How did we survive 50 years ago? We drank water from the tap not a bottle and nobody knew about the dangers of lead poisoning so even cribs were painted with brightly colored lead based paint. Medicine and Bottles with tablets did not have child proof lids
No seat belts or air bags in cars, nobody knew or if they did told our parents smoking and drinking was bad for the baby, kids shared coke from one bottle, soda had masses of sugar and we ate real white bread and butter and everything else including full fat milk that we are now told is bad for you
Parents couldn't reach us ( no mobiles ) and most of the day we would be out playing with friends and parents knew we would be safe with hardly any weirdos wandering the streets. If we got caught doing stuff we shouldn't the cops would take us home and we may well have a got a hiding for breaking the law ( but no do gooders saying mustn't smack children ). And if we played up in school the same applied.
While playing we got cuts and bruises and the occasional tear in jeans but it was just part of being a kid and no visit to the hospital.
We had no fancy games but could play for hours making a Go cart or a new tree swing and for other games most times we would find a ball and whatever we could use as a bat. or in the summer all jump into the nearest place we could find and if the water wasn't that clean we just didn't swallow it.
We rode our bikes with no helmets and doing whatever stunts we could ( bikes were so much heavier and hard waring ) and always had punctures to repair or get dad to help with.
If we didn't get in the team we were not good enough and that was that.
But most of all we were allowed to be kids
To dream, to invent and to play.
It's no wonder that the generation that grew up then created some of the most innovative and exciting technology we have today
Thanks for those years and all those "BAD THINGS" that is why we are who we are today
Yep - gas was 20¢ per gallon, and they washed the windshield (and usually the mirrors), checked the oil and water, aired the tires if you asked, then after they gave you change from your $5 bill, they gave you two pages of S&H Green Stamps, a free glass, and then actually thanked you! Where have we gone wrong since?!
Technology has changed everything. Our children will look back on the days now and say "remember the days". Just think though.....here we all are chatting it up when in the "old days" that wouldn't have been possible!
i think we have all gained a few pounds since they have come out with the remote control
Wow, that Woolworth's menu brings me back to the early '60's - Mom used to take me to their lunch counter and we'd have lunch, obviously for a buck or two. The only difference in OUR neighborhood was that a "pressed ham sandwich" was just a regular sandwich that the waitress sat on ...
I also notice there's no hamburgers, hot dogs or pizza on that menu. I kind of remember them having at least triple-decker or club sandwiches, but maybe that's just a regional thing.
Guess I'm back to being the only grouch here who thinks the old days weren't necessarily so wonderful. Most of our rose-colored attitudes are nostalgia for our youth. (And I had a happy childhood!) I just don't get all this sentimentalizing of the past, where everything is perceived as being better than it is now. That's what prompts all those jokes about the old folks boasting that they trudged to school in the snow, uphill
both ways.
The Woolworth menu may look wonderful, though I gather it's mostly the prices that everybody loves. But think about what kind of salaries people were earning then. Probably the average American income
was around $5-6K a year.
Some of the old TV shows were fun, but I think that in general, the shows have improved tremendously. We do have lots of electronic appliances, and beyond that, more and more "smart" appliances. Even my car is "smart." If I'm about to crash into something, it automatically stops. If I'm backing up and a person or vehicle is approaching from the side and about to pass in back of me, I get a warning beep. All of our cars have seat belts and air bags. I'll take those safety features over the "good old days" any time!
The world of science and medicine is infinitely better. Obviously, we don't have cures for everything, but people are living much longer and healthier lives than they used to.
Sorry, but I'll take the present over that so-called wonderful past any time!