Sunday, September 14, 2008

'70s things I miss

I loved the '70s. There was just something about that era which spoke of innocence and simplicity, of good common neighborliness and keeping things in perspective. It was moment paused before the technological years when people had time to talk face to face across back yard fences and kids knelt beside lazy creeks fishing out tadpoles, built tree houses and made forts in the currant bushes. Here are just a few of the things I miss from that charming and endearing time...

- Autograph books with colored pages for signatures and verses from friends and crushes
- The Carol Burnett Show
- Gunny sack swings hung from old elm trees
- Ben Franklin, Woolworths and TG&Y
- Crank ice cream freezers that were interactive and included the whole family
- PDQ that was mixed with cold milk for a delicious chocolate drink
- Full service filling stations with 'regular' gasoline and polite and knowledgeable attendants
- Carbon copies, their cool wet feel and the way they smelled right off the press
- Let's Make a Deal with Monty Hall
- My mother's drawings in sketch pads
- Rotary phones
- 5 cent cones from Dairy Queen on Saturday mornings
- Family slide shows on the big screen projector...or on the living room wall!
- Vinyl records
- Hand-written letters in the mail box on pretty stationery
- The soda fountain at Wilson Drugs
- Colored tin cups and cold well water
- Metal ice cube trays
- Bicycles with fenders on the tires and baskets on the front
- Flannel shirts and baseball jerseys
- A slower-paced life
- Discipline allowed at school and teachers being allowed to teach
- No drive-by shootings....no need for "No guns allowed" signs in schools and restaurants
- Respect and responsibility for one's actions
- Movies that still allowed us to use our imaginations
- A simpler journey

Everyone remembers things differently, but for me, at that time in my life it was the ideal; rich in my memory, rich in my heart.

5 comments:

srp said...

No, Nyssa's grandfathers were both ministers. My cousin in Illinois has artistic talent but no one else really.

I graduated from high school in 1970 and college in 1974. Add to that list... The Carpenters and all music with melody and words that inspire. Also 8-track tapes.. although I don't think we really miss those. As it seems... each decade is in and of itself... "the best of times and the worst of times."

How is your daughter doing.. loving college to the fullest I am sure.

Mike said...

nice list....all of them transported me back to that great time of eight track tapes and pet rocks.

Martie said...

See, I'm just that much older than you where the 60's bring back teen-age and high school memories........the 70's were great too....my children were little and I could sneak in their rooms at night and watch them sleep!

Hugs, my friend!

John said...

What a great list! There's a great line in a song by Bob Seger that goes: "I wish I didn't know now what I didn't know then."...it has resonated with me since the first time I heard it, but it is especially true of my formative years (aka the '70s). I bought a 'stereo' at a garage sale not long ago because it had a turntable, a radio AND an 8-track tape player all in one unit...those were the days :)

Slone said...

Ahhhhh yes. I so miss my green Schwinn stingray bike with banana seat! I loved that bike! I had seen the Lone Ranger movie and theres a part where the Lone Ranger is riding Silver at a walk. He turns and looks behind him while placing his behind the saddle on Silvers rump. One day while riding, I tried that move. After I flipped over the handlebars I thought maybe I better stick to hookers! (ask mike what hookers were, cuz they aint THAT!)
Ahhh...memories!