Hey,wasn’t that us? Sure was!!!

[Bella1]

A little house with three bedrooms, one bathroom and one car on the street.
A mower that you had to push to make the grass look neat.


In the kitchen on the wall we only had one phone,
And no need for recording things, someone was always home.


We only had a living room where we would congregate,
Unless it was at mealtime in the kitchen where we ate.


We had no need for family rooms or extra rooms to dine,
When meeting as a family those two rooms would work out fine.


We only had one TV set, and channels maybe two,
But always there was one of them with something worth the view.

For snacks we had potato chips that tasted like a chip,
And if you wanted flavor there was Lipton's onion dip.


Store-bought snacks were rare because my mother liked to cook,
And nothing can compare to snacks in Betty Crocker's book.


Weekends were for family trips or staying home to play,
We all did things together -- even go to church to pray.


When we did our weekend trips depending on the weather,
No one stayed at home because we liked to be together.


Sometimes we would separate to do things on our own,
But we knew where the others were without our own cell phone.

Then there were the movies with your favorite movie star,
And nothing can compare to watching movies in your car.


Then there were the picnics at the peak of summer season,
Pack a lunch and find some trees and never need a reason.


Get a baseball game together with all the friends you know,
Have real action playing ball -- and no game video.


Remember when the doctor used to be the family friend,
And didn't need insurance or a lawyer to defend?


The way that he took care of you or what he had to do,
Because he took an oath and strived to do the best for you.

Remember going to the store and shopping casually,
And when you went to pay for it you used your own money?


Nothing that you had to swipe or punch in some amount,
Remember when the cashier person had to really count?


The milkman used to go from door to door,
And it was just a few cents more than going to the store.


There was a time when mailed letters came right to your door,
Without a lot of junk mail ads sent out by every store.

The mailman knew each house by name and knew where it was sent;
There were not loads of mail addressed to "present occupant."


There was a time when just one glance was all that it would take,
And you would know the kind of car, the model and the make.


They didn't look like turtles trying to squeeze out every mile;
They were streamlined, white walls, fins, and really had some style.



One time the music that you played whenever you would jive,
Was from a vinyl, big-holed record called a forty-five.


The record player had a post to keep them all in line,
And then the records would drop down and play one at a time.


Oh sure, we had our problems then, just like we do today,
And always we were striving, trying for a better way.

Oh, the simple life we lived still seems like so much fun,
How can you explain a game, just kick the can and run?


And why would boys put baseball cards between bicycle spokes,
And for a nickel red machines had little bottled Cokes?

This life seemed so much easier and slower in some ways,
I love the new technology but I sure miss those days.

So time moves on and so do we, and nothing stays the same,
But I sure love to reminisce and walk down memory lane.

[crakjak]

Ya, I was there. Thanks for sharing.

[Trouvere]

good post Bella.

[MawMaw]

Great memories you stirred!

[rgcraig]

Love it!

I so remember doing the baseball cards on our bikes!

[Sam]

I remember some of that.
I was raised in a small town in SE Wisconsin.
I remember when nobody had a tv.
I remember when we had 2 blacksmiths.
I remember when farmers brought horses to those blacksmiths.
I remember once in a while someone rode a horse or mule into town.
Downtown was a block and a half of store fronts on both sides of Main Street.
I remember when people walked where they were going during the day because Dad had the car at work.
We didn't have school buses.
There were 2 "graded" schools and one high school.
I went to all 12 grades with some of the same people.
My 8th grade teacher had also been my mother's 8th grade teacher.
There were 4 churches: Congregational, Methodist, Lutheran, and Baptist.
We didn't have a Roman Catholic Church in our town, the Catholic kids went to school with the rest of us. But in high school we all had to eat fish or macaroni and cheese on Friday.
I remember when some of us had outhouses.
I remember when first class postage was 3 cents.
I remember when we had to go to the Post Office to pick up our mail.
I remember "party lines" where several people shared a line and each house had a distinctive ring.
I remember phones with no dial.
I remember picking up the phone and hearing an Operator say, "Number please." We could give them the number of the person we wanted to talk to (our phone number was 104W. My grandfather's general store phone number was 10R) or give them the name and they would connect you.
I remember when bicycles had no gears.
I remember cars before they had turn signals, you signaled your turn with your hand out the window.
I remember when all cars were "stick shift." When automatic shift became available it was looked on suspiciously and we figured it would not hold up like the standard shift. I remember running boards on cars. I remember when cars had radios (am only of course) and clocks with hands on them.

But then, I'm old.

[crakjak]

Originally Posted by Sam

I remember some of that.
I was raised in a small town in SE Wisconsin.
I remember when nobody had a tv.
I remember when we had 2 blacksmiths.
I remember when farmers brought horses to those blacksmiths.
I remember once in a while someone rode a horse or mule into town.
Downtown was a block and a half of store fronts on both sides of Main Street.
I remember when people walked where they were going during the day because Dad had the car at work.
We didn't have school buses.
There were 2 "graded" schools and one high school.
I went to all 12 grades with some of the same people.
My 8th grade teacher had also been my mother's 8th grade teacher.
There were 4 churches: Congregational, Methodist, Lutheran, and Baptist.
We didn't have a Roman Catholic Church in our town, the Catholic kids went to school with the rest of us. But in high school we all had to eat fish or macaroni and cheese on Friday.
I remember when some of us had outhouses.
I remember when first class postage was 3 cents.
I remember when we had to go to the Post Office to pick up our mail.
I remember "party lines" where several people shared a line and each house had a distinctive ring.
I remember phones with no dial.
I remember picking up the phone and hearing an Operator say, "Number please." We could give them the number of the person we wanted to talk to (our phone number was 104W. My grandfather's general store phone number was 10R) or give them the name and they would connect you.
I remember when bicycles had no gears.
I remember cars before they had turn signals, you signaled your turn with your hand out the window.
I remember when all cars were "stick shift." When automatic shift became available it was looked on suspiciously and we figured it would not hold up like the standard shift. I remember running boards on cars. I remember when cars had radios (am only of course) and clocks with hands on them.

But then, I'm old.

I remember and exprienced about 3/4 of these things, Sam, but, of course I am only about 3/4 as old as you!! LOL