Do you remember when......

[Gayandgray]

I remember the days of just one rotary phone and it was in the kitchen. It had a really long cord and my sisters and I would stretch it to the max going going down the hallway to talk in private. I remember pay telephones, no such thing as a cell phone, Being sent outside to play and playing hide and seek, red rover, dodge ball, tag. Riding bikes and building forts in the woods. Only going out to eat on special occasions. The teacher could pull your hair and hit you with a paddle or ruler for misbehaving, and being afraid to go home because as soon as Daddy got home, you were gonna get hit with the "switch"! I remember records, no cd's or cassette tapes till I was older. I remember 8 track tapes. I remember my mom washing our mouth out with a bar of ivory soap she kept in the kitchen for saying "bad words" (cussing). I remember being told to get up and change the tv channel. I remember wearing saddle shoes and Buster Browns. I remember having pen pals and writing lots of letters. Man I miss the old days

[meridiantoo]

Playing with my hula hoop, lemon twist and skateboard for hours

Outside play wasn't only encouraged, it was mandatory

Shag carpet

After school special movies

Pre-MTV, Pre-Walkman, reel-to-reel home movies, when cars just had radios, vinyl records, bootleg copies you cherished, Peel sessions on BBC radio

Saturday nights at the skating rink

When kids behaved and respected elders because 1) everyone told mom what you did wrong before you even got home 2) mom always told dad and you knew what that meant 3) spanking and anything rougher than a time-out were not considered archaic and a form of child abuse 4) kids were not given so many choices when they had no idea how to make them yet

Block parties

Having to write 500 times "I will not talk in class" over the weekend because I wanted to socialize instead of listening to the teacher

Emergency Broadcast System tests on TV on a regular basis

Every dad got soap-on-a-rope and/or Old Spice every Christmas

Hearing Eddie Murphy's comedy album "Raw" for the first time

When Studio 54 was still going strong

Girls/Women laid out in the sun until they got burnt to a crisp, using nothing but baby oil on the skin

Sock Hops after school in Jr. High

Listening to your grandparents talk about the good 'ole days when couples courted on front porches, kids were respectful and everything was made better (and everything was made better)

Awesome thread!

[Chad]

I would have loved to have gone to Studio 54, that would have been awesome!

[meridiantoo]

Originally Posted by Chad

I would have loved to have gone to Studio 54, that would have been awesome!

Me, too! I was only able to listen to people talk about it.

[Greyson]

I remember "paper boys" that sold newspapers on the corner or in front of the grocery store. I was one of them, every weekend I sold the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and the grown up always asking me if I were a boy or a girl.

I remember watching my grandma take out her teeth and putting them into a glass of water to sit overnight.

I remember always challenging my mom about her letting my brothers stay out later and they never had to do any house work, cooking or babysitting.

I remember listening to Wolfman Jack on the radio.

I remember Tommy's Hamburger stand at the corner of Beverly and Rampart.

I remember $2 night at the drive in theater.

I remember home made skate boards and concussions.

I remember ice cream was 5 cents a scoop.

I remember walking into the Wilshire Bullocks store with my parents and being asked to leave.

I remember watching the funeral procession of President John F. Kennedy pass along the screen of our Black and White T.V. screen.

I remember the eery silence of the grown ups as we watched with reverence.

I remember stepping outside the front door to go to school and seeing National Guard troops deployed on the streets of Los Angeles in response to the Watts riot.

[Gayandgray]

I remember watching the tv shows Family, The Waltons, Welcome Back Kotter, Family Affair, The Secret Garden, Captain Kangaroo, Captain Noah and his Magical Ark, Barnaby Jones, The Courtship of Eddie's Father. Tv was so cool back then.

[introverted1]

Originally Posted by Gayandgray

I remember watching the tv shows Family, The Waltons, Welcome Back Kotter, Family Affair, The Secret Garden, Captain Kangaroo, Captain Noah and his Magical Ark, Barnaby Jones, The Courtship of Eddie's Father. Tv was so cool back then.

Gayandgray, I think we are in the same age group!

I remember Captain Kangaroo, Family Affair...I loved public television and was a faithful watcher of Kukla, Fran and Ollie...

We had S & H green stamps and gas stations had promotional giveaways.

There was layaway in those days, and I bought my first ten speed bicycle at the age of fourteen by depositing five dollars at a time from my babysitting jobs at Haack's Cycle shop near my house. I wonder how many miles I put on that bike! It was a sky blue Schwinn Traveler.

In those days, kids were outside as many hours as possible and we had neighborhood wide games of hide and seek and kick ball. I was sports dyslexic and shy, but was never excluded by the neighbor kids because of this.

When I was ill, I read the Sears catalogue for entertainment, LOL! I was fascinated with the women's lingerie...now I know why. ; )