Now & Then

[feliciakw]

From the back of my cereal box . . .


What today's generation may never experience

Pet rocks . . . (I had one.)

Bicycles with banana seats . . . (I had one.)

Flower baskets & sissy bars . . . (Had the flower basket. Assuming I'm right about what sissy bars were, my bike had those, too.)

Click Clacks . . . (These are not what I thought they were. I just googled them, and I don't remember these things at all.)

8-Tracks . . . (Oh, yes. I remember those well. They never really made sense to me for home entertainment.)

Vinyl Records . . . (Remember them well. Still have some.)

Phone booths . . . (Never actually had to use a full-sized, enclosed phone booth, but I most certainly remember the half-booth things. When I was in school, my mom made sure I had two dimes taped to the inside of my binder in case I had to call home. When I got to high school, the cost of a phone call on a pay phone had gone up to 50¢.)

Green stamps . . . (No, I don't remember those.)

Rotary phones . . . (Remember them well. Ours was a heavy black one, back when you rented the phone from the phone company.)

Super 8 movies . . . (Oh, yes. My photographer uncle made quite a few home movies. But my personal experience was my college film project, shot on Super 8.)

Aerial Signal Television . . . (Not actually going anywhere soon. That's what we've got right now because satellite wasn't worth the money.)

Test Pattern . . . (Yeah, I remember those, though probably not the ones they're referring to here. I also remember the Emergency Broadcast System test.)

Holiday movies available only once a year . . . (Yes. Which is part of what made them special.)

No Sunscreen . . . (Can't say I remember that. Even when I was little, there was Coppertone and Tropical Blend ("for the savage tan.") )

Gas at 65¢ . . . (No, I don't remember that. The cheapest gas I have conscious recollection of is about 89¢.)

Drive-in movies. (Yes. Take a paper--because there was no plastic--grocery sack of your own popcorn, your own beverages, etc, and set up at the drive-in.)

Cassettes . . . (Dude, my entire coming-of-age was spent listening to cassettes, often recorded off of the radio.)

Manual push mowers . . . (No, ours were always gasoline powered.)

Milk man . . . (I do not remember the milk man per se, but I have vague recollections of milk being delivered at home, in a plastic jug with a spigot.)

House call doctors . . . (No.)

Saddle shoes . . . (not the first time around, but I did have a pair when they came back into style when I was in college. Best pair of dance shoes I ever had.)

Skate key . . . (No. My toy skates were strap-ons, and my skating rink skates were boot skates.)

Transistor radios . . . (Not particularly, though I'm sure someone I knew probably had one.)

Encyclopedias . . . (Yes. We had a set.)

Triangular car vent windows . . . (Oh, yes! They were very convenient.)

Soda that needed a can opener . . . (No.)

Soda can pull tabs . . . (Oh, yes! And you could make chains out of them, too.)

Polyester suits . . . (My mom dressed me in polyester. Does that count?)

Business hats . . . (I'm not sure what this means . . . )

Typewriter . . . (Of course. My first term paper was written on an Olympus manual typewriter. Electric typewriters were such an advancement. Heck, the office at the PAC even had one, and I had to show one of our little college students how to address an envelope on it. I tried to explain that it was like the computer, only more hands-on. You have to set your own tabs and margins. I was also the only one in the office who knew how to change the ribbon and correct-type.)

Carbon paper . . . (Yep. Though I don't recall ever having to use it.)

Metal ice cube tray . . . (Oh, yes! Now that's a blast from the past. With the little levers.)

Milk in glass bottles . . . (No, but more recently, some of the natural/organic/raw milk companies bottle in glass.)

Television with channel knob . . . (Yes! Remote control TVs were something only rich people had.)

Penny gumball machines . . . (At the five-and-dime store.)


What yesterday's generation wishes they had

(Actually, there aren't many things on this list that I wish I'd had. I got along quite well without these things.)

Home computers . . . (Didn't miss it.)

Internet . . . (Nope.)

MP3 players . . . (Nope.)

Digital cameras . . . (Okay, now this I kinda wish I'd had. If I hadn't had to spend money on film and flash cubes, and could just delete my mistakes, I might have been more inclined to practice my photography. On the flip side, we wouldn't have had those nifty little flash cubes.)

In-line skates . . . (Meh.)

Digital video cameras . . . (I didn't miss them, though my folks probably would have loved to have one.)

High definition home video games . . . (We liked what we had. "HD" was for the arcade. Besides, it gives something to talk about now. *g*)

Electronic toll collection system . . . (I have no comment, since I don't think I've ever used an electronic toll system. I always have to hand over cash.)

Cell phones . . . (An excellent example of a need being created by the technology rather than technology answering a need. Got my first cell phone when I was driving 45 minutes one-way to work, in case something happened and I needed it in an emergency. As far as having it as a kid, see the previous list regarding phone booths.)

Satellite Television . . . (It was nice when we had it. Reference the above entry for aerial signal television.)

SPF 30 . . . (Again, no comment, really.)

Hybrid automobiles . . . (You know, if the auto industry had started developing and releasing the technology back in the 1970s, when the energy crisis began, we wouldn't be having the problems with the hybrids that we are today. Freakin' lobbies.)

Debit cards . . . (Oh, my word, no. As much as I love the convenience today, I think a lot of people have gotten themselves into financial problems because it is so easy just to swipe through a check-out. Kids need to be taught the concept and consequences of money first. Then they can have a debit card. Don't even get me started on the credit card applications that college students receive.)

Video phones . . . (Meh. Would have been nice, but very Star Trek.)

Juice boxes . . . (Okay, this could have been convenient. But then again, convenience foods are at the heart of a lot of our health problems, imo.)

Plasma television . . . (Again, might have been nice, but really, why would we have needed plasma TV in the 70s or 80s?)

Comments

[izhilzha.livejournal.com]

I think debit cards are great. They're not limitless, and quite a few banks these days won't cover if you accidentally overdraw, so it's an easier way of carrying around your bank account WITH the responsibility of making sure you know what you are spending and when...with a bite, like a $30 fee, if you forget to keep track!

Credit is the big problem.

Hey, it's kind of surprising how many of those items up there I remember (I think my dad still uses his manual lawn mower, actually). Aw.

[leelust.livejournal.com]

OMG! For a different country and different culture i saw or had/have a lot of listed things :) Vynil records! Phone booths! Rotary phones! (i still have one). Milk in glass bottles! Man, i feel all nostalgic now :)

[kerravonsen]

Different country, but a number of those things were the same for me.
Vinyl Records: yep, I still have a bunch of them that I bought when I was a teenager. I must see if I can rip them to CD.
Rotary phones: yep.
Aerial Signal Television . . . (Not actually going anywhere soon. That's what we've got right now because satellite wasn't worth the money.) Agreed on both counts.
Test Pattern: yep.
Cassettes: yep. Still have some along with the vinyl.
Milk man and milk in glass bottles: yep. Delivered every day. I even remember when the milk was not homogenized and we had to be careful that the birds didn't peck the silver foil lids off and scoff the cream.
House call doctors: not as a rule, but I've encountered two doctors in my life that made house calls; one of them still does, he makes house calls to my parents when needful. Awesome doctor.
Encyclopedias: yes, that impressively-bound Encyclopedia Britannica...
Triangular car vent windows: ah, that casts my mind back
Typewriter and carbon paper: yes. And the manual typewriter keys would stick sometimes.
Metal ice cube tray . . . (Oh, yes! Now that's a blast from the past. With the little levers.) Oh yes.
Television with channel knob: ah, yes, the days when "Channel 2" actually meant channel 2. And the two knobs, one for VHF and the other for UHF.

High definition home video games Video games? Video games? Bah! When I were a lass, we played real games, with real people and actually had social interaction, not this anti-social stuff where you hide in a dim basement and never see the light of day... 8-P
Still do play board-games, actually. With the nieflings, no less.

[saberivojo.livejournal.com]

I remember them all except gas at 65 cents, business hats, Arial signal television and I beg to differ about the Sunscreen. It was not sunscreen it was tanning lotion. It was OIL. And when we did not have that we put on baby oil. And then laid in the sun and FRIED.

[scionofgrace.livejournal.com]

Ah, my family was so odd. We owned such things as a camcorder and a personal computer at the same time as a record player and a transistor radio. (Dad loves electronics of any vintage.) We also had an encyclopedia (1967 ed.). My roomie and I still rely on over-the-air TV 'cause, y'know, the cable stuff is almost all online. For free.

I truly enjoy having internet, an MP3 player, and a debit card. Cell phones are "meh", I've never used inline skates, and there are no toll roads here.

I think we need to go back to wearing hats to work. Hats are awesome.