Missing the Little Things

There's a sharpener guy in Campo d'fiori in Rome... sorry, photos in the garage, that was in 93 and in 99 I saw him in piazza farnese, wending his bicycle...

By now he may be even more tired as he was no spring chicken then.

I know there are photos of him on the internet by other than myself as I've seen them.

Long may all his scissors be sharpened and his great grand children be well.

Roberta, this thread is great for good memories.

I miss old gas stations with the odd looking pumps and the boy who would pump the gas and clean the windshield.

We never had soda pop at home, but on a trip, it was a treat to get a bottle of Coke and drop peanuts in it. Yum.

I even remember cars with a runningboard (or whatever it was called). I had a ritual that my father would sometimes let me finish, by me climbing out the window of the car as it rolled slowly down the driveway, stand on the running board until we came to my favorite tree, which I would climb onto as the car passed. I never touched the ground if I was allowed my little ritual. Running boards were the best.

I sort of miss cars with fins--big, gaudy fins. This is fun. Thanks Boidy!

I, personally, never, sniff, put a peanut in a coke bottle.









What was I thinking?

I mess the smell of my Grandma's cooking (mostly) breakfast. I'd be upstairs in the farmhouse bedroom piled under about 4 quilts many chilly mornings, I could get the smells of bacon, bread, and Cinnamon rolls. Grandpa would come up and get me outta bed early so I could get dressed and pick-up eggs, then I could have breakfast.

The drugstore and grocery store counters always had Sen Sen near the register. Ten cent comic books had 52 pages. We had a toy Caterpillar tractor that had clockwork to propel it. That sucker ran forever and was practically indestructable (My oldest brother "borrowed" it from somebody's yard and failed to return it). The old autos had canvass water bags on them and the starter was often under the clutch pedal. I recall a couple with cranks, but was very small at the time.

I miss full service gas stations. Remember when it was considered normal to get your windows cleaned, oil & fluids checked, tires aired up and advice about what needed servicing...all for free, even with $1 worth of gas?

No wonder I can't keep track of all this stuff. I wasn't trained to.

Eva
Don't forget to collect your Green Stamps.

Roberta - hello!

I miss pull-tab sodas as well as sardine cans with keys.

tonka trucks were made of metal, so much better than plastic, everythng has become plasticised and less durable and realistic than it once was

I still have a Tonka pick up truck made of metal. It's in perfect shape, but for the paint being off in some spots.

i miss Nova shows on PBS that had actual science topics.

ehBeth, I guess we miss the way things used to be delivered--in a smaller and more recognizable way. I miss the ice cream truck with the bell. As that truck would inch its way down the block, you'd hear kids shouting up to their mothers, "Ma, throw me down a nickel." And the mothers would wrap the nickel in a tissue and throw it out the window. My mother had fairly decent aim. BTW, I'm gonna look for the mini Fudgicles. And there are still sharpener guys. I guess not in the city.

djjd, I have to admit that I wasn't crazy about those machines with the maze. Hey, gimme my soda already. Also, the melted ice was messy. On the other hand, I could go for a lime rickey.

Diane, Runningboards! They were great to sit on when the stoop was not convenient. And I think that now I'd appreciate the easier way of getting into a car. Loved those running boards. I don't necessarily miss the big fins, but I do miss the distinctive look that each car model had. I suppose to aficionados, they still look different, but to me they all look alike now. You put peanuts in your soda? Not gonna say a woid.

Husker, Scent memories are powerful, arent' they? Fresh hot aromatic breakfast. But first get the eggs--right out of the chicken.

Edgar, I remember the Sen-Sen. Never knew what it was, but I remember seeing it. And I remember indestructible toys. Or almost indestructible. Some of mine almost survived. Never had a tractor, though.

Eva, All that service spoiled you for the future.

Edgar, Green stamps! I remember my family collecting those. Filling up the books. And then consulting on what to get.

littlek, hello back atcha. At first I didn't know what you meant by pull-tab sodas, but it came back to me in a flash. Tabs that were removable. I believe they became a blight on the landscape, which is why the tabs are now not removable.

Yitwail, I agree. I don't know what Nova is now, but it ain't what it used to be.

drive-in movies

as a kid, going in your pajamas, playing around on the swings and slides under the screen and then settling in with some popcorn and soda to watch a movie

Camilla (Mrs. Prince Charles) had an umbrella like that when she was here last week... I thought of the ones from the 60's then too.

Sen-Sen was a supposed breath freshener that was flavored like bitter licorice and soap. Yucky. Fan Tan was another such thing -- also Yuck.

I thought it was the swallowing thing that caused tearoff pop tops to be banned... people would drop them into the soda/beer and then chug the beverage, including the top which then stuck in their throat...

No, ordinary people are NOT too smart to do that. It happened to a friend of mine -- admittedly, it wasn't his first beer (more like the fourteenth)...

I like the old tyme fire and police sirens. The sissy ones in use now don't compare.

good one, i can remember the old sirens

And beanies with propellers on them.

bm

Wooden Wilson tennis rackets with thick white enamel.

Is everything plastic now?

That first painful, fabulous gulp of real Coke, from a thick Coke bottle, which the store manager opened for you with an opener.

They changed Coke years back. They never reproduced the original taste.

That was a lot of fun. When we got older, my mom and dad would drive separate cars to the drive-in and park next to each other. They would put all 5 of us kids in one car, while they relaxed and enjoyed the movie in the other. My father would pop popcorn at home and fill a brown paper grocery bag to the top, while my mom filled up a giant thermos jug with Kool-Aid...those were the days