How old is Grandpa?

black bart

black bart

New member


How old is Grandpa?










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Stay with this -- the answer is at the end. It will blow you away.
One evening a grandson was talking to his grandfather about current events.
The grandson asked his grandfather what he thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general.​
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[FONT=Times
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]television​


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]polio shots​


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]frozen foods[/FONT]

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]Xerox[/FONT]

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]contact lenses[/FONT]

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]Frisbees and[/FONT]

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]the pill [/FONT]

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[FONT=Times
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]credit cards[/FONT]

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]laser beams or[/FONT]

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]ball-point pens [/FONT]

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[FONT=Times
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]pantyhose[/FONT]

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]air conditioners[/FONT]

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]dishwashers[/FONT]

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]clothes dryers[/FONT]

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[FONT=Times
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]and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and[/FONT]

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Your Grandmother and I got married first , and then lived together.. ​

Every family had a father and a mother. ​

Until I was 25, I called every man older than me, 'Sir'.
And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, 'Sir.' ​

We were before xxx-rights, computer- dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy. ​

Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense. ​

We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.​


Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege. ​

We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent. ​

Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins. ​

Draft dodgers were those who closed front doors as the evening breeze started. ​

Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends-not purchasing condominiums.​

We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings. ​

We listened to Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President's speeches on our radios.. ​

And I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey. ​

If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan ' on it, it was junk ​

The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam. ​

Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and instant coffee were unheard of. ​

We had 5 &10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents. ​

Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel. ​

And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.​

You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600, .. .. but who could afford one?
Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.​
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[FONT=Times
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]'pot' was something your mother cooked in and[/FONT]

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]'rock music' was your grandmother's lullaby. [/FONT]

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]'Aids' were helpers in the Principal's office, [/FONT]

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]' chip' meant a piece of wood,[/FONT]

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]'hardware' was found in a hardware store and[/FONT]

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]'software' wasn't even a word.[/FONT]


And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby.
No wonder people call us 'old and confused' and say there is a generation gap. and how old do you think I am? ​

I bet you have this old person in mind....you are in for a shock! ​

Read on to see -- pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time. ​
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Are you ready ?​









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[FONT=Times
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So funny, yet so sad for those that long for those old days. Can it be considered irony that such a comment was made on the internet?

That list managed to leave out segregation, fear of nuclear holocaust, shorter life expectancies, cranking cars by hand, using pliers to pull teeth and leeches to cure people. But let's only remember the good things. It's funnier that way.
 
There was a frisbee but it was called the Wham-O Flying Saucer. I know because I had one as a young pup, I'll be 62 next month.
 
well i am exactly 62 i was polite but maybe that polite. interesting post none the less. i was drug into the 21 century and now love it. flex polishers and clay bars and microfiber rule; oh yea computers too.
 
It is kind of funny since there seems many who want to go back to the good old days.

The question is when is was the good old days.

No one born recently could live in the 50's if they had lived today and suddenly transported back. It required too much sacrifice - less real pay, little or no benefits, cannot afford a house (more renting) or a good car, more expensive gas (adjusted for inflation), no instant communication, etc.

Net: A lower standard of living.
 
Bunky said:
It is kind of funny since there seems many who want to go back to the good old days.

The question is when is was the good old days.

No one born recently could live in the 50's if they had lived today and suddenly transported back. It required too much sacrifice - less real pay, little or no benefits, cannot afford a house (more renting) or a good car, more expensive gas (adjusted for inflation), no instant communication, etc.

Net: A lower standard of living.
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I don't see it that way at all.

Less real pay? Well maybe but consider what things cost then. A house was $9,000, fuel was 15-18 cents a gallon, a $3,000 car was for the rich. $10 bought groceries for a family of four for at least a week.

Benefits were plentiful but it helped to work for the government in "civil Service" to get the best retirement, etc.

If you never heard of instant communication why would you miss it? I sure didn't. We didn't even have a telephone until I was seven and the first TV in the neighborhood came along when I was about 10.

I don't want to jump back in time but I disagree with your evaluation of "back then". It wasn't bad at all. Simpler times don't necessarily mean a lower standard of living. Not arguing, just not the way I remember it.
 
RTexasF said:
I don't see it that way at all.

Less real pay? Well maybe but consider what things cost then. A house was $9,000, fuel was 15-18 cents a gallon, a $3,000 car was for the rich. $10 bought groceries for a family of four for at least a week.

Benefits were plentiful but it helped to work for the government in "civil Service" to get the best retirement, etc.

If you never heard of instant communication why would you miss it? I sure didn't. We didn't even have a telephone until I was seven and the first TV in the neighborhood came along when I was about 10.

I don't want to jump back in time but I disagree with your evaluation of "back then". It wasn't bad at all. Simpler times don't necessarily mean a lower standard of living. Not arguing, just not the way I remember it.
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I agree not all was so bad I still don't have most of what the younger generation thinks is must have items.

Not because I can't afford them I just have no need for I pad I phone Cell phone all those things I survived nearly 80 years without and still have no need for them.
Cars are better but also waaay too complicated.
Time was when nearly anyone could repair their car not anymore.
 
RTexasF said:
I

Less real pay? Well maybe but consider what things cost then. A house was $9,000, fuel was 15-18 cents a gallon, a $3,000 car was for the rich. $10 bought groceries for a family of four for at least a week.
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If I had to guess, I think he might have been adjusting for inflation (and possibly wage earning power). To do an honest comparison, one would really have to index the current day dollars to "good ole day" dollars both on the earnings and expenses areas.
 
Perhaps but back then there was nothing to adjust for, you took your pay at face value. There were no credit cards either, if you couldn't pay cash you didn't buy whatever it was. Cars and houses were done via bank loans. You knew the fella loaning the money and he knew you. It's difficult to explain if you weren't there. I consider it the good old days but have no desire to snap my fingers and return there.
 
RTexasF said:
back then there was nothing to adjust for
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I'm not sure if I am misunderstanding what you're saying, but to compare money across different time periods you have to either mark one up at today's currency value or mark the other down to. One dollar today is not the same as a dollar 50 years (or even days) ago and will not be the same as a dollar in the future.
 
JaredPointer said:
I'm not sure if I am misunderstanding what you're saying, but to compare money across different time periods you have to either mark one up at today's currency value or mark the other down to. One dollar today is not the same as a dollar 50 years (or even days) ago and will not be the same as a dollar in the future.
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JP using your way of comparing you have more buying power today than in the fifty's but their are many ways to compare which was best and buying power is only one of them.
Standard of living is higher but I can no longer go to bed at night and leave the door unlocked and the car in the drive with the keys in the ignition.
Times have changed and not all the changes were for the better
 
It was a much simpler and more innocent time for many. If you lived in the urban areas, it was not so safe then or now.

But, from what I have now, I just do not think I could sit on the porch shelling beans like my grandparents did for work and entertainment, have one or two channels on the black and white TV that needed tubes every so often, live with luxuries like a party line phone where long distance calls were very expensive, stores closed on Sunday and Wednesday afternoons, dry (no alcohol sales) counties, and other social issues we saw then, etc. As for taxes, the rich paid the majority of the taxes because most of the people were fairly poor.
 
black bart said:
JP using your way of comparing you have more buying power today than in the fifty's but their are many ways to compare which was best and buying power is only one of them.
Standard of living is higher but I can no longer go to bed at night and leave the door unlocked and the car in the drive with the keys in the ignition.
Times have changed and not all the changes were for the better
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Speaking of leaving doors unlocked and keys in ignitions - back in the "good ole days" my grandfather came out of a bowling alley in the 50's and someone had taken off in his car. Had it happen again at his house not long after that.
 
JaredPointer said:
Speaking of leaving doors unlocked and keys in ignitions - back in the "good ole days" my grandfather came out of a bowling alley in the 50's and someone had taken off in his car. Had it happen again at his house not long after that.
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I don't know of any vehicles ever stolen in this little place but hour and half from here is Indianapolis and they have robberies and shootings every day down their.
We do have some drug problems in our school system it is only a matter of time until things around here will begin to be more like the city I can hardly wait. :wall
 
Very entertaining thread. Here's a few more memories from a soon-to-be 62 year old:

- Mighty Mouse
- Sgt. Preston of the Yukon
- Sky King
- One TV channel, CBS (We lived in the mountains.)
- Fortunately, my Dad was a TV repair expert, skillfully slamming his fist down on the top of the solid wood console whenever necessary.

- Keeping a coal stove burning in the kitchen to heat the house. Upstairs bedrooms were heated (not) by a "register" (hole) in the kitchen ceiling.
- Outhouses (yep)
- Walking down my street after school carrying a .22 rifle to the nearest woods. (Try that today!)
- Wearing my Boy Scout uniform to school on meeting days.

- Being scared xxxxless by President Kennedy's Cuban Missile Crisis speech, but never prouder to be an American.

- My first awareness of family finances came the day my Dad got a raise to $100 per week.
 
To add to "Memory Lane" in John Henry's post above:

Hopalong Cassidy
Roy Rogers
Gene Autry
Walt Disney
Marlin Perkins
Captain Kangaroo
Sea Hunt
Fanner 50 toy gun
Flash Gordon
Five & Dime stores
Swamp Coolers (only the wealthy could afford air conditioning!)
Cars- three on the tree
If it said "Made in Japan" it was junk, pure & simple

There is a great deal I miss from that era......and a hell of a lot I don't.
 
If you lost your job you just went next door and got another one. You could not spend $10.00 at a local bar , you would be to drunk. A glass of beer was a dime, a shot of wiskey was 35 cents. A gallon of gas was 30 cents. You could find a good used car for $100.00, cars that were junk that you would have to fix , maybe $20.00. Rent a 2 bedroom apartment $25.00 per month in the city. When I first got married it was $75.00 a month heated and electric, that was in a good neighborhood.
 
i forgot about party line phones. black bart i grew up in noblesville in 1957-62 and it was mayberry for sure. if your car was stolen it probably was a local you knew and it was returned that same day. moved to california in 62 and joined the "in crowd" still enjoy memories of both. my uncle lived in kokomo. love that name.
 
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