How old is Grandpa?

Larry A said:
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.
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I remember buying gas for a dime a gallon. :D :bigups
 
These are a few of my favorite things...(lyrics stolen from a wonderful song)
JohnHenry said:
Very entertaining thread. Here's a few more memories from a soon-to-be 62 year old:

- Mighty Mouse
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- Sky King
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- 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.

...
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I think it was the 2nd grade the timing of school pictures coincided with Cub Scout meeting and thus our school photo showed us proudly wearing our Scout uniforms. Also one day per year we would wear those uniforms to church on Sunday and were recognized during the morning service.

Never remembered being scared about the crisis, but do remeber the "duck and cover" drills designed to "protect us" from the A-bomb. (Wow, what were we thinking?)


RTexasF said:
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.
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Loved Hopalong and Roy, but Gene was my true hero. Proudly carried his lunch box.
Was pretty sure Lloyd Bridges was smiling when I earned my SCIP/PADI certification. :)
Had a Fanner 50 and I was a dead-eyed aim. :rofl
My Grandmother and Grandfather's store had a swamp cooler mounted on the roof.
My first car had a 3-speed on the column.
 
In grandpa's day, if the local sheriff did not like you for whatever reason, you were in trouble and could do very little about it except to leave the county.
 
I guess I fit right into this topic. I will be 62 on Aug 1st. I still have a nickle coke machine in my garage , bought my first house without A/C (still live in it but the Mrs insisted an adding air years ago), fast food in the start was actually fast and you stood at the front window for service instead of going inside.At the bank your word and a handshake meant something and the police were respected and your friend. We actually saved up for a major purchase instead of charging them and ending up in default.parents and grandparents lived with us instead of being sent off to a home. Yep,things are a changing.
 
Paul S said:
... We actually saved up for a major purchase instead of charging them ...
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Several of my early "stereos" were saved for and purchased, but I remember my first "component" stereo a Radio Shack receiver, turntable and speakers (still have except for the turntable) was purchased via layaway (90 days). Had a little card I carried in my wallet and they manually (handwritten) recorded each of my weekly payments. When we purchased our first home, we purchased our major appliances via 90 day same as cash programs. Discount Tire still allows for 90 and 180 day same as cash purchases (based on size of purchase). Not too many places anymore which allow for this interest free borrowing.
 
Old?
Our little gang of 7 year olds would go over to Jimmy W's house on Thurs. night and huddle around the new black and white tv and watch Rin Tin Tin and all pretend we were Rusty and pretend our old mutts were Rin Tin Tin. Jimmy W's family were well off and had one of the few tvs in the neighbourhood.
Wham-O Flying Saucer? Nope, we heard of them but couldn't afford one. We had fun though, when we wanted to toss something through the air, we tossed Jimmy W.
The best of times - except for Jimmy of course.
 
black bart said:


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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[FONT=Times
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[FONT=Times
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[FONT=Times
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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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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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bump


66 now
 
Bunky said:
In grandpa's day, if the local sheriff did not like you for whatever reason, you were in trouble and could do very little about it except to leave the county.
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Yes, sir. I can affirm that. My daddy was sheriff of Gwinnett County from 1969 until 1984. During that time our county went from being just farmers, tannery workers, boot makers, and folks who drove twenty-five miles to work for GM in Doraville to, uh, well, whatever we are now. (We're home to the largest shopping mall in the Southeast--less than a mile from my house--and we can seldom accelerate to the speed limit because of all the traffic and traffic lights.)

Daddy could allow a dude to sign his own bond, which was a big deal because that enabled the fellow to get out of jail on his own, go home, and get back to work. Daddy's name was W.J. Dodd. Sometimes drunks would come into the jail exclaiming, "You can't lock me up. I'm a personal friend of J.W. Dobbs!"

Way back in the day, deputies picked me up from school and trustees mowed our grass. If that were to happen today, it'd be a scandal.

Oh, the memories. Daddy was one of eight children. He and his siblings ate out of trash cans when they were growing up because they were so poor. Daddy worked hard and made himself into something. In addition to being sheriff, Daddy was a Korean War veteran, GM worker, John Marshall Law School dropout, county commissioner, real estate broker, and city councilman, and he had an automotive electric repair shop, a couple of tow trucks, several used car lots, more than a dozen rental properties, and a small real estate company. He was tough and street smart. No one gave him anything. He was truly a self-made person.

And he was a health nut. He exercised almost daily and had more than a hundred bottles of vitamins and supplements on his breakfast table.

But cancer suddenly came knocking on his liver, a fact that was made known to him on December 20, 1997. On January 13, 1998 I was holding his hand as he drew his last breath. That was between 4:05 and 4:06 pm. He was 66.

He never got to enjoy the fruits of his labor. He was thrifty with everything except for me.
 
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