How many of us are older than dirt?

#1
Here is a cute little reality check email i got. Thought it might bring back some memories for everyone, and a few smiles. Reminds me of the last swap meet where i was selling some old drive in movie speakers and kids kept coming up and asking me "what are these things???":laugh:

I unfortunately (or I guess fortunately depending on your point of view) remember lots of this stuff. And I still drive 3 cars with dimmer switches on the floor!!:thumbsup:

Subject: HOW CAN I BE OLDER THAN DIRT??


OLDER THAN DIRT !


Someone asked the other day, 'What was your favorite fast food when you
were growing up?'

'We didn't have fast food when I was growing up,' I informed him.

‘All the food was slow.'

'C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?'

‘It was a place called 'at home,'' I
Explained!

‘Mom cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down
together at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate
I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.'

By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to
suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I
had to have permission to leave the table.

But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood
if I figured his system could have handled it :

Some parents NEVER owned their own house, never wore Levis , never set
foot on a golf course, never traveled out of the country or had a credit
card.

In their later years they had something called a revolving charge card.
The card was good only at Sears Roebuck. Or maybe it was Sears & Roebuck.

My parents never drove me to soccer practice. This was mostly because we
never had heard of soccer.
I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, and only had one speed,
(slow). We didn’t have a television in our house until I was 19.


It was, of course, black and white, and the Station went off the air at midnight, after
playing the national anthem and a poem about
God; it came back on the air at about 6 a.m. And there was usually a
locally produced news and farm show on, featuring local People.

I was 26 before I tasted my first pizza; it was called 'pizza pie.'
When I bit into it, I burned the roof of my mouth and the cheese slid off,
Swung down, plastered itself against my chin and burned that, too. It's still
the best pizza I ever had.

I never had a telephone in my room.
The only phone in the house was in the living room and it was on a party
line. Before you could dial, you had to listen and make sure some people
you didn't know weren't already using the line.

Pizzas were not delivered to our home. But milk was.....

All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers
-- My brother delivered a newspaper, seven days a Week. It cost 3 cents a paper for the daily
And 7 cents for the Sunday, of which he got to keep 1 and a half cents on the daily and 3 cents on the Sunday.
He had to get up At 6 A.M. every morning. On Saturday, he had to collect the 25 cents from his
Customers. His favorite customers were the Ones who gave him 3or4 cents for a tip. His least favorite customers
were the ones who seemed to never be home on collection day.

Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the
movies. There were no movie ratings because all movies were responsibly
produced for everyone to enjoy viewing, without profanity or violence or most
anything offensive.

If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want
to share some of these memories with your children or
Grandchildren.

Growing up isn't what it used to be, is
It?



MEMORIES from a friend:

My Dad is cleaning out my grandmother's house (she died in December) and
he brought me an old Royal Crown Cola bottle. In the bottle top was a
stopper with a bunch of holes in it. I knew
Immediately what it was, but my daughter had no idea. She thought they
had tried to make it a salt shaker or something. I knew it as the bottle
that sat on the end of the ironing board filled with water, to 'sprinkle'
clothes with because we didn't
Have steam irons. Man, I am old ! ! !

How many do you remember?

Head lights dimmer switches on the
Floor.

Ignition switches on the dashboard.

Heaters mounted on the inside of the fire
Wall.

Real ice boxes.

Pant leg clips for bicycles without chain
Guards.

Soldering irons you heat on a gas burner.

Using hand signals for cars without turn
Signals.




Older Than Dirt Quiz:

Count all the ones that you remember not the ones you were told about
Ratings at the bottom.

1. Blackjack chewing gum.
2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water.
3. Candy cigarettes.
4. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass
bottles. (These were the best ever)
5. Coffee shops or diners with tableside
juke boxes.
6 . Home milk delivery in glass bottles with
cardboard stoppers.
7. Party lines on the telephone.
8. Newsreels before the movie.
9. P.F. Flyers.
10. Butch wax.
11. TV test patterns that came on at night after the last show and were
there until TV shows started again in the morning. (there were only 3
channels).
12. Peashooters.
13. Howdy Doody.
14. 45 RPM records.
15. S & H green stamps.
16. Hi-fi's.
17. Metal ice trays with lever.
18. Mimeograph paper.
19 Blue flashbulbs.
20. Packards.
21. Roller skate keys.
22. Cork popguns.
23. Drive-ins.
24. Studebakers.
25. Wash tub wringers.
26. Diners made from old street cars.
27.Street Cars that ran on a track.

If you remembered 0-5 =

you’re still young

If you remembered 6-10 =

you are getting older!

If you remembered 11-15 =

Don't tell your age!

If you remembered 16-27 =


You're older than dirt!


I might be older than dirt but those memories are some of the best parts
of my life.

Don't forget to pass this along! ! Especially to all your
Really "OLD" friends...
 
#2
I must be older than dirt!

I remember most of that stuff. 'Cept we only had 1 channel on TV....if it wasn't on NBC, I never heard of it. I used to hate hearing the national anthem right before that annoying tone when the tv went off the air. Didn't get a color set until I was 16. Our old farm house had cast iron radiators for heat. Fast food was going to the A&W...maybe twice a year! Baseball in the summer meant a 4-mile bicycle ride first. After school I'd take the snowmobile into the field across the street...when it was time for supper, mom would flick the yardlight. When the muffler had a hole in it on the '64 389 Catalina, she'd drop it into low while going down the hill...lol! Dad used to drive everywhere with a mixed drink in his lap in the same car. We went to pick up my aunt from school, and he goosed it going over the railroad tracks on a gravel road, and we ended up in the ditch...lol...seat belts...who needs 'em...That same aunt would give me a ride on the tractor at the farm...an old IH model H...we'd be on the bumpy field road, and I'd be standing on the hitch and she'd put it in 'road' gear...holy shit!...good times...
 

joekd

Active Member
#3
Crap, I was feeling young until I took the quiz

My kids still dont believe me when I tell them I was almost a teenager before I had my first taco and that was only because we travelled to a big shopping mall about 30-45 mins away

I also tell them about the TV that took 15-20 mins to warm up and had the motorized antennas we had on top of the house where you marked the different channels on the dial to make it easy to select then listened to it whir and click for 10-15 minutes until your channel came in clearly.
 

Oldsalt

Well-Known Member
#6
Ya know what you guys are sorta saying? You are saying that the old Democrat saw that "the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer" is total BS. Heck, now people's dogs would have cell phones if they could use them. In the 50s and even a lot later how many cars did a family have? One, maybe, two if you had a lot of disposible income. Now folks that are listed below the Obama poverty level have three or four. When TV sets appeared in most homes how many folks did you know that had more than one? Well, if you read about movie stars,back then, you would hear about some of them having two. HUD released the figures on the square footage of homes built in 1970 and those built in 1994. The square footage had doubled. We have all became rich in our lifestyles!
 
#7
I must be older than dirt! I remember most of that stuff. 'Cept we only had 1 channel on TV....if it wasn't on NBC, I never heard of it. I used to hate hearing the national anthem right before that annoying tone when the tv went off the air.
I'm no where near old as dirt but I remember all that stuff too... There was a drive in movies in Coldwater up until a few years ago... I think it's more the generational gap... Of coarse I've ran hit and miss powered train cars on our private rail road too... :shrug:

[/IMG]
 
#8
Did you also tell them the tv was as big as a car
with a 7 in screen ?:thumbsup::smile:
Crap, I was feeling young until I took the quiz

My kids still dont believe me when I tell them I was almost a teenager before I had my first taco and that was only because we travelled to a big shopping mall about 30-45 mins away

I also tell them about the TV that took 15-20 mins to warm up and had the motorized antennas we had on top of the house where you marked the different channels on the dial to make it easy to select then listened to it whir and click for 10-15 minutes until your channel came in clearly.
 
#10
1. Blackjack chewing gum. CHECK
2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water. CHECK
3. Candy cigarettes. CHECK
4. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass
bottles. (These were the best ever) CHECK (my dad had one at his warehouse)
5. Coffee shops or diners with tableside
juke boxes. (CHECK)
6 . Home milk delivery in glass bottles with
cardboard stoppers. CHECK
7. Party lines on the telephone. CHECK
8. Newsreels before the movie. NOPE, SHIT YOU ARE OLDER THAN DIRT.
9. P.F. Flyers. CHECK
10. Butch wax. CHECK
11. TV test patterns that came on at night after the last show and were
there until TV shows started again in the morning. (there were only 3
channels). CHECK
12. Peashooters. CHECK
13. Howdy Doody. CHECK
14. 45 RPM records. CHECK
15. S & H green stamps. CHECK (BLUE CHIP TOO)
16. Hi-fi's. CHECK
17. Metal ice trays with lever. CHECK
18. Mimeograph paper. CHECK
19 Blue flashbulbs. CHECK
20. Packards. NOPE
21. Roller skate keys. CHECK
22. Cork popguns. CHECK
23. Drive-ins. CHECK
24. Studebakers. NOPE
25. Wash tub wringers. NOPE
26. Diners made from old street cars. CHECK
27.Street Cars that ran on a track. NOPE


One thing I do remember is riding my bike to little league practice. Parents didn't drive their friggin kids to baseball practice and didn't make a wine and cheese outing of it. Jesus, wtf?
 

MiniBike Paul

Well-Known Member
#16
Man was I proud of my paper bags!! It was a coming of age thing, very tough! Studio City Graphic (throw away) and one of the biggies, not sure which, Valley News, Times maybe! Terrible collecting from all those cheap skates, and in good neighborhoods, that really was not like today!
 
#17
1. Blackjack chewing gum. CHECK
2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water. CHECK was floored when i found some in a store again
3. Candy cigarettes. CHECK the never did taste all that good
4. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles.yes
5. Coffee shops or diners with tableside juke boxes.kinda
6 . Home milk delivery in glass bottles with
cardboard stoppers. nope
7. Party lines on the telephone. nope
8. Newsreels before the movie. NOPE,
9. P.F. Flyers. um no idea ????
10. Butch wax. ??????
11. TV test patterns that came on at night after the last show and were
there until TV shows started again in the morning. (there were only 3
channels). CHECK well their was more then 3 but ya
12. Peashooters. nope
13. Howdy Doody. some what ,reruns
14. 45 RPM records. CHECK still have a pile and the player
15. S & H green stamps. no idea
16. Hi-fi's. CHECK great sound
17. Metal ice trays with lever. CHECK i still like them
18. Mimeograph paper. no
19 Blue flashbulbs. CHECK and had a camera that used them
20. Packards. nope
21. Roller skate keys. nope
22. Cork popguns. CHECK
23. Drive-ins. CHECK
24. Studebakers. NOPE
25. Wash tub wringers. yes had a old one as a kid
26. Diners made from old street cars. nope
27.Street Cars that ran on a track . not around here no such thing

How many do you remember?

Head lights dimmer switches on the
Floor. oh yes and i so want to do that to my car

Ignition switches on the dashboard.yep

Heaters mounted on the inside of the fire
Wall.yes

Real ice boxes.have 2 of the stupid things never use them

Pant leg clips for bicycles without chain
Guards. nope

Soldering irons you heat on a gas burner.yes and the gas torch . have them too

Using hand signals for cars without turn
Signals.nope


restore kid what dont you have . dam you have all kinds of cool and old shit you really should set up a living museum .
 
#18
Or how about when you use to pull into a gas station and you run over a hose and it goes, ding, ding, and the guy comes out and says, yes sir, can I help you and You say, Yeah, can ya give me a couple dollars worth of regular and check that oil and wash my windows and he says Yes sir. Yep, I'm older than dirt and them were the good old days. :thumbsup::thumbsup: :smile:
 

MiniBike Paul

Well-Known Member
#19
Metal Man - i would guess from your answers that you are in your early fifties, yea?? Where are you in ND?? I spent 3 months in West Fargo building a racecar hauler at Superior Custom, in 1993; totally great experience, weekly sprint car races at the Fairgrounds, local 17 year old kid was starting to do ok, Donny Schatz!
 
Top