Those were the days

[senior citizen]

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[mherzberg]

Yep, and blue jeans that looked like they were painted on; rotary telephones that you could not buy or own - had to rent them from the phone company; 3 TV stations; Sky King; when someone referred to a 45 adaptor they weren't talking about a hand gun; and, the joy of an FM radio in your car so you didn't loose signal when crossing a bridge!!

[gomoho]

Those were the days my friend, we thought they'ld never end!

[Monkei]

and everyone wore what we call flood pants now because they were above your ankles

[CaptJohn]

Those were the days my friend, we thought they'ld never end!

Sadly, they ended! :sad:

I did have a 57 Chevy but is wasn't my first car. I bought it for $20 barely running, even though it was in rough shape. Sold it when I realized how much I was going to have to put into it to keep it running. At least the cost of gas wasn't the problem!. Gas wars (remember those?) brought the price down to 19 cents per gallon. :laugh:

[mherzberg]

Working for .50 per hour but a dollar in the gas tank on Friday night was good for almost the whole weekend! Always saved those gas stamps to fill up a book and get a free tank of gas as well! Used to "cruise" around Dog 'n Suds every weekend showing off the car (which wasn't all that impressive!).

[buggyone]

Sadly, they ended! :sad:

I did have a 57 Chevy but is wasn't my first car. I bought it for $20 barely running, even though it was in rough shape. Sold it when I realized how much I was going to have to put into it to keep it running. At least the cost of gas wasn't the problem!. Gas wars (remember those?) brought the price down to 19 cents per gallon. :laugh:

Ah yes, but what kind of money did you earn back then? The above poster said they earned 50 cents per hour but dollar worth of gas kept them cruising all weekend. Earn $12 per hour now and that same 2 hours of work will get you about 7 gallons or about 150 miles of cruising. Similar.

Those were the days? I do not think so. Much better now. Women are now equal to men, minorities are welcomed everywhere, and we have The Villages!

[ugotme]

I think we had several "Archies and Ediths" including my own parents! LOL

We had a 56 Chevy. Loved the gas filler behind the drivers side rear taillight.

[jblum315]

I had a 57 Chevy Impala convertible. My father had wanted to buy me a Corvette, but I told him it just wasn't practical.

[ugotme]

I had a 57 Chevy Impala convertible. My father had wanted to buy me a Corvette, but I told him it just wasn't practical.

LOL - WHAT?

Practical Shmactical - give me that vette !!!!

:a20:

[CaptJohn]

Those were the days? I do not think so. Much better now. Women are now equal to men, minorities are welcomed everywhere, and we have The Villages!

Well, some things are better (we have fun, fancy gadgets) but what about today:
Rampant crime.
Prisons overcrowded.
Millions of illegal aliens sapping up our tax money.
Governments all over the world sapping up our tax money.
Infrastructure (roads and bridges) falling apart and we can't afford to fix them.
Illegal and legal drugs are big problems.
Many, many children born of unwed parents.
Half of us are divorced.
Wholesale terrorism didn't exist in this country until recently (yes, there were a few pockets of it before for some).
Cancer is rampant.
HIV (Aids) didn't exist then to kill people. Penicillin used to fix those problems.
Everyone who wanted to work could find a job. (my first one was 65 cents an hour)
Everyone, including little children and 90 year olds, must be frisked and assumed to be criminal to get on an airplane now.
Crazy people who were once locked up are now running the streets killing others in mass numbers.
Congress worked for the citizens instead of themselves.
Huge traffic jams are every day and everywhere.

Can't leave your garage door up in THE VILLAGES or someone will walk into your house and steal your stuff and car (see recent thread on subject).
(Our whole town of Gulf Breeze, FL was unlocked and had very few problems.)
My father helped a black employee of his to start his own business and he in return taught me the printing business. In our family, everyone we dealt with was treated fairly and well. My Mother was just as important in the family business as my father (and Mother was a lot smarter!).

Those are just off the top of my head (which is starting to hurt!). Anybody who cares to add to the list is welcome.
These are just the facts I'm pointing out in answer to the other post. It's all a matter of opinion and how individuals see things differently. Don't try reading my intent into it and make it something it's not. I happen to enjoy and have fun with ironies. :laugh:

[gomoho]

You forgot about kids playing outside till the street lights went on and our parents didn't have to worry about someone snatching us. Childhood obesity was rare back then.

[Golfingnut]

I agree with buggy. Some seem to only remember the good things from the dark days of the time best forgotten. We now have major improvements in medicine and civil rights. If those two alone don't out weigh the good ole days for some, they certainly do for minorities, gays and women.

[buggyone]

I agree with buggy. Some seem to only remember the good things from the dark days of the time best forgotten. We now have major improvements in medicine and civil rights. If those two alone don't out weigh the good ole days for some, they certainly do for minorities, gays and women.

Exactly right.

Think back 65 years when we were toddlers. If someone had cancer, heart valve problem, or heart blockage due to plaque build up, they were probably going to die. Cancer survival rates are much better now, heart valve replacements and heart bypasses are quite common now.

There were separate water fountains and public bathrooms all over the South for blacks, women who worked were generally typists and clerks, and gays were never discussed.

Lots of problems now but much better in so many ways - and I am living in The Villages and not in Minnesota where I grew up!

[gomoho]

BUT - what is it like living longer in a world full of hate mongers, a crumbling economy and moral decay? Sure there have been tremendous advances, but they don't compare to years ago when folks and churches took care of each other - not the government. I agree the strides made for minorities are wonderful, but could they have not happened while we still "lover our neighbor"?

Let's not diminish the value of the "good old days" they got us where we are now. Hmmmm.

[Monkei]

But then again there was a lot of things wrong in the 50's that had to be fixed, most of them were. And getting things fixed and changed in itself was a pleasant thing that some apparently have forgotten how to do.

[senior citizen]

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[DougB]

I think we had several "Archies and Ediths" including my own parents! LOL

Did that make you "Meathead"?

[senior citizen]

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[senior citizen]

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[senior citizen]

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[senior citizen]

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[Serenoa]

I had a 57 Chevy Impala convertible. My father had wanted to buy me a Corvette, but I told him it just wasn't practical.

a 57 IMPALA??? Sorry, don't think you did.

You either had a 57 Bel Air, or perhaps a 58 Impala.

Regardless, either one would have been a sweeeet car to have. You must have been proud!.

[buggyone]

I "hear you" totally.........both of my grandmothers were widowed young.

My mom always told me that her mother would NOT take "relief" as they called welfare in those days.......she took in laundry instead, to support her three children when her young 37 year old husband died during the influenza epidemic. She was too proud to take any handouts.

My other grandmother was also widowed during the flu epidemic with 7 children to raise.......plus her two little brothers who had come from Italy when their own mother died.........my grandmother managed to raise the 9 children without relief.....again, too proud. The older two found work and helped support the family. Also, aunts and uncles helped out.

Also, as you mention.........churches helped families in need.

Back then, they no doubt lived a more humble existence compared to all the luxuries we are now surrounded by.

Those two grandmothers of yours lost their husbands in the flu epidemic. That was 1917 or so. Were there government agencies dedicated to helping the poor at that time? Social Security or food stamps were not around, I know.

My grandmother lost her husband in the flu epidemic in 1917 also and raised 6 children. They were Quakers so their church pitched in like an extended family and this was in Kansas where they were farmers.

I have heard many stories, though, of people back then losing the breadwinner and the family had to give their children away in order to survive.

No, those were not "the good old days". People did what they had to do to survive.

[CaptJohn]

I think my boyfriend (now husband) paid $350 for his.....but his mom bought a Plymouth for $35. Can you believe it? Considering what cars cost today. Later, my dad gave him a '55 Chevy when he could no longer drive it. Both were two tone, kind of pale aqua greenish.

Our Chevy took us everywhere back in 1962 and beyond.....but once the "rear end" of the car konked out and he had to drive backwards.......I swear. He did fix it. Another time we had borrowed his mom's Plymouth and we were just getting off the N.J. Turnpike when the steering wheel came out of it's whatever........and he had to shove it back down and press in order to get off the highway and make the turn.........I was so relaxed back then........now I'd probably have a heart attack if the steering wheel came out.

Thanks for posting this. I got a great laugh and rememberance from it.
I didn't think anyone would believe you could buy a car that cheap but it happened.
I can also identify with the steering wheel problem and rear end. Now that's funny! A Ford I had back then would occasionally lose the brakes since their system used a single master cylinder instead of the duals used by GM and all the later vehicles. It's a horrible feeling when you press the brakes and they're not there! I learned how to coast down to a stop and learned how to drive without brakes (yes it can be done). That's why today I cringe when someone runs up behind me and doesn't apply the brakes until the last minute. i was also rearended that way once so I tend to start stopping way ahead of time since the early days of no brakes, to the aggravation of those behind me. :laugh:

[senior citizen]

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