My grandparents had a wall-mounted rotary phone up until just a few years ago. My 20 year old adopted daughter (probably 16 or 17 at the time) didn't know what it was...and what was funnier was seeing her try to push the "buttons" on the rotary phone.

Yes, she is a natural blonde (though she has been through every hair color they sell).

I remember when.. a man's word and a handshake were all you needed to make a deal for anything...a car, a cow, a horse, or whatever.

You had one thing to play with----outside

If you did something wrong at a friends house,his mom would give you a whipping,and then when you got home you got it again.

Getting your mouth washed out with soap for saying a bad word.

Rabbit ear antenna on the tv with aluminum foil wrapped around the end for better reception.

When was the last time you actually "rolled up" a car window?
Ice trays in the freezer.
Walking to and from school.
Riding a bike to the quick mart for a snack.

The kids around me still do those two things all the time.

You could get into a fight with fists....and no guns were ever thought of...

roll up windows in my work truck and zippers in my jeep. Ice trays because I haven't gotten around to fixing the ice maker

There were "doe days" and wearing hunter orange was suggested not mandatory.

Sears and JC Penney sold guns and ammo.

You could buy a box of fifty .22 bullets for 50 cents all over town.

Ok, I am old enough to remember all of those things and more. I remember Iron Lungs and leg braces from polio before that was finally wiped out in our country. I remember small pox vaccination because it was alive and well. I remember out houses on a hot steamy August afternoon. I remember watching my grandfather on my mother's side, a physician, die of lung cancer because no one knew any better than to smoke. I remember when a lot of my friend's dad were dead at ages 50 to sixty because there was no heart surgery. I remember the dirty air because of the industry that was feeding our country. I remember friends who died in car crashes because there were no seat belts, and a car was worn out at 100000 miles.
But I remember the freedom I had as a kid. I remember listening to Gun Smoke on the radio. I remember when the country was open and you could hunt and fish about anywhere. I remember when there were five editions of the paper every day. We could not wear blue jeans to school. You could take shop and actually learn something. I remember honest to goodness army surplus. That was before the armed services wore camo, The army and marines wore green fatigues and the navy wore blue. Stuff from Japan was cheap junk. There were more than three major auto companies in the US and the only import was a VW. It had a four speed transmission, almost all the other cars had three on the tree. Tires went flat, not blow out because most speed limits were below 60, and tires did not last 20000 miles. I know there were homosexuals, but no one saw them or even talked about them. Kids were punished for being bad. They were spanked, some were beaten and so were some wives. Remember when a radio and a heater were options on a new car? And mechanical brakes, and no power steering.
I remember when there were enough quail to make a days hunt worth while, and freezing on a deer stand during a dog drive in south Alabama because there were no deer in north Alabama. A days fishing was a jon boat with a paddle and a pole and worms. How many of you can use a two man cross cut saw? Its harder than you think. Once in this great land there was not right to an attorney if you were in trouble, no Maranda rights, and the cops could and would beat the snoot out of you for a confession. But then again there were no SWAT teams either. At one time you were expected to have enough education when you graduated high school to make a good life.
I remember the time before I was married, the hell I raised and the fun I thought I was having. That changed. Now I can not imagine setting the clock back to that time before my long suffering wife was in my life. I don't want the time before there was Scott (doe killer) and Jimm, the sons I love so much and of whom I am so proud.
Yes there were good things in the past. But my observation is that life overall is better now than it has ever been. Sure I miss my cowboy heroes, and the friends who have gone on before me, but all in all I am glad for what my life is now and would not trade it for anyone else's, or for another time or place.
Remember sitting in school, with the windows open, sweating so much our arm stuck to the paper and the ink on the fountain pen you were trying to use blotted? I like my AC and the ball point pen. I could do with out my cell phone, and except for talking to friends like you all, I would love to junk my computer.
I guess this will serve as my milestone, I just noticed that I have posted over 1000 posts. I had meant to write something profound and humorous, but this will do. I have lived a long life, compared to many of my contemporaries. I have had good times, really good times and pretty bad times. I am here due to the Grace of God, and I owe to him all of the credit. Thank you all for putting up with an old man and his ramblings. Bill Brower

Great post JS

Great post judge.

You can learn alot by just talking to your parents about the old days.

My dad was one of seven children born on a farm in rural Houston County. His dad (my grandfather) was a sharecropper and never owned any of the land he farmed. Times were always tough. My dad was the oldest son and quit school in the 7th grade to work on the farm.

I asked him once how they carried drinking water to the fields when they worked. He said they would fill mason jars with water from the well and leave them in the shade at the end of the cotton rows. He said in the summer, his mother would strain the water from the well with a piece of cloth to remove the mosquito eggs. After one particularly bad year on the farm, the bank came and repossessed everything they owned. He said his mother grabbed their milk cow and ran in the woods. Probably saved the family.

My dad joined the Air Force in 1949 (became a separate service in 1947) to escape the povery of the farm. After boot camp he was sent to Germany during the Berlin Airlift. Went over on a troop ship. Said it was a pretty rough trip for a country boy from lower Alabama who had never seen the ocean before.

Tough times for sure.

x2

Most older people I know will tell you that these are the good ol' days.

Bill that was an amazing post. It was as real as anything I have ever read on here. Congratulations on the Milestone.

When democrats were physical conservatives.

Great post Judge!!

If you got thirsty get you a drink out of someone`s hose pipe.

When ANY adult would bust that butt for acting out.
A dollar would buy a coke, bag of peanuts and a kite with string.
Using old Nuts and Bolts to weigh bush hooks down.
Run thru woods without shirt or shoes and only short pants.
Baseball with a stick and pine cone
Black and white Werewolf and Frankenstein movies after Saturday morning wrestling
Bush-hogging all day was fun

Running home after school to watch "Dark Shadows" on TV.

Man that was a scary show.