Friday, December 19, 2008

I remember...

when Washington, DC was called "Chocolate City."

I remember when you didn't see many White, Asian, or Black Americans wearing dreads or locks.

I remember when you only saw body piercings in National Geographic magazine.

I remember when mostly people in jail, bikers, and military personnel wore tattoos.

I remember when children would go outside to play.

I remember when you had to go to a video arcade to play video games.

I remember when kids would settle their disputes without guns.

I remember when young people would have parties at their home and no one would get killed.

I remember when classroom teachers could spank you.

I remember when parents did not let their kids hear them curse.

I remember when my mother would take me and my brothers to a drive-in movie with a bucket of chicken and a 2 liter bottle of grape soda.

I remember when my mother would buy food and tennis shoes/sneakers for us at the grocery store (*singing* Jeepers...Jeepers where'd you get those sneakers).

Finally, I remember when the thought of having an African American president was a skit on Saturday Night Live.


Tell us, what do you remember?

15 comments:

lyre said...

I remember typewriters (manual and electric).
I remember school shoes that were either loafers or bucks!
I know how to use an encyclopedia!
I remember popcorn on the stove!
I remember asking my mom what's for dinner instead of where are we going for dinner.

Deany said...

I remember when there was only house phones
I remember when a 12yr old kid did not have a cell phone
I remember when the only way you could correspond with a friend abroad was by a letter. when was the last time you got a letter from a friend in the mail?. How time has changed.

Stephen A. Bess said...

Lyre-
Popcorn on the stove with the aluminum foil top -- Yep! lol

Deany-
I was just thinking about letter writing last week. :)Thanks for that.

Fly Girl said...

I remember rotary phones that were heavy enough to use as weapons and could not be moved around the house like cordless phones.

I remember when children didn't have a choice in if they wanted to go to church, or school or practice, they went because their parents told them to.

I remember when TV had only about 5channels and would go off at about 2AM.

I remember records and record players and radio stations that played more than the same 5 songs.

I remember when being smart was cool.

Jen Laceda | Milk Guides said...

I remember using white correction fluid to hide your mistakes.

I remember when computer screens showed only two colours -- black and green

I remember learning the "language of the future" -- DOS

I remember using the card catalogue and those microfiches at the library

I remember when children knew how to skip rope and play hopscotch on the street

christina said...

I remember when the street lights came on, I had better be in the house.

I remember when big mama spoke, we listened.

I remember when people use to write, handwritten letters.

I remember film cameras.

I remember when kids could play at one another's house.

I remember penny candy.

; )

Stephen A. Bess said...

Fly Girl-
"...now it's cool to look bummy, be a dumb dummy and disrespect your mummy." ~Slick Rick. :)

Jen-
Yes, when children used to play. I was one of them. I would play until I was filthy and weak. Thanks for the visit.

Christina-
Yes, penny candy and penny cookies!

You guys are great! These are really good.

Anonymous said...

I remember when kids could go out and play all day and parents would not worry about them.

I remember when we HAD to respect our elders.

I remember when kids/women could trust people.

I remember when kids could trust adults in the stores when we got lost.

I remember when we did not have to keep our children in our view at all times.

I remember going to the movies with snacks for less that $3.00

I remember getting .25 from the tooth fairy was A LOT of money.

I remember having to work for my allowance.

I remember taking road trips in the car and playing in the way back of the station wagon, never wearing seatbelts.

I remember having every dinner together at the table without the TV or radio on.

I remember if we were eating and the phone rang, we took a message, that was family time.

I remember when going out to eat was very very special, even if it was McDonald's.

Anonymous said...

One more,
I remember when saying Merry Christmas to everyone was accepted.

Crankyputz said...

I remember there were days when I had nothing to remember, only a day to live...

Stephen A. Bess said...

Cat-
I remember that .25cents being a lot too from the tooth fairy. :)

Cranky-
Yes, live! So important. Good to see you.

poeticpin said...

I remember when babysitters were people and not the TV

I remember when children's TV programmes were for children

barbie said...

1. I remember having white dolls and thinking it was normal.
2. I rememberthe badass Supremes adding color to the Ed Sullivan Show.
3. I remember the first boy I ever thought I loved and the Emereaude he gave me for Christmas.
4. I remember hiding in my mother's closet to smell her clothes when she went away on a trip.
5. I remembr Miami's 'Colored" beach...Virginia Key.
6. I remember transister radios that ran on batteries.
7. I remember roller skates that had keys to keep the wheels tight.
8. I remember Nehi peach sodas.

Anonymous said...

I remember renting the phone from the phone company ... and being on a party line ... and our phone number: 7-8424 (only five digits, that's right). Rich people had extensions and richer people had a separate line for the children.

I remember Cassius Clay before he was Muhammad Ali! And Elgin Baylor before he was Kareem Abdul Al-Jabbar!

I remember having cars that don't exist any more - a Hillman and a Studebaker. I remember my father selling our old, old Pontiac as junk metal for $10 (this was in the 60s but I think it was about a 1948 or 1949 Pontiac, if I remember right).

I remember seeing JFK, MLK, and Malcolm X on tv!!!

I remember when it was hard to get bread that wasn't white bread ... when hamburgers and milkshakes were at individually owned diners, not at Mickey D's ... when most of the lettuce was iceberg lettuce.

I remember housesitting for my aunt in the Haight-Ashbury in the summer of 1967 and catching a glimpse of Grace Slick.

I remember watching Muhammad Ali enter prison live on tv for draft evasion, and seeing Soviet tanks roll into Prague.

I remember Laugh-in! OMG I am old, it goes on...

Stephen A. Bess said...

Prof-
That's some serious history! Wow! Thanks.

Black Men in Life Space: A Change for the Better

Photo Source: Showtime The late great Chicago soul singer, Sam Cooke sang and announced that "A Change is Gonna Come." On season f...