Okay...now I'm reminiscing
[my apologies if there is some overlap]:16-2/3-RPM records
3- and 5-speed bicycles
33-1/3-RPM records
45-RPM records
8-Track tape
A
"bad air day" was when someone ate beans or Mexican food the night before
A
"bad fit" referred to clothing or shoes
Adjusting a radio, TV, etc. meant turning a knob -- not pushing a button
Aluminum Christmas trees
[couldn't use light-strings, for safety -- had to use a small flood-lamp with color-wheel]AM Broadcast radio that was more
music than pi**-and-moan, I mean, talk
AM car radios with one speaker
[luxury cars had two!]AMC Gremlin
[my sister had one in 1979, she should've never sold it]American Flyer trains
An
"uncomfortable workplace" was either too hot or too cold
Archer Space Patrol walkie-talkies
[27 MHz]A used
anything still had years of trouble-free life remaining, because people took better care of things then
Automakers who
"won [races] on Sunday, sold [cars] on Monday""Bowling For Dollars" [locally-produced TV program]"Bozo's Circus" [with Larry Harmon's Bozo The Clown, licensed and performed in many metropolitan TV markets, including Dallas] "Captain Kangaroo" [childrens' TV program]CB radios, when everyone had and used them -- at home and in the car
"CD" meant
Civil Defense, not a type of savings account or music / data storage medium
Chevrolet Chevy II / Nova
[the real one, not the Toyota-built version of the mid-1980s]Chevrolet Corvette
[when it was a sports car, not a yuppie-status-symbol]Chevrolet Luv pickup
[built by Isuzu]Chevrolet Vega
Children were never left in the car alone, especially in the summer
Children's games / toys that
didn't need batteries
"Coke" was
Coca-ColaComputers were inconceivable as automotive controls
Computers were inconceivable as household items
"Cool McCool" [cartoon, a parody of James Bond / Derek Flint / Maxwell Smart, et. al.]"Crack" was something in the sidewalk, on the wall, or on an egg
Disney's
"Wonderful World Of Color" [when color TV was still a "new" thing]Disputes were settled with discussion, or physical action if necessary -- not in court
Druggists actually mixed preparations, not merely dispensed them
Duct tape was used only for ducts and other AC / heat needs
"Easy-Bake" oven
[girls' cooking toy]Elvis Presley's death
Evel Kneivel's death-defying motorcycle jumps
[and crashes]Five-and-dime stores
[Mott's and M.E. Moses here in Dallas]Ford Courier pickup
[built by Mazda]Ford Escort
[before it went "upscale"]Ford Falcon
Ford Fiesta
[which looked like a re-badged Fiat Strada, IMHO]Ford Granada
Ford Maverick
Ford Pinto
[seems ever so often, Ford would come out with a new "people's car"]Ford Thunderbird
[the real one, not the yuppie-status-symbol]Full-service gas stations -- where the attendant would fill your tank, check oil, wipers, tires, etc. and clean windows
Gasoline trucks had chains dragging the pavement to bleed off static electricity
[to prevent explosions]Glass pop bottles with 5-cent deposits
[picked up from around the neighborhood and returned to buy batteries for pocket radios, see below]Going to the
"mall" was a not-too-commonplace experience
Groceries were bagged in paper sacks
Having an
"alternative lifestyle" meant that you lived in a mobile home
[which was called without shame, a "trailer"]"Johnson" was a US president or a radio -- not a male body part
Kids were
taught in school -- not said to be
"hyperactive" and medicated into a stupor to keep them quiet
Kids would be home by a certain time
Kids would go outdoors and find something creative and fun to do -- and not get arrested, in trouble, injured, kidnapped, or killed
Laser- and CED videodiscs
[they were 12 inches in diameter!!]Leaded gasoline -- in
"Regular" and
"Ethyl"Lionel trains
Locally-televised professional wrestling that didn't look fake
[Dallas area: Fritz Von Erich and sons]Low-to-mid-market stereo equipment that was halfway-decently built
"Made In Japan" -- and better than today's other Asian offerings
Mechanical clocks -- analog
and digital
Mini-bikes
[with the infamous Briggs & Stratton 3-1/2 HP engine, fast enough]"Mister Peppermint" [childrens' TV program; especially at the beginning -- he was based out of Dallas]Mobile telephones that looked like a telephone
["common carrier" -- and you could legally listen to them on a VHF scanner!]Movie special-effects were photographic, not computerized
Open-reel tape recorders
Pagers were called
"beepers" and actually beeped
[and the only people with them were medical and legal professionals…and drug dealers]Parents could spank their misbehaving children without fear of arrest or legal action
Parents didn't worry about violence in cartoons
[because the average child didn't like falling from a chair or bike -- never mind a 300-foot cliff]Passing airplanes would cause your TV picture to flutter or have
"ghosts"Pocket AM radios
[if your parents were affluent, it was AM/FM]"Ports" were for ships and airplanes, not computer connections
President Johnson's funeral
President Nixon's resignation
Putting aluminum foil on the ends of
"rabbit-ear" TV antennas, to improve reception
Radio / TV shops
Record-changers were more prevalent than
"turntables""Ripcord" [both the TV program and the school prank -- untying someone's tennis shoes]Rotary-dial telephones
S&H Green Stamps
[given with purchases at the supermarket; collected and redeemed for merchandise]Sapphire styli
[needles] that came with your record player -- which you upgraded to diamond when the original was worn out
"Sea Hunt" [TV program]Sears & Roebuck's annual catalog
[the infamous "Wish Book"]Slot-cars
[the real Aurora Model Motoring / AFX -- not the cheaper Tyco]Spam was something you ate
Spraying ether or pouring a bit of gasoline down a carburetor to start a stubborn engine
The American hostages held in Iran for 444 days
[one was a Marine from where I live]The Hemi
[the Chrysler engine, not the yuppie-status-symbol]The only controls on a car's steering column were the turn-signal and gearshift
Tubes
[and tester!] at the Eckerd / Sun Rexall / Skillern's drugstores, and Radio Shack
Tube-type radios and televisions -- and one could get them back to working just by replacing tubes
Turner
"+2," "+3," "Road King 70," and
"Super Sidekick" microphones
TV-channel indicators on the channel selector, not the screen
TV stations came on-air at 5 or 6 AM, and went off-air at midnight, with the National Anthem
"Whirlybirds" [TV program]* * * * * * * * * *
And I'll put a call out to Wavebourn: Tolly, let's hear of your memories, growing up.