Old farts

[abcdefz]

...I was just thinking about details of life we old farts used to take for granted, and how it was a world some younger kids (for better, in most cases) will never know.

For instance: the pull-top can. I was thinking how, when I was a kid, if you went barefoot in the summer, every now and the you might cut your foot at the beach or in the park beacsue someone pulled the ring off their soda can and tossed the ring to the ground.

That made me also think about TVs, and how they had channels 2-13, and then you could dial in UHF if that was your bag. When cable came to town and we got HBO, that was a pretty big deal. The HBO magazine used to come in the mail and I'd pore over it.

And, obviously, the internet is fucking nuts. Hell, I remember thinking it was so cool to hook my Commodore 64 to my phone line and pay way too much money to connect with someone and chat for a few lines before being disconnected. This was just text on a screen. And waiting for a response took FOREVER, it seemed, so you were never quite sure if the connection was already broken, or what.

I dunno. Drive-ins? Anybody else remember drive-ins? I think the last movie I saw at a drive-in was an X-rated movie at the Wa-Wa in Indiana. My buddy and I weren't old enough, but a long dirt farm road ran right beside the tree-lined parking area, so we parked, ate Oreos and drank milk, and oggled.

It was a whole other world then.

[ericlee]

Fremont Ohio still has a drive in. I saw the 40 Year Old Virgin and Flight plan there last year.

There used to be 4 of them in my area and now it's just that one and there's rumor that they'll never shut that place down.

[abcdefz]

Fremont Ohio still has a drive in. I saw the 40 Year Old Virgin and Flight plan there last year.

There used to be 4 of them in my area and now it's just that one and there's rumor that they'll never shut that place down.


Really!

I'm amazed.

Do they still have all the same old technology -- underprojected image, heavy, metal speakers that hang on your door and (hopefully) don't scratch the paint? And sound like shit?

[abcdefz]

...before the Wa-Wa? The last movies I think I saw were a double feature -- Rocky 2 (?) and a motorcycle racing documentary called Dirt.

[beastieangel01]

there are 2 drive-ins in San Diego. I really want to go again, I haven't been in so long. They rule (y)

[jennyb]

I remember my brother bringing home a Commodore 64 computer and we had this tape deck attached to it that you put actual cassette tapes in and we had donkey kong, frogger etc.. god, the hours I spent staring at them after school every night.

I also remember the 1st VCR we got, like it was this new technology. It's wild to think how far technology has come in such a short span of time. Just imagine what'll happen in another 20 years? Quite an exciting thought, actually.

[ericlee]

Really!

I'm amazed.

Do they still have all the same old technology -- underprojected image, heavy, metal speakers that hang on your door and (hopefully) don't scratch the paint? And sound like shit?

actually it's pretty clear and they did away with the metal speakers. They have their own radio station for you to tune in. There's always sheriffs patroling the roads because people would just park outside and tune in and watch.

There isn't supposed to be alcohol inside but, the cops would walk around and if they see you with a beer and a cooler, they don't even mess with you.

[abcdefz]

I remember my brother bringing home a Commodore 64 computer and we had this tape deck attached to it that you put actual cassette tapes in and we had donkey kong, frogger etc.. god, the hours I spent staring at them after school every night.




I had that, too, before I saved up for the disk drive.

I had this really, really poor text-based dungeons & dragons sort of adventure game that never went anywhere.

Man. For just the simplest programs, it'd take, like, 20 minutes to load.

I LOVED Fearless Fred, though. (y)



I also remember the 1st VCR we got, like it was this new technology. It's wild to think how far technology has come in such a short span of time. Just imagine what'll happen in another 20 years? Quite an exciting thought, actually.


I had Beta-envy for so long, man. Finally, as a sophomore in high school, I got our local audio/video store to let me put money down on a JVC VHS (huge Romper Room buttons) and take it home. I'd save my lunch money every week and go in and make payments. I was taping the second season of Cheers, every Hitchcock movie I could get my hands on... all kinds of stuff off of Showtime and Cinemax.

[abcdefz]

there are 2 drive-ins in San Diego. I really want to go again, I haven't been in so long. They rule (y)



I guess that makes sense.

I think there's one in Oakland; not sure.

[abcdefz]

There isn't supposed to be alcohol inside but, the cops would walk around and if they see you with a beer and a cooler, they don't even mess with you.



Midwestern cops are kind of cool about beer, unless you're a nuisance or a danger. It wasn't real uncommon to just drive around with an open can of beer; it was just sort of accepted.

[hardnox71]

And, obviously, the internet is fucking nuts. Hell, I remember thinking it was so cool to hook my Commodore 64 to my phone line and pay way too much money to connect with someone and chat for a few lines before being disconnected. This was just text on a screen. And waiting for a response took FOREVER, it seemed, so you were never quite sure if the connection was already broken, or what.
I remember being a freshman in highschool (1985-:rolleyes: ) and my friend Joe Rudolfski came over to my house on a Saturday. I had just gotten a Commodore 64 but I didn't have the disk drive, I had the one that read a cassette tape and took about an hour and a half to load, remember that? Anyway, we were going through CompuServe at the time and me and Joe spent the next few hours texting various people about silly shit. No big deal, right?

A couple of weeks later when my grandmother got the fucking phone bill she hit the roof. The bill was, like, almost seven hundred dollars. I mean she absolutely lost it. That was the first and last time I ever was allowed to hook my computer up to the phone line.

[abcdefz]

I remember being a freshman in highschool (1985-:rolleyes: ) and my friend Joe Rudolfski came over to my house on a Saturday. I had just gotten a Commodore 64 but I didn't have the disk drive, I had the one that read a cassette tape and took about an hour and a half to load, remember that? Anyway, we were going through CompuServe at the time and me and Joe spent the next few hours texting various people about silly shit. No big deal, right?

A couple of weeks later when my grandmother got the fucking phone bill she hit the roof. The bill was, like, almost seven hundred dollars. I mean she absolutely lost it. That was the first and last time I ever was allowed to hook my computer up to the phone line.



Yup.

I would kind of nervously keep an eye on the clock after my first bill came. Hooboy. Because, even though I lived in Louisville KY -- not a small city, right? -- the phone had to dial some network not even in Kentucky, I don't think. But the novelty was HUGE.

Yeah -- those tape players took forever. You'd just get the computer started and then walk away and read Tolstoy or something and come back. :D

P.S. Freshman in '85? I was CLASS OF '85, buddy!

In other words, you're almost as old as I am. :)

[hardnox71]

The last movie I saw at a drive in was the first Batman back in '88. I went with my girlfriend and her family. I can't remember where the fuck it was though....somewhere around Chicago, but I don't know exactly.

[GreenEarthAl]

I remember when the pizza place around the corner got Pac-Man and the candy store next to it got Gorf. Thereafter, all the kids were late fer school.

I remember when I was a 70s kid we had lots of tray tables to put our tv dinners on. And my mom would let me stay up late to watch the Jackson-5.

I remember back when I started driving and gas was less than $1/gallon.

I remember during the 80s when Joe Demjanuk(sp) was on tv every night. He was some guy that was accused of being Ivan the Terrible or some such back in Nazi Germany. It was on the news like every single night.

[Pootytang]

How about hand held video games? The most excitement around in my day was this football game that had red dashes as the men. Pong was the hip game for tv.

Remote Controls were not even a thought yet. I take that back because I was the remote control, my dad would tell me to get up and change the channel and not give him any lip.

The first microwave we had was so under watted that you couldn't even pop popcorn with out burning it. It just wouldn't get hot enough to pop the kernals.

Cokes came in glass bottles and were returnable. No plastic what so ever.

[abcdefz]

I remember when I was a 70s kid we had lots of tray tables to put our tv dinners on. And my mom would let me stay up late to watch the Jackson-5.




...do you remember when J5 and The Osmonds were a Saturday morning cartoon show?

I remember when comic book prices LEAPED from 25 to 30 cents. :mad:

[abcdefz]

How about hand held video games? The most excitement around in my day was this football game that had red dashes as the men.



-- my friend Ralph had one of those! I was just thinking about that the other day.

blip blip blip blip blip

[hardnox71]

OOOOH, OOOOH!!!

My friend and I were in Radio Shack yesterday and I saw an old Mattel electronic basketball game. It had little red dashes. I flipped out. I never had the basketball game but I had the Mattel soccer game. Man, it was 1983 all over again.

[abcdefz]

Cokes came in glass bottles and were returnable. No plastic what so ever.



...my friend Sam and I used to go hunting for bottles, then take 'em to Kroeger's grocery to get the dsposit money.

Sometimes the bottles would be in a ditch, bunch of dirt in them and maybe cobwebs and spiders, so you'd have to wash 'em out.

[abcdefz]

PONG



We got Pong from Sears for $100 when it first came out. Amazingly, it didn't get old for quite a while.

-- and when it was time to eat, but you had a game going -- ? You could fix the paddles in such a position that te ball would just keep ponging back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. then, when you were done eating, you'd each grab a paddle and count to three, and game was on again.

[Pootytang]

Remember Kangaroo shoes? The ones with the pocket on the sides. Reeboks also came in around that time period. Spuds Mckenzie was the man (Dog). Coca Cola introduced us to over priced advertisement with their overpriced clothing. Thank you 80's for such wonderful memories.

[abcdefz]

Remember Kangaroo shoes? The ones with the pocket on the sides.


...I remember penny loafers....

[abcdefz]

How many of us watched Motown 25 the night that Michael Jackson moonwalked?


*raises hand*


"I like the old songs... but I like the new songs, too...."

[beastiegirrl101]

Remember Kangaroo shoes?

YES! With the zippers...I had purple and yellow ones.

British Knights.

[hardnox71]

...I remember penny loafers....
I actually put pennies in mine.

[Pootytang]

...I remember penny loafers....
I hadn't thought of those in a long time. Please don't bring them up again because it made me sick to my stomach. :D

[Pootytang]

How many of us watched Motown 25 the night that Michael Jackson moonwalked?


*raises hand*


"I like the old songs... but I like the new songs, too...."Me and I couldn't believe what I was seeing at the time. WOW, that was sucha craze.

[abcdefz]

I actually put pennies in mine.


You did?


Oh, well. I had a pink Aizod. That probably makes us even.

[abcdefz]

Me and I couldn't believe what I was seeing at the time. WOW, that was sucha craze.


It was jaw-dropping. And fucking everybody was buzzing about it at school the next day. Such a holy shit moment: my much-hated brother and I actually bonded over that.

[hardnox71]

You did?


Oh, well. I had a pink Aizod. That probably makes us even.
Yeah. Everybody here in the Midwest did. That was how you wore them. Right on top of the shoe was a little slit for decoration. Well, you pry it open, jam a penny in there and flatten it out and you were good to go. Some kids put dimes or nickels. Quarters were too big.

You mean Izod? The little alligator? I didn't have any pink, thank God, but my grandmother, for some cruel, cruel reason kept buying me yellow shit. For years. I don't know why she would do something like that to me. To this day I can't fucking stand yellow.

[abcdefz]

Yeah. Everybody here in the Midwest did. That was how you wore them. Right on top of the shoe was a little slit for decoration. Well, you pry it open, jam a penny in there and flatten it out and you were good to go. Some kids put dimes or nickels. Quarters were too big.




Yeah, I know the drill; I just thought I was too cool for that, but secretly longed to conform.



You mean Izod? The little alligator? I didn't have any pink, thank God, but my grandmother, for some cruel, cruel reason kept buying me yellow shit. For years. I don't know why she would do something like that to me. To this day I can't fucking stand yellow.



I had a yellow Aizod, too. That looked really good in the summer when I was all tan and had my sun-bleached blond afro. :D

[jennyb]

Remote Controls were not even a thought yet. I take that back because I was the remote control, my dad would tell me to get up and change the channel and not give him any lip.

hahah, yeah how bout the first 'remote' controls that had a cord on them?! I remember those....(lb)

[Laver1969]

I never had the Commodore...I had the Atari 400 and that was hooked up to my television.

And I used to save/collect those little HBO magazines.

My first stereo had a turntable, radio, tape deck, and an 8-track...I think we bought it by saving some sort of grocery store coupons. :D

[The Notorious LOL]

I got a Commodore 64 on a whim at a flea market. Laras cat uses the box as a bed...I still havent decided if I will hook it up and buy games for it or just re-sell it on ebay.

[ampm]

For instance: the pull-top can. I was thinking how, when I was a kid, if you went barefoot in the summer, every now and the you might cut your foot at the beach or in the park beacsue someone pulled the ring off their soda can and tossed the ring to the ground.

I used to put those pull-tops in the can after I opened it. Funny I never swallowed the ring.

[Echewta]

I remember my friends and I pilling into my dad's VW bus to go see Tron in the theatre and dropping our jaws. Then going to Disneyland that same year and going to the Starcade where they had like 10 Tron video games lined up with screens above them so that you could watch without looking over the shoulder.

I remember when Defender came out at the ice cream store down the street. I thought it made pacman look like shit and it seemed like only the cool kids played Defender while the masses played pacman etc.

AD&D sessions all night.

T&C Suft Design, CatchIt!, Gordon and Smith shirts.

Vaurnet glasses.

Watching scrambled porn on Select TV.

watching my friends do thing with the phone when you could do things with the phone.

Being on the first BBS in the area. 1 person at a time and I had email. Crazy.

Watching the shuttle land for the first time and being pissed because i had to turn the 2600 off.

[wanton wench]

Remember Kangaroo shoes? The ones with the pocket on the sides.
i had the kangaroo shoes. :eek: they were purple and i could never find anything to put in that stupid little pocket.

what about BUTTON YOUR FLY?

anyone? anyone?

[ericlee]

British Knights.

i hated those damn shoes. All they were was ghettoized Reebok knockoffs.

[hardnox71]

1. T&C Suft Design, CatchIt!, Gordon and Smith shirts.

2. Watching scrambled porn on Select TV.

1. Everything I've typed up til now Chewie was in reference to my growing up in Chicago. Your post just took me all the way back to El Cajon and Imperial Beach. Everything I owned was Town and Country or Maui and Sons or Lightening Bolt, Stubbies or Ocean Pacific. And I wore nothing but Vans. Good childhood memories in Cali. (y)

2. This shit used to give me a headache after a while.

[Dorothy Wood]

no atms. if you didn't actually go to the bank before friday at 5, you were shit out of luck for weekend cash.

no answering machines. you missed a call, you missed a call.

speak and spell

sit-n-spin

[The Notorious LOL]

JIMMY Z SHIRTS!

[JimmyTheScumbag]

ON TV

1 cable
1 channel

Rocky III

[Echewta]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlAvQOi1WZM&search=treasure%20hunt

[Pootytang]

hahah, yeah how bout the first 'remote' controls that had a cord on them?! I remember those....(lb)
I remember those. I also remember the corded remote control cars. They majorly sucked because the cord was like 5 feet long.

[jennyb]

Vaurnet glasses.

omg yes... I had some neon pink ones :o

speak and spell

*sigh* luv it!

How bout Simon?! I played that shit for hours.

Hey speaking of sneakers, n e one remember "Zips"? The commercial had these kids making a Z in the sand. So I used to do that with mine.

I also remember iron-ons being widely available. I remember this shop where you could pick out the t-shirt you wanted and then the iron-on and they'd hook it up for you right there. I miss those.

Also remember when rainbows didn't mean you were, well, homosexual? I used to have all sorts of rainbow stuff.

Wanna know something kinda weird? My old Strawberry Shortcake doll still kinda smells like strawberry chemicals! :eek:

[g-mile7]

man i cant stand old people. especially people who are 8 years older than me, theyre 8 years closer to death. phoney ass djs thinking they can bust my chops when practically cant even bust theyre balls im even a better producer chump. backstreet boy looking snitch (no muscles tho) go listen to youre watered down rap shit. ill devour you/no homo

[Laver1969]

I remember those. I also remember the corded remote control cars. They majorly sucked because the cord was like 5 feet long.

They still make those corded remote control cars. :)

Who remembers SWATCH Watches?

[jennyb]

Who remembers SWATCH Watches?

Remembers? Shit son, I still purchase them today! :o I remember getting the scratch guards for em. I sure wish I had some of my old ones from back in the day, I'd be rich from selling them on ebay. Man I even used to have a swatch telephone in my bedroom.

[GreenEarthAl]

I used to CRUSH everybody in hand-held red dash football.

Wouldn't football be so much better if the cornerbacks could run into one end zone and appear out the other one?

[Yeti]

sit-n-spin

I picked up a gal at a pub and took her home. We played sit-n-spin till the early mourn.

[Documad]

How about hand held video games? The most excitement around in my day was this football game that had red dashes as the men. Pong was the hip game for tv.
OMG. We had pong, but my friend's brother had the handheld football game. How I wanted one of those!

We still have a drive-in movie place. It's not the same without the metal speaker things, and I can't handle all the minivans and SUVs. :rolleyes: Drive-ins are for having drunk sex -- not for car seats. :(

I babysat for a couple who had a phone, in their car. It was amazing.

My uncle had one of the first TI calculators. He had the first calculator that I ever saw in real life. That sucker was HUGE and it couldn't even find a square root.

[jennyb]

I picked up a gal at a pub and took her home. We played sit-n-spin till the early mourn.

oh my

[Documad]

I can't remember where I saw them mentioned, but we also had Jarts. My friend had a lake place with a deck out back and we got drunk and played Jarts from the deck onto the lawn and someone got a Jart in the head. He lived but had slight facial scarring. Jarts were recalled shortly after that, but it wasn't related to our accident. I was working at Target and I remember when they rounded up all the Jarts.

I also remember when they rounded up all the Tylenol because someone was poisoned. And when they took tampons off the shelf because of the first toxic shock cases.

I remember when families handed out hand-made treats on Halloween. Then we started to hear about nasty stuff and my mom confiscated all the pixie sticks that I got in case there was poison inside.

[hardnox71]

Hey speaking of sneakers, n e one remember "Zips"? The commercial had these kids making a Z in the sand. So I used to do that with mine.
I remember Zips. You remember Jox? I had a couple of pairs of those in first grade.


My uncle had one of the first TI calculators. He had the first calculator that I ever saw in real life. That sucker was HUGE and it couldn't even find a square root.
I had a Texas Instruments calculator that looked like a little brown owl. Anybody else?

[beastiegirrl101]

I also had Punky Brewster hi tops that glowed in the dark.

[hardnox71]

I had an ET alarm clock. When the alarm went off his neck would stretch about four inches and his finger and chest would glow. You turned the alarm off by pushing his head back down. I had so much ET shit. I was a dork. Jesus, I can't believe that was 25 years ago already.

[abcdefz]

hahah, yeah how bout the first 'remote' controls that had a cord on them?! I remember those....(lb)


My JVC VCR had one of those.

[abcdefz]

I used to put those pull-tops in the can after I opened it.



Yeah -- that was -- ironically, as you point out -- the smart thing to do.

[abcdefz]

no atms. if you didn't actually go to the bank before friday at 5, you were shit out of luck for weekend cash.





Our banks were open for a few hours on Saturdays. Or you could always cash a check at the grocery store.

[miss soul fire]

Do people walk barefoot on the beach?
I do it sometimes, but next to the sea, of course.
I'm afraid of the can things you talked about.

Yeah, TV sucked. I only got cable in 1996 and here there are still many people who don't have it.

Cel phones...wow!!!

[abcdefz]

I also remember iron-ons being widely available. I remember this shop where you could pick out the t-shirt you wanted and then the iron-on and they'd hook it up for you right there. I miss those.




...places like Spencer's Gifts had those.




Also remember when rainbows didn't mean you were, well, homosexual? I used to have all sorts of rainbow stuff.



I was just thinking of rainbow suspenders, circa Mork Era.

[abcdefz]

I can't remember where I saw them mentioned, but we also had Jarts. My friend had a lake place with a deck out back and we got drunk and played Jarts from the deck onto the lawn and someone got a Jart in the head. He lived but had slight facial scarring. Jarts were recalled shortly after that, but it wasn't related to our accident. I was working at Target and I remember when they rounded up all the Jarts.




We had Jarts. (y) Jarts was a very nice game.

[miss soul fire]

I miss Atari.:(

[abcdefz]

I liked a lot of Atari/Activision/etc. games.

Pitfall was cool.

I remember shovelling snow in Indiana for a couple of weekends to get $40 to buy Atari's version of backgammon.

[miss soul fire]

I liked a lot of Atari/Activision/etc. games.

Pitfall was cool.

I remember shovelling snow in Indiana for a couple of weekends to get $40 to buy Atari's version of backgammon.
Pitfall was my favourite!!! I miss stepping on those crocodile's eyes!:D

[abcdefz]

Pitfall was my favourite!!! I miss stepping on those crocodile's eyes!:D

:D

I remember when Ms. PacMan came out on Atari... took the catridge over to my friend's, and three of us played. Then I chugged -- literally -- about a quart of vodka and later sort of came out of a vodka trance with some enormous score, and the other guys were just kinnd of amusedly/patiently waiting for me to fuck up so they could get a turn.

[Pootytang]

Do you guys remember the game called Stampede? You were riding on the back of a horse roping calves. I played that game until I broke my Atari.

[abcdefz]

Do you guys remember the game called Stampede? You were riding on the back of a horse roping calves. I played that game until I broke my Atari.


Was that an Activision game? I dimly remember a box cover, but we didn't have the game.

[yeahwho]

Flowbee Haircut and a bottle of the New Coke baby

[hardnox71]

I'm probably gonna catch hell for this but I have to admit, I actually liked clear Pepsi. :o

[Pootytang]

Was that an Activision game? I dimly remember a box cover, but we didn't have the game.
The game was from activision, but was made for atari.

[jennyb]

I'm probably gonna catch hell for this but I have to admit, I actually liked clear Pepsi. :o

hahahahahaaaaaaaa

wait a min, did somebody say Jarts? Shit I have some in my garage! (y) We wear helmets when we play with them though. Heh heh.

[miss soul fire]

:D

I remember when Ms. PacMan came out on Atari... took the catridge over to my friend's, and three of us played. Then I chugged -- literally -- about a quart of vodka and later sort of came out of a vodka trance with some enormous score, and the other guys were just kinnd of amusedly/patiently waiting for me to fuck up so they could get a turn.
Hihihihi! Damn, packman!!! Still awesome!!!:D (y)

[abcdefz]

I'm afraid of the can things you talked about.



...I don't think detachable pull tabs are even used anymore.

Are they?

I remember a couple of stabs at bio-degradable beer cans in the '70's.

There's a blast from the past -- BEER CAN COLLECTING. (y)

Or how about the C.B. radio craze?

[abcdefz]

The game was from activision, but was made for atari.


Right, right -- yeah, I remember the box cover.

Centipede for Atari totally sucked.

[miss soul fire]

This has nothing to do with this thread, but I gotta say that every time that I see a-z's avatar I think he's a damn pirate!!! Hihihihi!:D :p

[abcdefz]

Booty. Booty.

[Documad]

I also remember iron-ons being widely available. I remember this shop where you could pick out the t-shirt you wanted and then the iron-on and they'd hook it up for you right there. I miss those.
Shirt Shack! I bought the most embarrassing t-shirt there in 7th or 8th grade and I didn't buy another t-shirt until I started buying concert t-shirts in high school.


Also remember when rainbows didn't mean you were, well, homosexual?
I had a rainbow in the back window of my first car. :)

[skra75]

YES! With the zippers...I had purple and yellow ones.

British Knights.

my roos were busted ass joints. they were navy blue and i wore them out until the side started talking. me and my buddies would gather at our playground and try to pop-and-lock on an old fridge box, it was sweet. I was jealous of my man toby's japanese flag headband. that guy could boogie.

I recall my BK's, I was so proud of them. I used to look down at the little gold diamond and grin.

[hardnox71]

Shirt Shack!
And the Boston Shirt Yard.