I hitchhiked all across the US from Boston to California in 1982. Even then it was borderline safe. But I had some great times and met some terrific people including one lovely lady who provided me a bed for the night -- make that a week -- as her "love slave".
1973 was my first year of college, and my last year of childhood.
I remember it being a time of major angst as I tried one major after another, never finding a good fit. I was a fine arts type of student, and my parents (who were paying for my education then) refused to let me choose any "unmarketable" BA degree. I asked the university's career counselor for information on starting salaries for several degree programs, and he advised me not to worry about the money. "Just pick something you like, honey," he said. I left in a huff, leaving him sitting there with a very confused look on his face.
I married in 1974, at least in part to solve the problem of what to do.
Telephones in the fifties were often party lines. I recall a time the operators actually listened to all conversations, at least in Fresno, CA, they did. My step father once used some bad language to cuss someone out on the phone, resulting in the operator notifying the police. I don't know what crime he was charged with, but he did spend time in jail.
Probably the thing that effected the greatest change in my lifetime was television. I remember the first night we had our set--a gigantic piece of furniture with a tiny screen. Half the building piled into our apartment.
I'm remembering an incident that took place on a variety show special. Julie Andrews and Harry Belafonte touched each other. I think she put her hand on his arm. This caused such a furor of racial outrage (white folks were outraged) that the moment was cut from the show. We've come a long way. Things are better than they were. They could be better still.
I used to watch old game shows on the Game Show Network, not so much for the shows as for the time capsule. On Beat the Clock, women wore skirts or dresses, hats, and gloves. The contestants were only married couples. If they brought their kids along, the boys got a toy train or car and the girls got a doll. No exceptions. On What's My Line, a woman could be a contestant just because she was doing a job that was normally done my a man. (A "lady" policeman is how one of the panelists put it.)
There were no play dates. Kids just went out and played. No special arrangements. You just went outside and played with whoever showed up.
People rarely locked their cars on the city streets I played on. In fact, people didn't lock their doors in my apartment building. Some folks would just knock and walk in. When I went to visit my grandparents, the door was unlocked. We just went in. Inconceivable now. I gasp at the thought as I write.
Some things have gotten better and some things have gotten worse. I think I got a better education than kids are getting these days. For that matter, I think my parents got a better education of the basics than I got.
I grew up in a Jewish neighborhood. I saw many people with numbers tattooed on their arms. I hope I've seen the last of them.
Did anyone mention credit cards? I remember the first general (nonstore) credit card! What a novelty. Another novelty was that most people who had them at the beginning rarely owed anything on them. They'd get the bill and pay the whole shmear.
In the 1960s and early 70s I grew a great beard. People followed me around quite frequently to see what dastardly shenanigans I might be up to. My first wife was initially attracted by the beard and was greatly disappointed when I shaved. Facial hair was worn by leftists, then. Now, I think dudes on the right are as likely to cultivate on their face what grows wild elsewhere as anybody else.
Excellent, Roberta--the thread is about how things have changed. The thing about locking doors struck me, too, that was the way we grew up. Not only did people knock and then just walk in, but if kids were playing in the yard, or showed up at the house at suppertime, they were fed. Any child was entitled to a meal if they were around at mealtimes, and no one thought a thing about it.
The credit cards is a good point, too. In science fiction of the 50s and 60s, they used to describe people using a card which allowed them to spend so many "credits" anywhere. We have that now, with debit cards.
*******************************************
Edgar, we used to pick up the telephone, and the operator would answer, and if you said, for example: "I wanna talk to the Carters," she might reply: "The Archers are speaking to the Carters right now, i'll call back when the line is free."
I hated party lines. We had a party line with some kids who would call each other, and then sit there and say nothing, because they couldn't think of anything to say. But if you complained or asked to use the phone, they'd holler for "Mom," who would come on and curse you out. They eventually took their phone away for six months, because using "profane" language on the telephone was once a Federal offense (or so the operator said, and the phone company backed her up). After they got their phone back, if you asked to use the phone, they were not gracious, but they gave it up.
The Lovely Bride is Chinese. I am of Irish descent.
No one seems bothered by that these days.
When we were first together I once had to go to the manager
of a restaurant because the waiter wouldn't come near our table.
That's just appalling. What is worse is that in the 1950s and -60s we would have understood, and very likely, far too many of us would have approved.
Setanta wrote:That's just appalling. What is worse is that in the 1950s and -60s we would have understood, and very likely, far too many of us would have approved.
Too true. One time during that same period, we were driving and pulled up to a stop light behind a car full of teenagers. Suddenly, several of
them jumped out of the car and exchanged seats before driving off. I
said "Chinese Fire Driil" before I could stop myself. The rest of the ride
was uncomfortable.
