10 Things You Could Do In 1975 That You Can't Do Now

[olde north church]

I bought Lucky's for my dad all the time.  25 cents.  Those were good times. ahem, before '72.  No locked doors anywhere.

A pack of Camels and the racing form.  My reward for the 2 mile walk?  A Hershey bar.  $1.00.

[EC]

Back in '75, my girl was brand spanking new and everything worked more or less as it should 

AC and pookie will get it.

[famousdayandyear]

There were dispensing machines for packs of cigarettes....27 cents a pack...and there would be three pennies change slipped into the cellophane wrapping because the machine would not accept pennies.

Now that's something I completely forgot all about.  Those pennies tucked inside the wrapping.  Most have been a fortune in manufacturing costs to be sure the customer had the correct change.   

Another good memory--my dad teaching me to score a baseball game at the local minor league--the Charlotte Hornets then.

[olde north church]

Now that's something I completely forgot all about.  Those pennies tucked inside the wrapping.  Most have been a fortune in manufacturing costs to be sure the customer had the correct change.   

Another good memory--my dad teaching me to score a baseball game at the local minor league--the Charlotte Hornets then.

My brother was a nut for scoring Yankee games on TV.

[famousdayandyear]

A pack of Camels and the racing form.  My reward for the 2 mile walk?  A Hershey bar.  $1.00.

Loved this!  I discovered the racing form during high school--tried my hand at handicapping just for entertainment.  No $$ or bet outlets I knew of. 

By the way, did the $1.00 cover the cigs, the form, the Hershey, and the walk?

[DCPatriot]

Loved this!  I discovered the racing form during high school--tried my hand at handicapping just for entertainment.  No $$ or bet outlets I knew of. 

By the way, did the $1.00 cover the cigs, the form, the Hershey, and the walk?

Wondering too...because when that pack of cigarettes cost 27 cents....the candy bar was just a nickel.   

[olde north church]

Loved this!  I discovered the racing form during high school--tried my hand at handicapping just for entertainment.  No $$ or bet outlets I knew of. 

By the way, did the $1.00 cover the cigs, the form, the Hershey, and the walk?

Yup.  Helped maintain my fightin' weight after chowing down on the Hershey bar.  Speaking of fightin' weight, remember when all the towns had boxing leagues and gyms on the wrong side of town.  That and pool halls.  Ahh, the days of a misspent youth!

[famousdayandyear]

Yup.  Helped maintain my fightin' weight after chowing down on the Hershey bar.  Speaking of fightin' weight, remember when all the towns had boxing leagues and gyms on the wrong side of town.  That and pool halls.  Ahh, the days of a misspent youth!

Our town was mostly a crossroads in rural NC.  But used to watch the Friday night fights -- there was a boxer with a "bolo" punch. Kid Gaviland?   

[DCPatriot]

Back then we would play baseball...in the park.... or on the cobblestone street in front of the house, where 2nd base was the manhole cover and the storm sewers were the corner bases.

We left the house at sunrise...dropped in for lunch...and didn't return until the street lights went on.

And we could leave our bikes and gloves/bats on the front lawn overnight and they'd still be there the next day.

[famousdayandyear]

Back then we would play baseball...in the park.... or on the cobblestone street in front of the house, where 2nd base was the manhole cover and the storm sewers were the corner bases.

We left the house at sunrise...dropped in for lunch...and didn't return until the street lights went on.

And we could leave our bikes and gloves/bats on the front lawn overnight and they'd still be there the next day.

True.  Now I check door locks constantly.  What happened to us?

[olde north church]

True.  Now I check door locks constantly.  What happened to us?

And isn't amazing this has happened while police presence has increased?

[EC]

True.  Now I check door locks constantly.  What happened to us?

We got old. The young got feral.

[famousdayandyear]

We got old. The young got feral.

Respectively disagree.  Getting old has nothing to do with the fact that I lock the doors.  My grandmother was "old" to me, but she was respected and safe and not worried about someone randomly attacking her or her home or her loved ones. 

[240B]

True.  Now I check door locks constantly.  What happened to us?

It is no mystery. We all know what happened. It is called "diversity" and "multiculturalism". Everyone knows it but no one will say it.
 
Take every negative thing a society could have, and elevate it to the ideal of perfection.
 
Homosexuals do not like little children. Of course not, they are beautiful people.
 
Muslims don't blow people up for their stupid God. No. Of course not.
 
And Black rappers are not involved in crime, mugging, rape, and murder. Of course not. We can't say that, because that would be racist.
 
They are all beautiful people.  Hey man, can't we all just get along? …....... one man saying,  NO! We can't!

[EC]

Respectively disagree.  Getting old has nothing to do with the fact that I lock the doors.  My grandmother was "old" to me, but she was respected and safe and not worried about someone randomly attacking her or her home or her loved ones.

And you and I would be deaf for a week with the clout we'd get from our parents if we even thought of trying a door to see if it was open.
I remember the first time Dad locked the doors in Canada (I was about 4). It came on the radio that a couple of prisoners had escaped from the Pen and were supposedly headed our way. It took him two hours to find the keys to the doors. They were literally never locked, even when we went camping for two weeks. We'd get back to a note on the counter saying " Sorry, we were out of flour" sitting under a jar of preserves.
I'd like that world back. I miss it terribly.

[famousdayandyear]

And you and I would be deaf for a week with the clout we'd get from our parents if we even thought of trying a door to see if it was open.
I remember the first time Dad locked the doors in Canada (I was about 4). It came on the radio that a couple of prisoners had escaped from the Pen and were supposedly headed our way. It took him two hours to find the keys to the doors. They were literally never locked, even when we went camping for two weeks. We'd get back to a note on the counter saying " Sorry, we were out of flour" sitting under a jar of preserves.
I'd like that world back. I miss it terribly.

If we would ever meet, I'd buy you a beer. 

[EC]

If we would ever meet, I'd buy you a beer. 

To completely misquote Friar Tuck - you drink, I'll talk 

[alicewonders]

On Saturdays my parents used to drop us off in front of the theatre (a beautiful art deco theatre from the 30's), we each had a quarter for the movie ticket and 26 cents for a pop and popcorn.  Somehow, we always managed to get the boxed seats in the balcony and we would watch Herbie The Love Bug, Mary Poppins, and other movies and laugh our heads off! 

I was like, ten years old, and was in charge of looking after my eight year old sister.  My parents would pick us up after the movie.  Can you imagine letting two children that young go to the theatre on their own nowadays? 

[EC]

Dang. You reminded me of a childhood thing.

We had a drive in about half a mile from us. All the neighborhood kids would turn in ninjas on the weekend. We'd sneak over the fence and sit next to cars to hear the dialogue, 

20 cents for popcorn and no one would bother you.

[alicewonders]

Dang. You reminded me of a childhood thing.

We had a drive in about half a mile from us. All the neighborhood kids would turn in ninjas on the weekend. We'd sneak over the fence and sit next to cars to hear the dialogue, 

20 cents for popcorn and no one would bother you.

Ah yes, the drive-ins!  When I was even younger, my parents would put us in our pajamas & blankets and we would all go to the drive-in.  We would eventually fall asleep in the back seat (roomy in those days), while my parents would cuddle in the front seat (large bench seat in those days).  After the movie, they would quietly carry us in the house & put us to bed without waking us.  It was a nice evening for all of us!

[mountaineer]

  Can you imagine letting two children that young go to the theatre on their own nowadays?

When I was around 10 and my brother 13, we would ride the streetcar by ourselves from the suburbs to downtown Pittsburgh, walk to our piano teacher's studio a few blocks away from the trolley stop (and/or across the bridge over the Allegheny River to the planetarium for summer science classes), then back to our stop in the suburbs where our mother would be waiting to pick us up. I can't imagine doing that today.

[DCPatriot]

Growing up, the movie theater was a 20-30 walk from my house.

The route took you over a wooden planed bridge over Cazenovia Creek...along a busy city street.

Was probably 10 years old...and I somehow got my mother to go see Moby Dick....with my siblings....remember just getting past La Bella Pizzeria halfway there...the four of us...... and she turns to me and says......"This better not be about a whale"!

 

[famousdayandyear]

Growing up, the movie theater was a 20-30 walk from my house.

The route took you over a wooden planed bridge over Cazenovia Creek...along a busy city street.

Was probably 10 years old...and I somehow got my mother to go see Moby Dick....with my siblings....remember just getting past La Bella Pizzeria halfway there...the four of us...... and she turns to me and says......"This better not be about a whale"!

 

Dang, DC.  That is laugh out loud funny.!

[DCPatriot]

Dang, DC.  That is laugh out loud funny.!

It was my 'big' sister that dared to ask that question....my mother kept pushing my little brother in the stoller.

My 'big' sister was 18 months older...like a 2nd mother....she could eat butter...the rest of us had to eat margarine.   

Still call her a few times a year to check in.....love you, Donna!     

[NavyCanDo]

Thankfully I have found a few more people that use to do this so I guess it was not too extreme. When road workers would pour tar used for street expansion joints we would dig some of the fresh tar out using popsicle sticks and chew on the tar like chewing gum.   My mom said it cleans your teeth and didn’t see any harm in it, but I suspect she didn’t holler at us because it beat asking her for money to buy a packet of Blackjack.   Considering the first chewing gum in America  had no flavor and was more of a wax, I guess tar was not a lot different than  what a kid paid for in the 1870s