I remember most of the things mentioned in this thread.
I remember playing the game called "smear the queer" in elementary school on the playground. The name and the game would be banned today as politically incorrect. There would be an uproar if kids played the game today.
For those who do not know the game it is simple.
One person would have possession of a ball. The object of the game is for everyone else to "smear" (tackle, bring to the ground, jump on and beat up until the person no longer had the ball) the person with the ball. Once possession of the ball changed hands the new person with the ball would be targeted by the others to be smeared.
Playing this game quickly revealed the character and mind set of the people who played it.
You would discover that people:
would never, ever want to have possession of the ball;
would always want to have possession of the ball but would never, ever want to be caught by other people while having possession of the ball (they would throw it to someone else the instant before they were caught and smeared);
would always want to have possession of the ball and would never, every willingly give up possession of the ball (even after being caught, tackled, and beaten they would not give it up and would force others to take it from them);
would always want to play the game by simply chasing (but never catching) the person with the ball;
would always want to play the game by chasing and smearing the person with the ball;
would have possession of the ball and laugh out loud and have fun the entire time;
would have possession of the ball and would be terrified the entire time;
would (if the person was quick and fast) take great joy in being chased but never caught with the ball (by staying just out of reach of those in pursuit and getting rid of the ball the instant before being caught); and
would take great joy in having possession of the ball and intentionally seeking out another student who was timid and giving the ball to that person (in order to see the terror on the timid student's face when he realized he was now going to be smeared).
Politically incorrect name of the game aside, playing that game was an absolute blast.
I remember ashtrays on all the tables in restaurants, then just in the smoking section. Now no more smoking sections.
And smoking sections in the rear of flights, with a little sign that stuck in the back of the seat that divided one section from another "no smoking in any rows forward of this sign" (or some such)
1.One of my textbooks was "the shelter survey technician book", for analyzing the effectiveness of existing fallout shelters in the US.
2. I remember when elementary schools had 2 to 4 foot thick concrete basements walls, to help with the above.
3.
In 1966 and 1967 when I was on Christmas break from college I managed to land a job as a Christmas mailman at the local post office. The pay was $3.85 per hour a huge sum for a college student.
So funny about that game with the ball some wrote about. In the mid 1960's that game at my Elementary School was called "Mall Ball" -- basically mall the guy with the ball. Needless to say it seemed barbaric to me! LOL. I played dodgeball and kickball instead, which seemed more interesting (more strategic). Or maybe I just didn't have any desire to get killed!
I started working at $.90/hr at 13. Dairy Queen and Tastee Freeze had permits to hire kids (could only work the ice cream side)...I quit when I turned 16 and went to the big time McD at $1.65 (or so).
I'm not that old, but my mother invented dirt, before she came along people walked around on rocks.
@SanctionII said:
I remember most of the things mentioned in this thread.
I remember playing the game called "smear the queer" in elementary school on the playground. The name and the game would be banned today as politically incorrect. There would be an uproar if kids played the game today.
We'd play that as well, and it was a blast. Also in as many adjoining back yards as possible. We referred to the game as either "smear the queer" or "kill the guy." Both had the same rules, which were about as rigid as those of Calvinball, yet everyone knew instinctively what they were.
Additionally, someone could call out for a "monkey pile" on the guy with the ball, which compelled everyone playing to pile onto the ball carrier after they were brought down.
I actually remember all the above, plus 'war tokens' - still have a couple, and ice wagons... to bring ice for your freezer/refrigerator. I helped deliver milk (glass bottles, cardboard stoppers) as a kid.... margarine, because butter was rationed and expensive..... 7 inch TV screen.... Yeah... I was around when growing up was fun...outdoors all the time..... Cheers, RickO
@ricko said:
I actually remember all the above, plus 'war tokens' - still have a couple, and ice wagons... to bring ice for your freezer/refrigerator. I helped deliver milk (glass bottles, cardboard stoppers) as a kid.... margarine, because butter was rationed and expensive.....
I have some of the OPA ration tokens that my grandmother gave me - Red and Blue.
I also have heard stories of what my aunt calls "Oleo Margarine" - it came with a packet of yellow powder so you could mix it in to resemble butter.
I do recall once or twice the knife sharpening guy going down the street with his cart.
Silver coins were still pretty common in change when I started collecting. But with an allowance of 50 cents I could not afford to spend 25 cents to put a quarter in my collection. So I did just dimes and only if I didn't already have that date.
Successful BST deals with mustangt and jesbroken. Now EVERYTHING is for sale.
@BillyKingsley said:
Being born in 1984 I missed some interesting things. I remember before the internet was a thing anyone talked about or even knew what it was.
You are just a "baby" BillyKingsley; 34yrs old is hardly old enough
I am old enough to have driven one of these, a 1957 Nash Ambassador, which was the last year for the Nash nameplate. In subsequent years it would be Ramblers and American Motors.
This was my father’s car, which he bought new in late 1956. He thought that I could drive it as a teenager. The trouble was the automatic transmission was the car’s weak link, and it went out, again. So, I didn’t get the drive it for very long.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
@SanctionII said:
Playing this game quickly revealed the character and mind set of the people who played it.
You would discover that people:
would never, ever want to have possession of the ball;
would always want to have possession of the ball but would never, ever want to be caught by other people while having possession of the ball (they would throw it to someone else the instant before they were caught and smeared);
would always want to have possession of the ball and would never, every willingly give up possession of the ball (even after being caught, tackled, and beaten they would not give it up and would force others to take it from them);
would always want to play the game by simply chasing (but never catching) the person with the ball;
would always want to play the game by chasing and smearing the person with the ball;
would have possession of the ball and laugh out loud and have fun the entire time;
would have possession of the ball and would be terrified the entire time;
would (if the person was quick and fast) take great joy in being chased but never caught with the ball (by staying just out of reach of those in pursuit and getting rid of the ball the instant before being caught); and
would take great joy in having possession of the ball and intentionally seeking out another student who was timid and giving the ball to that person (in order to see the terror on the timid student's face when he realized he was now going to be smeared).
Politically incorrect name of the game aside, playing that game was an absolute blast.
This is about as fine a metaphoric description of human relations as I've ever run across.
The knowledge, wisdom and experience acquired from spending time on the playground can serve one well throughout their lives
I also remember summer vacations where the norm for kids was:
little, if any, organized activities;
at the end of each day you and your friends would (in person or by phone) decide what to do the next day and when/where to show up;
each morning you would wake up, have breakfast, leave the house to meet up with your friends and be gone the entire day (except maybe you would show up for lunch if your mom made same for you and your friends);
you and your friends would do whatever the group wanted (swimming, bike riding, skate boarding, sandlot baseball, sandlot football, basketball, going to the mall, going to movies, going roller skating at the roller rink, playing cops and robbers, playing cowboys and indians, etc.);
parents would not be around during the day and all you were expected to do is show up for dinner.
No helicopter parents, no schedule to meet and no organized team sports or other activities (well maybe little league and a week or two of summer camp). Fun times.
When I played the "smear" game my mindset fluctuated between:
wanting the ball and never willingly giving it up (even though keeping it did hurt); and
wanting the ball, then keeping the ball until the very last moment possible and throwing it into the hands of another person to avoid being smeared.
I never understood those persons who would not want the ball and avoid it at all costs (sometimes a person would have the ball thrown at them and they would simply not catch it and run from it, or they would catch it, scream and then throw it far away even if no one was within 10 yards of them).
When I played the "smear" game my mindset fluctuated between:
wanting the ball and never willingly giving it up (even though keeping it did hurt); and
wanting the ball, then keeping the ball until the very last moment possible and throwing it into the hands of another person to avoid being smeared.
I never understood those persons who would not want the ball and avoid it at all costs (sometimes a person would have the ball thrown at them and they would simply not catch it and run from it, or they would catch it, scream and then throw it far away even if no one was within 10 yards of them).
If you can't hang onto it you just throw it to the guy that has it coming.
I've got many of these same memories.
I grew up in the 1960s in New Jersey. We got UHF channels out of New York and Philadelphia, and had more channel options than most. My favorite cartoon was "Tobor the EIghth Man". Have not heard that one mentioned by anyone else in 50 years.
My two main jobs every night were to sit by the TV and be my Dad's remote control when he wanted to change a channel or the volume. Also, after dinner I would re-fill the three aluminum ice-cube makers that went in the freezer so we'd have ice the next day.
I mostly spent my pop bottle deposit money on baseball cards, and comic books I bought at a flea market. The comics would have the title page cut off but would otherwise be new, and instead of the normal 15 or 20 cents, you could get those for 6 cents each, or five for a quarter
Comments
...And the blue fish.
I remember most of the things mentioned in this thread.
I remember playing the game called "smear the queer" in elementary school on the playground. The name and the game would be banned today as politically incorrect. There would be an uproar if kids played the game today.
For those who do not know the game it is simple.
One person would have possession of a ball. The object of the game is for everyone else to "smear" (tackle, bring to the ground, jump on and beat up until the person no longer had the ball) the person with the ball. Once possession of the ball changed hands the new person with the ball would be targeted by the others to be smeared.
Playing this game quickly revealed the character and mind set of the people who played it.
You would discover that people:
would never, ever want to have possession of the ball;
would always want to have possession of the ball but would never, ever want to be caught by other people while having possession of the ball (they would throw it to someone else the instant before they were caught and smeared);
would always want to have possession of the ball and would never, every willingly give up possession of the ball (even after being caught, tackled, and beaten they would not give it up and would force others to take it from them);
would always want to play the game by simply chasing (but never catching) the person with the ball;
would always want to play the game by chasing and smearing the person with the ball;
would have possession of the ball and laugh out loud and have fun the entire time;
would have possession of the ball and would be terrified the entire time;
would (if the person was quick and fast) take great joy in being chased but never caught with the ball (by staying just out of reach of those in pursuit and getting rid of the ball the instant before being caught); and
would take great joy in having possession of the ball and intentionally seeking out another student who was timid and giving the ball to that person (in order to see the terror on the timid student's face when he realized he was now going to be smeared).
Politically incorrect name of the game aside, playing that game was an absolute blast.
I remember ashtrays on all the tables in restaurants, then just in the smoking section. Now no more smoking sections.
And smoking sections in the rear of flights, with a little sign that stuck in the back of the seat that divided one section from another "no smoking in any rows forward of this sign" (or some such)
Coin World was on the newsstand as a folded tabloid with two thick sections crammed with ads & articles. The 2nd section was mostly classified ads.
Coinlearner, Ahrensdad, Nolawyer, RG, coinlieutenant, Yorkshireman, lordmarcovan, Soldi, masscrew, JimTyler, Relaxn, jclovescoins
Now listen boy, I'm tryin' to teach you sumthin' . . . . that ain't an optical illusion, it only looks like an optical illusion.
My mind reader refuses to charge me....
1.One of my textbooks was "the shelter survey technician book", for analyzing the effectiveness of existing fallout shelters in the US.
2. I remember when elementary schools had 2 to 4 foot thick concrete basements walls, to help with the above.
3.
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
Rex Trailer and Boomtown
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
In 1966 and 1967 when I was on Christmas break from college I managed to land a job as a Christmas mailman at the local post office. The pay was $3.85 per hour a huge sum for a college student.
I'm so old, my typewriter doesn't have a J, U, W, or numbers on it.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
So funny about that game with the ball some wrote about. In the mid 1960's that game at my Elementary School was called "Mall Ball" -- basically mall the guy with the ball. Needless to say it seemed barbaric to me! LOL. I played dodgeball and kickball instead, which seemed more interesting (more strategic). Or maybe I just didn't have any desire to get killed!
My Coin Blog
My Toned Lincoln Registry Set
I started working at $.90/hr at 13. Dairy Queen and Tastee Freeze had permits to hire kids (could only work the ice cream side)...I quit when I turned 16 and went to the big time McD at $1.65 (or so).
I'm not that old, but my mother invented dirt, before she came along people walked around on rocks.
You real old timers forgot to mention nickel cigars...
I am old enough to remember much of this stuff and to at least have known about all of it.
Some random memories:
We'd play that as well, and it was a blast. Also in as many adjoining back yards as possible. We referred to the game as either "smear the queer" or "kill the guy." Both had the same rules, which were about as rigid as those of Calvinball, yet everyone knew instinctively what they were.
Additionally, someone could call out for a "monkey pile" on the guy with the ball, which compelled everyone playing to pile onto the ball carrier after they were brought down.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
.
I actually remember all the above, plus 'war tokens' - still have a couple, and ice wagons... to bring ice for your freezer/refrigerator. I helped deliver milk (glass bottles, cardboard stoppers) as a kid.... margarine, because butter was rationed and expensive..... 7 inch TV screen.... Yeah... I was around when growing up was fun...outdoors all the time..... Cheers, RickO
I have some of the OPA ration tokens that my grandmother gave me - Red and Blue.
I also have heard stories of what my aunt calls "Oleo Margarine" - it came with a packet of yellow powder so you could mix it in to resemble butter.
I do recall once or twice the knife sharpening guy going down the street with his cart.
wow!
I must be very old.
I remember most of the above.
But, I do remember the first time I got gas for my (newly acquired) car, a 1964 Chevy Impala, as it cost 17.9 cents a gallon.
$2 got me pretty far.
The nest week I yelled at the gas guy for being a crook, since the gas jumped up to $19.9 cents a gallon! over a 10% increase.
BHNC #203
TV WAS FREE. THE ROTARY PHONE . HAMS BEER. THE CELTICS NEVER LOST.
What else?
Oh, I only kept a few 1909 VDB's, since they weren't scarce at all.
A guy in junior high school found a 1909 S VDB!
I found a 1922 plain, but it wasn't listed, so I figured it wasn't worth anything.
BHNC #203
Silver coins were still pretty common in change when I started collecting. But with an allowance of 50 cents I could not afford to spend 25 cents to put a quarter in my collection. So I did just dimes and only if I didn't already have that date.
Successful BST deals with mustangt and jesbroken. Now EVERYTHING is for sale.
You are just a "baby" BillyKingsley; 34yrs old is hardly old enough
I am old enough to have driven one of these, a 1957 Nash Ambassador, which was the last year for the Nash nameplate. In subsequent years it would be Ramblers and American Motors.
This was my father’s car, which he bought new in late 1956. He thought that I could drive it as a teenager. The trouble was the automatic transmission was the car’s weak link, and it went out, again. So, I didn’t get the drive it for very long.
And his horse Gold Rush. Ah, those were the days.
This is about as fine a metaphoric description of human relations as I've ever run across.
Here's a warning parable for coin collectors...
Gold was fixed at $35/oz. One could put together a nice 8-piece type set for maybe $250.
The knowledge, wisdom and experience acquired from spending time on the playground can serve one well throughout their lives
I also remember summer vacations where the norm for kids was:
little, if any, organized activities;
at the end of each day you and your friends would (in person or by phone) decide what to do the next day and when/where to show up;
each morning you would wake up, have breakfast, leave the house to meet up with your friends and be gone the entire day (except maybe you would show up for lunch if your mom made same for you and your friends);
you and your friends would do whatever the group wanted (swimming, bike riding, skate boarding, sandlot baseball, sandlot football, basketball, going to the mall, going to movies, going roller skating at the roller rink, playing cops and robbers, playing cowboys and indians, etc.);
parents would not be around during the day and all you were expected to do is show up for dinner.
No helicopter parents, no schedule to meet and no organized team sports or other activities (well maybe little league and a week or two of summer camp). Fun times.
BTW.
When I played the "smear" game my mindset fluctuated between:
wanting the ball and never willingly giving it up (even though keeping it did hurt); and
wanting the ball, then keeping the ball until the very last moment possible and throwing it into the hands of another person to avoid being smeared.
I never understood those persons who would not want the ball and avoid it at all costs (sometimes a person would have the ball thrown at them and they would simply not catch it and run from it, or they would catch it, scream and then throw it far away even if no one was within 10 yards of them).
I can remember watching the Brady Bunch when it wasn't in re-runs.
If you can't hang onto it you just throw it to the guy that has it coming.
Your Social Security number is 1.
All of the above here too. I’m old as dirt
I am so old that I have never lived in a world where iPods did not exist
CCAC Representative of the General Public
Columnist for The Numismatist
2021 Young Numismatist of the Year
Baby!
That isn't old, that is barely existing
BHNC #203
i remember the smoking section on airplanes and ashtrays in the seat arms.
now it's amazon.
that's coming back in style, unfortunately
Ask any young person to say what this is.........
Pete
I'm so old I remember when a gallon of gas was 29 Cents, a bottle of pop was 5 Cents and my Mom would send me with a note to the store for Cigarettes.
BTW, you could get a penny when you returned that pop bottle!!!
Yea...........riding home from the store on my bike with a loaf of bread, and a package of "Mars Attacks" cards.
The bread fell off my bike rack and got shredded by the wheel.
Those slices flew everywhere.
Pete
I'm so old, I remember war, after war, after war, after war.
Sometimes I think I might remember to a time the meek owned the earth, or at least their place in it.
Back in my day we use to watch VHS tapes...... yeah I am not that old... haha
I don't think the meek ever inherited it, yet.
I've got many of these same memories.
I grew up in the 1960s in New Jersey. We got UHF channels out of New York and Philadelphia, and had more channel options than most. My favorite cartoon was "Tobor the EIghth Man". Have not heard that one mentioned by anyone else in 50 years.
My two main jobs every night were to sit by the TV and be my Dad's remote control when he wanted to change a channel or the volume. Also, after dinner I would re-fill the three aluminum ice-cube makers that went in the freezer so we'd have ice the next day.
I mostly spent my pop bottle deposit money on baseball cards, and comic books I bought at a flea market. The comics would have the title page cut off but would otherwise be new, and instead of the normal 15 or 20 cents, you could get those for 6 cents each, or five for a quarter