Three-quarters of a century
That's how old I am today.
Sixty-five years ago I didn't think I was gonna make it here.
I was already making calculations of my age at the distant twenty-first century mark if I made that milestone.
That seemed like a long way to go back then.
Sputnik just crashed the upper atmosphere but we still had a party line on our telephone.
The Polio vaccine ushered in a lot of sore arms and ugly scars but eradicated it from the earth.
Rock & Roll exploded onto the scene and American Bandstand brought us a new dance craze every episode, in brilliant black & white.
Lip Syncing was introduced to politicians and news presenters alike.
Credit cards had not been invented yet.
We've come a long way, baby. It wasn't just a feminine cigarette in our future.
So, I'm just going to sit here and reminisce on what I've been through the last seventy-five years while waiting for my granddaughter to arrive and take me to lunch for a change.
She is exploring the world like I did when I was her age. New restaurants, new kinds of food, new parts of town.
She is taking me to an Indian food restaurant, for which I've never been.
I pulled a menu up online to get a feel for what to order.
Still a brave new world.
Thread is open.
Comments
Happy Birthday
Enjoy your day. I hope the food will be good.
Happy Birthday, e1!
I am 4 years away from your benchmark.
I remember no phones at all. I remember the first frozen dinners on the market. Yuck.
I remember girls could not wear pants to school. Had to be dresses or skirts and blouses.
I remember girls had to take classes in home economics to be a better housewife and Mom.
I remember segregation, that blacks could only see the town Dr. on Saturdays, and had to enter the back door.
I remember said town Dr. was the first white man in the county to marry a black woman.
I remember my high school pal that got drafted. He was killed on his first day in Viet Nam.
I remember I could not attend Texas A & M University because women were not allowed.
I remember farms and ranches.
I remember my parents.
I wish I could do it all over again with a better outcome for this world.
Thanks for triggering my memories.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Yeah, I grew up in L.A.
But had heard a lot about life in the south.
Wallace was always in the news.
We had parochial schools here where everyone has to dress the same. But public schools were Fashions by Peer Presure.
My youth was filled with fast cars, hot surfer girls, and rock & roll.
Didn't smoke my first joint untill I was 28.
Good times.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Happy Birthday.
Peace on Earth.
in February
I hit 60
back in the day I
didn’t think I’d make 30
now I’m not too sure
about making 70 before
these bastards fuck shit
up and drive us back to the 1700’s
still, it could be worse
I guess?
calling in to the local
radio to win tickets on
a rotary phone and trying to
force it to reset Quicker
half a dozen albums and
almost that many concerts
including my first one
Doobie Brothers around ‘76
or so
and phone numbers!
must have had a hundred
no joke in my head
now I’m lucky to remember
my own name
Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .
Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .
If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march
I remember those days
Winning was finding a hit song on the flip side of your 45.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Good on you for forging on this far in life
-
-
enjoy your masala, vindaloo, naan and raita (to cool the curries)
you've earned it!
Looking forward
to the Masada, I've cooked that myself before.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Happy Birthday earth1! Many more too. I've got a few
years on ya, but no big thing.
No phone til I was 7 or 8, for reasons, and no TV til at least then for same. Way less crowded back then, even downtown, less traffic too, and fewer freeways. Surfing just beginning to catch on in my teens. Dad had a Chevron CC for gas and oil and such, can't recall when he got it. Back then "Standard" stations were company owned and "Chevron" were individually owned franchises. Gas was about 25 cents/gal and cigs were 25 cents a pack. Bowling became a thing and so did square dancing (for adults). When I wa in High School, the hot act at one of the clubs down by the 32nd street Navy Base was Ike Turner and the Ikettes, including Tina.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Happy birthday e1...
I don't remember much of the 60s and early 70s (wink, wink) and I'm trying to forget much of what's happened from then to the present (wink, wink again).
Thanks for the good wishes, JtC
I'm a little hazy in parts.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Thanks, Granma
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Advice on Indian food
If it is too spicy, get some yogurt on the side to cool it off.
Nearing your age. Too many bad memories. But one which has haunted me for decades: a great chili dog. There was a cafe close by called Hot Dog Johns and served an American menu. Their best was their chili dogs. Second was something called a Hot Hamburger which may be originally a Southern dish. Slice of bread, burger, and a mountain of mashed potatoes and gravy on top.
I have attempted to make my own chili dogs but have yet to achieve the perfection of that little cafe. Of all places, Sonic had dogs with were close but they don't serve the ones I liked anymore.
I'm a Chili Cheese Wienersnitzel fan
from way back when they were 29 cents each.
Many in Cali, none in Oregon. one in Washington state.
On the In-N-Out front, they are building the first one in Wash. State near Ridgefield.
On the way to the farm.
Yay.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
We had a version of a coney dog when I was a kid
"sucking on chili dogs outside the tastee freeze .."
the chili sauce was a pig brain mixture made locally
a squirt of mustard and we were in munchie heaven!
My best chili dogs came from
the concession stands at The Astrodome when I attended a baseball game. Gobs of chili, massive amounts of grated cheddar cheese, pickle relish, mustard...and Nolan Ryan.
Maybe we should all spend some time looking back on our times of pleasure, enthusiasm, and times of love for people, hobbies, pets, family... The here and now sucks, our future looks sucky, so we should cherish those good times we had, and that we likely took for granted in real time.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Hi all,
Hi E1
Hope all are having a good post apocalypse-eclipse day...
Congrats E1 on the milestone! A big one it is! I got seven years to go, if I survive it.
I remember .25 cents per gallon gas much of the 60's. And the 405 Freeway being built through Orange County. Lots of open fields in L.A. and Org. Co. with Burrowing Owls, all gone now of course.
I remember the massive high school protests we had to change the dress code so girls could wear pants and no more boys wet hair length checks after PE showers (not over collar). It was 71 maybe we won those in Hunt. Bch. Org. Co., CA.
Got Black & White TV at age 6 maybe, color at 12 in 67. I remember the explosion of creativity when drugs hit electric music from 65 to 75. Wow, mind still blown. Did LOTS of concerts in 70's.
And those chile cheese dogs at Der Weinerschnitzel were great! Wolf brand canned chili makes good chile, beans or no beans, and hot or mild, for canned, it is good. But DW had some special seasoning that was unique.
Maybe that 'copy cat recipes' website would have something on Der WeinerDog. Mys dys did a fantastic job learning how to make the Sonic Onion Rings from that website. They have Orange Julius and all sorts of neat things, even candy bar recipes there.
Congrats on making the big hump E1!
Happy trails all!
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
Spent a lot of summers
surfing HB.
Mostly stayed in San Gabriel Valley and the burbs of se LA.
Nalleys Chili w/o beans and a light touch of Tobasco. Works good too.
Will have to try to find some Wolf's.
Thanks for the tip.
Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.
Happy, Happy Birthday!!
I'm so very sorry I missed being on time with this post. I hope your birthday was GREAT, and wow, the memories. Wow.
If you're poor now, my friend, then you'll stay poor.
These days, only the rich get given more. -- Martial book 5:81, c. AD 100 or so
Nothing ever changes -- Sima, c. AD 2020 or so