Remember when?

[soulster]

I think things changed for the worse in the very early 60s when there were reports of Halloween Trick-or-Treaters getting apples with razor blades hidden in them. I've never forgotten hearing about that.

When I was a kid, there was always the rumor about, and fear of the house on the corner, the one with the big hippies who rode motorcycles, because someone said they injected drugs into the candy bars.

[Jerry Oz]

Our local children's hospital began x-raying Halloween bags after apples were passed out that has needles in them.

[Jerry Oz]

Uh...no. Even back in the late 60s and early 70s, I worried about getting jumped, even in a small town. But, as kids, we could wander all around the malls without worrying about anything bad happening.

I walked the six blocks to elementary school, the 1.5 miles to junior high, and two miles to high school alone quite often. It was a blessing to get my drivers license in the 11th grade.

[westgrandboulevard]

Then, we and the world were younger, and less aware.

Now, we are all older, and more aware.

In some ways, that seems good. In others, not so good.....

[arr&bee]

uh...no. Even back in the late 60s and early 70s, i worried about getting jumped, even in a small town. But, as kids, we could wander all around the malls without worrying about anything bad happening.

haaaaaaaaaaa...hey soulster,you must have had it rough.

[soulster]

haaaaaaaaaaa...hey soulster,you must have had it rough.

Nah! We were just taught not to trust anyone and to be aware of our surroundings at all times no matter what.

[westgrandboulevard]

Sounds like very good sense to me....

[soulster]

I walked the six blocks to elementary school, the 1.5 miles to junior high, and two miles to high school alone quite often. It was a blessing to get my drivers license in the 11th grade.

In elementary school I lived just down the street from the school. You can see the schoolyard from my front door. I never worried about that.

I used to walk three miles to and from school for fun in jr. high. I sometimes worried. I rode the bus in high school.

[soulster]

Maybe you might consider starting a 'sister' thread, to run alongside this one, but on the lines of 'Remember how things are better now...' - ?

The responses, taken from a different view, could be just as interesting

I tried that on another forum that was overrun with negativity from the old folks, but it didn't get much traction. People are happier complaining or reminiscing how good they think the old days are, I guess.

[westgrandboulevard]

Looking back to the old days with affection is understandable, and is a privilege of surviving to a certain age. Maybe, an entitlement.

It would be good to feel we all have a choice in how we wish to perceive ourselves and our own lives. With luck, all the bad side of the past can't hurt us any more, so that it seems safe to blank it all out.

But..the reality is that none of us is going in that direction.

I just think that today is a 'good old day' in the making, and we really should try to make of it what we can. Some days, easier than others....LOL

[Methuselah2]

"Folks are usually about as happy as they make up their minds to be."
--Attributed to Abraham Lincoln but there's scholarly debate about that.

A great saying, none the less.

[arr&bee]

Most generations thinks that there's was the best...it just happens to be true that we baby boomers had it better than most.

[westgrandboulevard]

Absolutely true, and never have so many people all grown old together.

Old age is firmly in fashion!

[Jerry Oz]

There are plenty of things that are better today than when I was a boy. The internet has opened the world for people to learn anything that they might find interesting. People from two continents have contributed to this thread and that wasn't possible before. Many of the things we recall from the "good ol' days" were viewed from the perspective of people [[and especially kids) who were protected from the truth by parents and the government. If the world seemed innocent back then, it's because we looked at it with innocent eyes, not because it was.

[arr&bee]

shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...pssss over here jerry we know all that stuff but we don't say it out loud, when it's between truth and myth...take the myth..shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

[MotownSteve]

There are plenty of things that are better today than when I was a boy. The internet has opened the world for people to learn anything that they might find interesting. People from two continents have contributed to this thread and that wasn't possible before. Many of the things we recall from the "good ol' days" were viewed from the perspective of people [[and especially kids) who were protected from the truth by parents and the government. If the world seemed innocent back then, it's because we looked at it with innocent eyes, not because it was.

Are you sure only two continents? I would not be surprised if there are people from Asia and/or Africa on this forum.

[westgrandboulevard]

Wouldn't that be something! Apart from the UK, I'm certain we already have members here from other European countries.

[Jerry Oz]

Are you sure only two continents? I would not be surprised if there are people from Asia and/or Africa on this forum.

I should have written "at least two continents". And in aware of art least two posters from Scandinavian locales. What a small world.

[arr&bee]

Remember when[koolaid]was five cents a pack?

[Jerry Oz]

On My first job, my starting rate was minimum wage which was then $2.85. When I started my second job, at a grocery store, cigarettes were 75¢ and you could get a box for $6.

[Methuselah2]

Cigarettes come and go . . .

but PEZ is still here!

[arr&bee]

Remember when you would take your[radio flyer]wagon down to the safeway and carry folks groceries for a quarter or if you were lucky[fifty cents].

[Jerry Oz]

No. But I remember when it was customary to tip the bag boys a dime for pushing your cart and helping you out them in the car. And I have great memories of car hops where you ordered your food through an intercom and the wait staff brought it out to you. White Castle used to do that.

[soulster]

Most generations thinks that there's was the best...it just happens to be true that we baby boomers had it better than most.

The younger baby-boomers, at least. I'm talking about we who were too young for the Viet Nam draft. Gen-X had it pretty good, too.

[soulster]

There are plenty of things that are better today than when I was a boy. The internet has opened the world for people to learn anything that they might find interesting. People from two continents have contributed to this thread and that wasn't possible before. Many of the things we recall from the "good ol' days" were viewed from the perspective of people [[and especially kids) who were protected from the truth by parents and the government. If the world seemed innocent back then, it's because we looked at it with innocent eyes, not because it was.

Amen! And, even today, many of those still don't realize how advantaged they still are.

I'll say one thing, though: at least we didn't have to worry about mass shooters back then.

[soulster]

Are you sure only two continents? I would not be surprised if there are people from Asia and/or Africa on this forum.

I would. From all the years i've spent here, i'm pretty sure most, or all of us are in Europe/U.K., or North America.

[soulster]

Remember when[koolaid]was five cents a pack?

Yeah! You could get a candy bar for a dime, some Hostess twinkies for 15 cents, a comic book for 15 cents, and a 25 ounce Pepsi for 20 cents. But, then, the cost of living was a bit better than today.

[Jerry Oz]

Amen! And, even today, many of those still don't realize how advantaged they still are.

I'll say one thing, though: at least we didn't have to worry about mass shooters back then.

Sadly, the shooting from the clock tower at the University of Texas would be forgotten within a week if it occurred today.

[arr&bee]

Remember when you would actually get a[full]bag of chips?

[Soul Sister]

I remember when you could get a coca~cola for a nickle. Soda in glass bottles out of a machine for a nickle.
Candy 2 for a penny.
Ice cream sundaes for 25 cents and cones for 10 cents.
McDonald's for 15 cents. Pizza for 15 cents a slice.
Photo booth 4 photos for 25 cents.
Jukebox plays 10 cents for one record, 25 cents for three records played..
45 records for 75 cents. 331/3 LP albums for $2.98.

S.S.
***

[Jerry Oz]

Hah! I remember when my parents used to ask 'do you remember when...?'

[westgrandboulevard]

One benefit of growing a little older is that, with each year, there are fewer people who will [[irritatingly) exclaim in conversation "How would you know, you weren't even born then!"

[arr&bee]

Go to the movies[15cents]stay most of the day[two movies-a cartoon]those old movie screens were about the size of a big screen tv,but in those golden days to us kids it was a mile wide.

[westgrandboulevard]

Did anyone here see the Motortown Revue at theatres like the Detroit Fox, or The Apollo?

They used to perform several shows a day?

[arr&bee]

Oh yeah,the howard theater in d.c. Was the venue for us in the sixties and when motown was there so were we,four shows a day at about[2.50]you could stay fro the first three[they cleared it out before the midnight show]just imagine seeing[the miracles-the classic temptations-mary wells-the marvelettes-martha and the vandellas-the contours]all for 2.50...and we thought they were overcharging us....little did we know that big changes were coming.

[westgrandboulevard]

Arr&bee! Have you any idea just how many people here will envy you - ?!!

You should start a thread, to encourage people to share their memories of those shows.....

Four shows a day. Hmmm. I guess the acts had to be in the theatre all day? How many seats would there be in the Howard? Were the houses well attended?

[arr&bee]

I'm small potatoes west,folks like[soul sis-stubass]knew alot of the artist personaly, i envy them.

[arr&bee]

The howard was small-oh maybe[1,200]seats but it was packed to the rafters always.

[Jerry Oz]

I miss hopping on the city bus, getting a transfer slip, and being able to take a 45 minute trip to anywhere for a quarter. My brother and I used to go downtown to the grindhouse and watch Godzilla, Hammer Films horror flicks, or the first wave of kung fu movies. Triple features used to choose 75¢ and we would be out of Mom's hair all day. I wouldn't let pre-teens ride the bus alone in 2015, but it was nothing for us to do it back then.

[westgrandboulevard]

You went downtown to watch Hammer House of Horror films? For some reason, it never really occurred to me that they would be seen much outside of the UK. Never thought they could compare with films made in the US....

[arr&bee]

Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa...hey west we loved those corny old films with my main men-vincent price-boris karloff-basil rathbone-peter lorre..and a young-jack nicholson.

[arr&bee]

West please forgive me for not mentioning the great-peter cushing-christopher lee.

[Jerry Oz]

For some reason, the Christopher Lee Dracula movies are the ones that always have me chills. Other vampire movies tend to bore me but Lee as the bad guy with Cushing as Van Helsing seemed to work much better than the Universal Dracula films.

It's probably because I was too young to be watching them in a movie theater...

[Methuselah2]

"Don't you dare open a fresh mouth to me! Who do you think you're talking to--one of your friends on the street?"

And then in would go the bar of soap into my mouth.

[[If your mother ever bought Lifebuoy Soap, my advice: Hold your tongue! It can't possibly be worth it.)

[Jerry Oz]

Mom didn't wash our mouths out with soap, but she made us walk to the mulberry bush to get our own switches. Ah, good times!

[westgrandboulevard]

"Remember Fleetwick" - Christopher Lee in 'The Face of Fu Manchu' [[1965)

[arr&bee]

Hey remember mom saying...the day you think you're man enough to talk back,that's the day you can get out of my house...mom didn't play.

[arr&bee]

Hey west,those christopher lee dracula movies were scary, they even stand up well today.

[marv2]

I definitely remember dressing up to fly and then lighting up as soon as the non-smoking sign went out. LOL

[Jerry Oz]

Hey remember mom saying...the day you think you're man enough to talk back,that's the day you can get out of my house...mom didn't play.

I remember my brother realized that he was 5'6" tall and told my 5'2" mother to get off of his back. My 6'1" father heard it and that was the first and last time he took a belt to one of us. It was also, coincidentally, the last time my brother smarted off to Mom.