Roswila's Dream & Poetry Realm

SEE ALSO: TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT (photos, realistic to abstract)

Thursday, March 01, 2007

YOU MIGHT BE OLDER THAN DIRT, IF....



This picture is from an ad in a catalogue with all sorts of t-shirts. I've had it in my journal for ages for a quick fix when I need a good laugh.

I must be older than dirt, as the only one that doesn't totally apply to me is number 8. However, I am familiar with the brand name, though I never owned a pair. Out of curiosity I googled "P.F. Flyers" and the site says they are "canvas shoes with a posture foundation." LOL! I.e., sneakers, and the earliest had high tops, no less (at least from the pictures I saw).

As to the others, I clearly recall making myself sick on candy cigarettes and the sickly sweet liquid in the wax Coke-shaped bottles. I'd even then chew on the wax.

I loved all kinds of gum (Bazooka bubble gum -- yum), though blackjack was a bit too saliva inducing even for me.

Not only do I remember home delivery of milk in glass bottles, but on the same front porch the milk was left, stood an ice box. Yes, an ice box, not a refrigerator. The block of ice for it was also delivered on that same wooden front porch.

I remember what must have been the transition time from party-lines to single-user lines, as we never had a party-line. But I recall being surprised when a school friend's family did and I had to wait to call home for permission to stay over for dinner.

Not only do I remember those black and white newsreels, but I fondly recall double-features being the norm. You always got to see two movies.

And those telephone numbers with word prefixes? Oh, yes. I recall specifically "Ravenswood" and "Astoria," for example.

S&H Green Stamps! They almost caused a war in our household. Some of us would remember to save them and put them in the proper jar in the kitchen with the booklet they got glued into. Others would not and those who did felt we'd get cheated. :-D

Other memories of older-than-dirt times? Those old heavy black (land line, for any youngsters reading this) phones, with those slow rotary dials (d-d-d-d-d - shoosh --- di--shoosh -- ddd-ddd-d-d- shoosh). My father insisting they would never invent color T.V. Telegrams as a normal and usual way of contacting someone quickly when the news or greeting was of great import.

Ah, well, enough wandering down memory lane. I have future blog posts to work on and a lunch to make. If you are older-than-dirt, or close to it, what memories do you have? Leave a comment, if you'd like. I'm feeling nostalgic, in a good way for a change.

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‘til next time, keep dreaming,

Roswila

[aka: Patricia Kelly]

****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)****My other blog: ROSWILA’S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL.

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4 Comments:

At 10:02 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi, Hopkins 4-6505 here :-)

Let's just say I'm half as old as dirt, since a lot of these don't apply to a youngling like me ;-)

But I do remember the game of buying Cokes and looking at the bottom to see where the bottle came from.

We never took milk delivery, but we had the convenient delivery hatch near the back door where the bottles could be placed and we could open it from inside and retrieve them without having to unlock the back door. Dad covered over the outer door when we put on siding but for some reason never did anything with the inner door. So we kids got to have a 'secret hiding place' which in the James Bond days became the drop-box for the Commie secrets we were sneaking back to the USA...

oino

 
At 10:44 AM , Blogger Roswila said...

Hi, "half as old as dirt,"

Yes, I remember checking all sorts of glass bottles to see what their past might be. :-) I also remember feeling vaguely grossed out when I realized as a small child that the bottle I was drinking from had been used many times before. eeeewwww....

Love your "secret hiding place" story. My brother's and mine was an old chicken coop in our back yard. I've lost the wonderful old photo of our heads popping up from it when Dad surprised us there one time. I had a big strained smile, trying to assert we'd not been "caught" avoiding our chores or homework. :-)

 
At 6:26 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well, it's Edison 1-3135 here, and while we never had a party line, I remember ALL the rest, including the PF Flyers! I don't think of myself as THAT old, but remember chasing after the milkman in summer to get ice chips off the huge blocks in the back of his van. And I loved checking for milk on frosty mornings to see if the frozen milk had pushed the paper cap up off the top :)

Oy! Mary Pat

 
At 10:27 AM , Blogger Roswila said...

Mary Pat, to be honest, I don't think of myself as that old either. It's just that my body (and lists like this) keep reminding me I'm no spring chicken. :-) It's a funny dichotomy: inside ageless, outside gettin' older every day! Guess it's not so odd, we are creatures of timelessness and time, of spirit and body.

Thanks for your memories. Here's a gross out one that your milk cap memory raises: I remember finding a milk worm in the milk one time. I'd be inclined to say that's my imagination but it's soooo clear. Oy!!!!

 

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