I am so old I remember when the Naugahydes went extinct. How old are you?

[dixiegrrrrl]

[seveneyes]

1. I remember the hanging of Hattie Ledoux

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. I'm so old I fart dust.

I went to Antique Road Show and some English guy offered to buy me.

[PoliticAverse]

3. I was sad when they went extinct, they were cute...

[TexasBushwhacker]

4. I remember when you had to RENT your phone from

AT&T, and the phone numbers had letters at the beginning that stood for something. Ours was PR4-7469. PR stood for Prescott, which was the phone switch our neighborhood was connected to. You couldn't keep your phone number if you moved across town.

And I remember my parents' car - a black Mercury convertible.

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. That IS some car....wow. n/t

[TexasBushwhacker]

7. Yeah, it would be a classic if we still had it

Then they got the "family car" - a butt ugly light blue station wagon that had a 3rd seat that faced backwards. Complete with faux wood accents.

[fizzgig]

11. we had a buick estate wagon as the family backup car for awhile

we didn't get it until the mid-2000s, but it was a great car for the drive in.

[TexasBushwhacker]

14. I had to parallel park the damn thing

for my driving test!

[fizzgig]

18. i would park that thing as far away as possible

had to pull through and be able to make the wide turn.

i would have failed that driving test.

[hamsterjill]

30. Now, I remember the parallel parking on the driver's test

I failed miserably!!!

I was perfectly lined up between the poles. The trouble was, I was about 4 feet to the side of the poles!!! Oh, well...

And I don't think I've ever parallel parked since then!

[The Second Stone]

17. I still have an estate wagon. A 1990

It looks like the real thing, but no power at all. And the original owner (a friend) removed the third back facing seat so that he could have some hidden storage. Someday I'm going to restore it and put in a 600 hp engine.

[fizzgig]

19. ours would stall if you gunned the engine

it saved my ass on more than a few occasions, but i don't miss driving it.

[The Second Stone]

35. Mine still does. Only allows heavy acceleration, no stomping

on the gas

[csziggy]

25. That looks like my uncle's car! With six kids they needed it

When they went on trips the roof rack carried all their luggage since there was no spare room inside. My cousins fought over who got to sit in the rear facing seat - they all loved it. I thought it was the worst place ever to ride.

[TexasBushwhacker]

31. It makes some people nauseous

Other than that, I think psychologically we like to see where we're going, not where we've been. I can't even walk on a treadmill or ride a stationary bike. I have to move through space; make progress.

[recycled60]

29. Looks like the one I bought

Back in '77. Run like the wind, drank like a fish.

[steve2470]

38. we had one of those but it was white nt

[trof]

46. I remember just 5 numbers and a two-party line.

Our ring was one long and one short.
The other subscriber was two longs.
Of course we used to listen in.

[rogerashton]

51. Eight party line.

But five of them were relatives.

[pscot]

95. ours was me-632

and our address was RR-2.

[Peregrine]

5. They roamed the plains and

were as plentiful as the buffalo. Yes Kit Karr was the greatest of the Nauga hunters.

[csziggy]

26. You mean Kit Karr, that lazy boy? n/t

[qnr]

8. The soles of my feet are still burned...

from walking around while the Earth was cooling.

[Lochloosa]

9. I had a party line. Look tbat one up

[TexasBushwhacker]

12. My aunt & uncle had one

They lived out in the sticks.

[qnr]

13. Interestingly,

we had one in Brooklyn in the 1970's.

[dixiegrrrrl]

15. We had one of those, in a town of 55,000, in the late 1950's.

We budding teens found out that if you shouted loud enough down teh line, other kids could hear you when the lines were on hold, and you would shout your phone number and hope someone would call you back.
Of course at that awkard age, when some guy did call back, all we would do is giggle and hang up the phone.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. We had one too...in the 60's!

[Hoyt]

10. Used my grandparents' outhouse, and fell in a cesspool.

[chknltl]

20. I remember the bio-mechanical channel selector.

(That'd be the kid nearest the TV for those of you not old enough to know such things and no, we were not labeled that).

[Wounded Bear]

21. When I was born, Christ was a Lance Corporal...nt

[OxQQme]

22. I am so old I remember Los Angeles

without smog or freeways.

Born a year before Pearl Harbor.

[niyad]

23. so old that I remember when Mother created the universe.

[sarge43]

24. We rode mastodons to school. n/t

[dixiegrrrrl]

28. Uphill both ways?

[recycled60]

32. Through 6 feet of snow.

[sarge43]

33. 6 feet of snow?!

That was during summer vacation. We're talkin' Ice Age here.

[sarge43]

34. No, but getting across the glacier could be tricky. n/t

[jmowreader]

70. I really DID walk uphill both ways to school

St. Maries, Idaho, is in a valley with the St. Joe River running down the middle of it. The school is on the north side of the river on the side of a mountain, and the town is on the south side of the river on the side of a mountain. In the morning you would ride the bus to school, then walk uphill from the bus parking lot to the school. In the afternoon you'd get off the bus on College Avenue and walk uphill to your house.

[valerief]

27. I'm so old I have a scrapbook full of snapshots taken with my Swinger camera. nt

[TexasBushwhacker]

36. Ha! Polaroids have a certain look

Gus Van Sant used to take Polaroids of actors when he was casting films. The thing was, they basically made a big fat negative with each picture, and he kept them. One year back in the 80's I saw an exhibit of posters made from those negatives. It was cool!

[kwassa]

97. .

[Art_from_Ark]

48. I loved the Swinger TV commercial

[TexasBushwhacker]

98. Did you recognize the brunette

Straight hair, parted down the middle? It's Ali McGraw. The jingle was written and performed by Barry Manilow!

[Art_from_Ark]

99. I had heard that Ali McGraw was in the commercial,

but I had no idea that the jingle was written and performed by Barry Manilow

[steve2470]

37. I'm so old, I remember when dust was ROCKS!

[denbot]

39. I remember a lid being ten bucks,

and super bell Levi's.

[dixiegrrrrl]

42. Ha! you got me!

It was 30 last time I bought any.
And lasted me a month.

[GOLGO 13]

40. Old enough to drink & too young to know better.

I don't follow whatever behavior I'm supposed to be.

[Baitball Blogger]

41. I was just thinking of my lavender banana bike, just today.

The one with the vinyl tassels in the handles that would whip wildly the faster I pedaled.

sigh

[MrMickeysMom]

43. I'm not too old to rock and roll, and sure as hell too young to die...

[MosheFeingold]

44. I have a rotary phone.

And I can use it as fast as you can a key pad.

It used to be on a party line. In a suburb of Washington DC.

I had friends die of polio.

I came to America. On a boat. And went back to Europe in a troop carrier.

I interrogated Nazis. (I am a native German speaker.) Broke a few teeth, too. I really don't care what people think of my interrogation techniques here.

I got rabies shots in my stomach after getting bit by a stray dog who did, indeed, have rabies. I was fine. I considered that a miracle.

I was a cop and had a short barreled 4 shot .38 and a large wooden club. And walked the beat in roughest parts of NYC. People knew me and I knew them and we got along fine. Yes, I hit people. No, I didn't shoot them. In hindsight, hitting appears to work better.

I saw John Kennedy get shot on TV and Robert Kennedy get shot from about 20 feet away from me in the Ambassador Hotel.

I saw LBJ grab the ass of his black-lady secretary and crudely laugh and point to us young lawyer/staffers. She took it in stride.

I drank Scotch with Tip O'Neil, regularly (no one remembers him, and they should). He thought LBJ was an asshole.

I got in in a push fight with Robert Byrd after drinking with Tip, because Byrd was an asshole and a bigot and nearly lost my job.

Walter Kronkite was very very, very smart. Dan Rather was not. Walter would send all staffers personal cards and knew our names and families. Dan couldn't remember our names after meeting us 100 times.

Nixon was as gruff as he appeared to be.

Ford was very imposing in person, but completely ineffective.

Carter would not let his staff help him and was a terrible delegator. He just tried to do everything himself, which is not possible.

I learned to actually like Ronald Reagan, even if I disagreed with him on basically everything. He was very well-intentioned, honest, and honorable. Nancy was not.

[dixiegrrrrl]

45. Wow.....that was fascinating.

I know who Tip ONeil was but not much detail about him.
My political awareness started with JFK, and I instinctively distrusted Nixon.

[steve2470]

55. wow incredible stuff

Did you actually get to meet Reagan up close and personal ? Tell me more please.

The Nazis, tell me more. I'm a WW2 history buff and my dad was an artillery guy under Patton in Europe.

I know you have some awesome stories.

[MosheFeingold]

61. I did meet President Reagan many times

I worked in Congress for many different Congressemen/ladies and also as a general staffer for different related agencies.

I am a life long Democrat, and I did disagree with Reagan about most everything, but he was honestly engaged in doing what he thought was best. I originally thought he was a bit of an empty suit until he called me out in a meeting about 20-30 people having read a memo of key points on legislation being worked out and went through every point, from memory, where he quizzed me exceptionally hard on why I opined certain ways on each issue. I basically pissed my pants, but stood my ground.

Didn't work -- he persuaded everyone that I was incorrect and the law got written the way he requested.

They don't make politicians like Tip O'Neil and Reagan anymore.

I understand the hostility because the Republicans are so hostile, but it wasn't that long ago that people would agree to disagree and work to common purpose (of which there is a lot more than you would think -- the hot button issues really take up like 5% of the time of actual workers). Most of the time it's like "oh shit, there's a fungus on corn crops in Kansas and people might starve unless we move money from X to Y and do Z (really happened)" Or "the roads suck, but the mobsters who fix them are crooks and will bleed us dry, etc."

++++++

I don't really like to talk about the Nazis. War is sometimes necessary, but always awful and brutal business. I will say I enjoyed the expressions on the faces of certain Nazis when they realized a very Jewish-looking Jewish guy was their interrogator.

[steve2470]

62. please say more about LBJ, thanks so much! nt

[MosheFeingold]

73. I don't know much about PRESIDENT LBJ

Other than what I posted. I was deemed in the "Kennedy Kamp" (or really, my boss, and the team goes with them -- I was low level) and pushed aside very quickly. As in, within a week of the assassination.

I did deal with SENATOR LBJ a fair amount, however.

He was a big guy and not very nice when he disagreed. He would physically push around people and try to intimidate them with his size/power to get what he wanted. A bully, basically. But, he was "our bully."

He liked to put his giant hand on your shoulder and push down in a show of dominance, which completely pissed me off, but I sucked up and took it because I was an employee.

He was not anti-Semitic, I will say. He was a good friend to Jewish people and not at all like the "white shoe" Republicans (think James Baker) of the time -- very open and accepting, while the white shoe Republicans openly distrusted/disliked Jewish people.

In contrast, he was generally very good to black people (as a group), very pissed off about how they were treated, but also deeply personally racist and condescending one-on-one. I am not Mr. PC, but he said things that were toe-curling, even in 1961.

To be blunt, he (and most Congressmen of the time, Republican and Democrat) considered blacks as essentially retarded humans who had been wrongfully treated and who needed to be taken care of -- and he felt a moral obligation to take care of them. Basically, a soft racism. But still deeply racist.

On the flip side, he felt the same obligation and racism (? not sure what word to use here) to "white trash" -- an expression he used often.

I think echoes of this paternalistic approach are found in the "Great Society" legislation. And those flaws in the legislation have magnified over time, in that a lot of blacks and "white trash" have become generationally-dependant on flawed programs.

On the other hand, he was having an open affair with a black woman staffer who very much had his ear, but he also treated her badly, for example. In current times, what he did would be called sexual harassment (or at least a shitty boyfriend), but she was also very much a willing participant because she was not one to be crossed because of her influence with LBJ.

It was a strange mix of a person.

[steve2470]

76. great stuff! Can you say a bit more about Nixon ?

You really are a jewel to DU. I'm glad you're here.

[MosheFeingold]

82. I really can't

I never did more than shake his hand. He was polite, but clearly just following protocol and had other things going on (which I respect and understand -- we were there to serve).

He was very private and did not conduct meetings with Congressional staffers.

His staffers were disagreeable and adversarial.

[steve2470]

83. hey, if you have any other stories, feel free to share!

How about Tip O'Neill ? I'm well aware of him since I grew up with him during Watergate.

[MosheFeingold]

84. Sure

Tip and Jimmy Carter hated each other (even though they agreed), while Ronald Reagan and Tip were close friends and very much respected each other, even when they disagreed (which was all day long). Hence, they would hammer out some decent things together.

President Carter was very much a "ninny" and forbid drinking at the White House, which pissed everyone off. I really think that is why he had such a difficult time because he and his Georgia clan not only didn't get along with the Republicans, but they didn't get along with other Democrats.

In fairness, Carter didn't know anyone, so he relied on his network of Georgia connections because he was a bit paranoid. And then the other Democrats treated them like rubes because they had Southern accents. And so each side closed ranks and the problem became worse.

You'll never read that anywhere else, but I swear it is true.

Probably the maddest I ever saw Tip O'Neil was during the Shah of Iran situation. Yes, the Shah of Iran was a very bad guy -- typical middle east strong man, arguable former ally of Nazis. But he was better than the radical Shia. Carter wanted to hear none of that and really put pressure on the Shah to permit elections. Tip said Iran wasn't ready. Carter disagreed. With benefit of 40 years of hindsight, Tip was probably correct.

I think some of Tip's insight is because he (a Roman Catholic, I think) was very tied into the Jewish circles in MA and grew up in a mixed Jewish/Catholic neighborhood. He had a lot of childhood friends he could call who had family all over Iran (which had a large Jewish population at the time) and the ME in general. Kind of an informal information gathering system.

[steve2470]

85. love your stories

I'd keep asking you for more, but I'm afraid I've already turned into a bit of a pest

Maybe you should write a book ? Or at least a really long OP about your experiences ?

I'd buy your book and definitely read your OP! All the best to you and your family!

[malthaussen]

106. I agree with the book idea.

I'm always interested in war stories related by someone with no axe to grind.

-- Mal

[dixiegrrrrl]

91. Robert Caro's voluminous bio of LBJ says the same thing...

tho I don't remember he mentioned the affair bit.

[MosheFeingold]

102. Here's one

LBJ's girlfriend comes, up and he gets up to leave the table.

He leans in and says "Boys, I got to go give some dictation." We just sit there a little stunned. He leans in further, laughs, grabs his crotch, and says "DICK tation. Get it boys!"

He was just a crude guy.

[malthaussen]

105. My brother once took a smoke break with Reagan...

... he also thought he was a nice guy. It's not incompatible with being an idiot.

-- Mal

[HeiressofBickworth]

47. I remember the shame of having

a JC Higgins rather than a Schwinn. Oh, I also remember having huge scabs on my knees from falling off the bike when I was learning to ride. No sooner than one would heal, I'd fall again and get another one. That was way back in the 50's!

I also remember moving from Indiana to Seattle (Father was a Boeing engineer) and thinking that we were going to be living outside of civilization -- such was the geography education at the time.

I once told my granddaughter that her ancestors came west in a 1952 Chevrolet. Not as interesting as covered wagons but without interstate freeways, it was quite a trip.

But I also remember when political campaigns were exchanges of opposing ideas and policies. Not the hate-fest and divisiveness that exists in today's political world. Man, that makes me really old!!

[pinboy3niner]

50. Remember nailing roller skates to a board to make a skateboard?

And clothespinning playing cards on your bike made you a motorcycle.

[Brother Buzz]

79. I was the go-to-kid for busting apart the rivets on the metal skates

I used a cold chisel and a hammer with great efficiency, pretty heady stuff for a ten-yer-old. I was also an innovator and introduced machine bolts to the neighborhood to replace the crappy nails. I still have my trusty skate key somewhere.

[malthaussen]

107. Or baseall cards.

There was a certain pleasure to using the card of someone you didn't like.

-- Mal

[3catwoman3]

109. Indeed I do.

The vibrations were so intense they would make my feet go numb.

[dixiegrrrrl]

53. My gradmother came west in 1906 in a train, from Chicago.

She would have been 7 or so at the time.

and btw...Seattle in the 50'/60's was such a lovely place. Grandma bought a house a few blocks from Green Lake ( on a dead end street called Dorothy place) after Grandpa died in mid 50's, and I spent chunks of time living there with her.
No freeway, no traffic congestion, but great bus service.
I remember the World's Fair in 1962 and later, there was serious debate about taking down the Space Needle.

You might be interested in this:

History of Seattle since 1940
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Seattle_since_1940

because it has a lot to say about Boeing ( for some reason it was always pronounced Boeings locally)

[rogerashton]

52. We got TV when I was 10.

One channel, very snowy. Had to shift the rabbit ears if the weather changed. My folks were so fascinated that we ate dinner on individual folding tables for a month or two.

This was a fairly rural area.

[dixiegrrrrl]

54. I remember there were 3 tv stations only, and test patterns.

What would be remarkable to younger folks today is that tv was free and came over the airwaves like radio,
and it reached an amazing number of even isolated places.
Queen Anne Hill in Seattle had ( still has, I do believe) 3 tv towers for the 3 stations.
We kids did the belly plop on the floor on Sat. mornings to quietly watch the cartoons and kid shows and the adults slept in.

In various places that i lived as a kid, we had rabbit ears a lot, once in a while a place would have antennas on the roof.
In Seattle, you did not need antennas cause the reception was so powerful.

[Kaleva]

63. I had 1 tv station. Channel 6

[steve2470]

56. I remember actually having to trudge down to the library if I wanted to know something...

My dad was big on education and knowledge, and bought us the entire dead tree edition of the Britannica encyclopedia, which I really appreciate today. Must have cost him a small fortune. If it wasn't in the Britannica, then I had to trudge down to the library.

I remember celebrating Halloween with my friends with NO parents along and not being afraid in the least of being poisoned! THOSE WERE THE DAYS. We just had fun and no one worried. I kinda feel sorry for kids and parents these days. From what I know, the vast majority of those fears were just urban legends.

I remember thinking at first my dad was in WW1 and my dad had to gently correct me with the fact that he was barely alive then

[dixiegrrrrl]

57. My Grandmother had encyclopedias,

and a huge Miriam-Webster dictionary on a stand ( I have it today)
and a bookshelf of what appeared to be some sort of book club books of famous literature..the books were all identical in gold embossing on the spine, etc. They were all the well known authors...Twain, etc.
And I read damn near every one of them.

What was weird was she and I never talked about the books or reading or ideas..I just grabbed a book and took it off to my room and read, while she sat in her chair in the living room and read her magazines and newspapers and books.

[steve2470]

77. your grandmother was like my Dad which is great

I used to think of a topic, grab the correct Britannica and sit down and read.

[dixiegrrrrl]

92. Like many many others have said...reading saved my life

or, rather, made my life.
A treasured ability, a gift I gave to both my sons so very early in their lives.
It made an enormous difference.

[sarge43]

58. "When I was a boy, the Dead Sea was only sick." George Burns n/t

[sakabatou]

59. I'm so old, I remember when TLC was The Learning Chanel.

[mak3cats]

60. 40 years ago today was my first day in high school (no lie)... eom

[TexasBushwhacker]

66. I'm going to my 40th reunion in September n/t

[Special Prosciuto]

64. My first school desks had inkwells.

[seveneyes]

65. Old enough to leave me something to remember you by

[LiberalElite]

67. I remember the Nauga - it was very cute eom

[BlueJazz]

68. 37

[MaggieD]

69. I'm so old I used to have to get off my butt

To change the TV channel.

[dixiegrrrrl]

78. I am pre-tv.

We used to lie on the floor in front of the radio, which was a huge thing in a cabinet, and listen to serials....
in our minds they were as real and visual as the tv shows that came later.

[jmowreader]

71. Old enough to know how to call the neighbors on a party line

A phone can't ring if it's off-hook, and picking up one station on a party line takes the whole thing off-hook. So...if you wanted to call the neighbors you would dial your OWN number and immediately hang up. About three seconds later the phones would ring.

[KMOD]

72. I'm not old.

[ProfessorGAC]

74. Excuse Me But You Have That Wrong!

It's the naugas that went extinct. Now we can get their "hydes" any longer.

BTW: i'm old enough that gas was 40 cents a gallon when i started driving.
GAC

[Tom_Foolery]

75. I used to dress like this...

[TexasBushwhacker]

100. Some fashion trends come back, but not that one n/t

[Brother Buzz]

80. I am so old I remember how to adjust the vertical hold on a television

Last time I looked, I couldn't even find the damn knob on my 'new and improved' television.

[dixiegrrrrl]

81. ohhh..I had forgotten those buttons/knobs.

Depending on how old you were as a kid, you were allowed, and sometimes directed, to "fix" the picture by turning a knob, while getting instructions from the seated parental units.

us kids were the "remotes" of that earlier era........

[BdAzzSRT]

86. I am so old I saw the Howdy Doody show live.

As well as Sally Star, Chief Halftown and Gene London.

[dixiegrrrrl]

87. OMG

That does goes back.

You know, I never liked/trusted "Buffalo Bob" guy. Something creepy about him to me...wonder what ever happened to him.

[steve2470]

88. I remember watching the Outer Limits in, maybe, 1963 and being scared out of my mind

I think I cried, I was 5. To this day, I still don't like horror-ish stuff, but Outer Limits was very well done.

[dixiegrrrrl]

93. A well meaning aunt took me to the movies when I was 5-6..to see King Kong!

Scared the bejeesus out of me. That scene where all you see is his huge wild eyes.

And Snow White, at around the same age, the wicked witch was terrifying.

[TexasBushwhacker]

96. It was Alfred Hitchcock for me

I remember watching this episode with my cousin in 1965. I was 8 and she was 10. 50 years ago it was scary, and shocking!

It's called "An Unlocked Window".

[BarbaRosa]

89. I've been asking these questions lately,

. . .
Will you still be sending me a Valentine,
birthday greetings, bottle of wine?

If I've been out
till quarter to three,
would you lock the door?
Will you still need me,
will you still feed me,
. . .

[3catwoman3]

110. I've been singing this...

...song since April of this year.

[Gloria]

90. Playing Michigan Rummy on the front porch during the summer, identifying all those cars

going by with the huge fins, baby!!! That's how old....

[madinmaryland]

94. I remember having a discussion with Richard the Lionheart over the use of trebouchet's and the

way they are positioned to maximize their effectiveness. An interesting discussion!!!

[frogmarch]

101. A store's toilet room door that

my friends Glenda, Carolyn, Betty and I pencil-carved our names and phone numbers on in 1955 when we were 13 is now on exhibit in our hometown’s history museum.

Glenda + boys = FUN! 3770
Carolyn 3842 + Kenny = love
Betty 3856 + Kenny = haha kidding Carolyn
Ellie 1916 Emerson! tele 3229! + Rock Hudson + beer and tomato juice = our honeymoon at Sylvan Lake!

And now, going on 60 years later, we’re all still best friends (but we don’t write on toilet room doors any more).

[Bonobo]

103. I used to wear velour shirts. nt

[malthaussen]

104. Well, I was born while the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn...

... that's old enough to be going on with.

Some millennial said to me a few months ago, "The Dodgers were in Brooklyn?" I hope he was pulling my leg.

But yes, I remember when the dread Nauga beast roamed the plains, wild and free. It is a much tamer land now.

-- Mal

[hifiguy]

108. Old enough to remember being thrilled when

the Zenith B&W portable teevee was retired by my folks and I could bring it downstairs into my music and weed cave to watch Johnny Carson by myself. This is the very same model TV:



The stand folded up into the bottom of the set

[PADemD]

111. I'm so old my first camera was a Brownie Starflash

[Kali]

112. I remember steel dashboard and no seatbelts

funny, I just got rid of a gross old yellowish naugahyde chair that was the last remaining piece of a set of living room furniture my Mother and Grandmother picked out back in the 70s.

so gross it wasn't even retro-cool

[UrbScotty]

113. I was Shakespeare's editor.