 cents and told me to keep the change. My least favorite customers were the ones who seemed to never be home on collection day.
Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut on screen. Touching someone else's tongue with yours was called French kissing and they just didn't do that in the movies back then. I had no idea what they did in French movies. French movies were considered dirty and we weren't allowed to see them.
You never saw the Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers or anyone else actual kill someone. The heroes back then would just shoot the gun out of the bad guys hand. There was no blood and violence.
When you were sick, the Doctor actually came to your house. No, I am not making this up. Drugs were something you purchased at a pharmacy in order to cure an illness.
If we dared to "sass" our parents, or any other grown-up, we immediately found out what soap tasted like. For more serious infractions, we learned about something called a "this hurts me more than it hurts you." I never did quite understand that one?
In those days, parents were expected to discipline their kids. There was no interference from the government. "Social Services" or "Family Services" had not been invented (The ninth and tenth amendments to the constitution were still observed in those days.)
I must be getting old because I find myself reflecting back more and more and thinking I liked it a lot better back then. If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your kids or grandchildren. Just don't blame me if they wet themselves laughing. Growing up today sure ain't what it used to be.
I was born in 1965. I remember the moon landings, the Vietnam War, milkmen, twice-daily mail delivery, telephone exchanges (EVERGREEN8-1306), Mr. Zip, "You Can Trust Your Car To The Man Who Wears The Star", Texaco and Sinclair gas station attendants in jumpsuits, bowties and hats selling leaded Ethyl Sky Chief gas at ¢30/gallon, high schools with cigarette machines in them FOR THE USE OF STUDENTS, national anthem sign-offs, Civil Defense, the Ed Sullivan TV show, Star Trek (in its original syndication run), Big Boy restaurants, school segregation, smallpox vaccinations, and burr haircuts. The 1960s took a long time to filter down to East Dallas. By 1975 it was all over, and the modern world began.
My fondest memory: in the Dallas school district, every morning at 8:00 the principal would come on the loudspeakers and lead the kids in a prayer addressed to Jesus Christ. We all stood for the prayer, with our head bowed and our eyes closed. No one complained.
Our old neighborhood went downhill fast in the 1970s, but now the Mexicans are moving in, fixing up the old houses, and opening stores. I wish them well, but the Dallas I knew is gone. I live in Tarrant County, now, and I don't look back.
I miss the moon landings, the school prayers, and the full-service gas stations. I don't miss the smallpox, the legal segregation, or the Viet Nam war -- but smallpox is back, gas is cheaper now than it's ever been, and we have a new Asian war to fight. Toujours ça change, toujours c'est la même chose; mais, je me souviens.
Given the time value of money over 40+ years, I imagine a five dollar burger combo would be about the same deal, but I swear, they just don't taste the same (except, maybe, for In-N-Out).
Episode No. 416 Forever September 12, 1972
Written by: Michael Landon
Directed b: Michael Landon
This episode is very sad for a number of reasons primary among them is that this was the first episode shown after Dan Blockers death. In fact this episode was written for Dan and was changed to be about Joe. In this episode Joe marries Alice Harper. Shortly after telling Joe she is pregnant, she is killed by men who were owed money by her brother. There is a very touching scene between Ben and Joe as Ben holds his son and tries to comfort him as they both cry for their loss.
Guest stars: Bonnie Bedelia, Roy Jenson, Andy Robinson, Larry Golden
I also remember the Beltway when it was under construction.
Now "Mad-Town" has all of those vices and more and is better known as a "Peoples Republic".
I'm greatful I don't have to raise my son anywhere hear Madison, Wisconsin!
For me, the first Color TV show I saw, was early 60's "Bonanza"! What a thrill it was!
The Sparkletones?
I can't remember the name of the group. It was around 1955 or so. He also brought me another record called "Get a Job" :)
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