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Smile-a-day. As I hurried home from school, the evening paper awaited me. I can’t remember all the comics, but here’s a small list: Rick O’Shea, Kerry Drake (and his brother), Dick Tracy, Peanuts, Nancy, Lil Abner (and the graceful Fearless Fosdick). Mark Trail, Amy, Trudy, Beetle Bailey, Popeye, and The Phantom. They served to shepherd… Continue reading The Daily Funnies

Hurt Feelings? Who cares? I mentioned last time how people dressed up more in the 60’s. I hated it, but it was the way people were and my father loved food (not all fat people are jolly!!); expensive food was his specialty. So, I’m in the living room with dad, waiting for mom. Typical, right?… Continue reading All Husbands Know Saying this is Taboo (Dressing Up II)

Dressed up, But can they take me anywhere? In the sixties, people generally dressed up more. Any meal outside the house (even diners) meant suit and tie for dad, dress for mom. There were many times I was embarrassed in public by being overdressed. Case in Point: the county’s first Sears opens a half-hour away.… Continue reading Never trust a smiling father (Dressing Up, Part 1)

Boners and Washing Dogs…. In third grade, I remember seeing a kid laugh so hard he fell out of his chair. We had an English book and there was a story about a boy taking his muddy dog to a swanky place that washed dogs. There was an illustration, and it showed the dog covered… Continue reading First Time for Everything

Why, or why, dear Lord, was this exercise in stupidity so savored by adults? Oh, and did you say ‘dodgeball’?  Well, they tried that.  Sure, let’s go. What can go wrong? Well, plenty! Here’s what happened:  Rule 1—Boys can only throw at boys (constant boy on girl harassment with associated puddles of tears). Girls can… Continue reading Gym III: Dodge Ball and the Labyrinth of Rules

Or, ‘Karma Bites the hand of the Powerful’ While I grant you that it must have been a bitch to think of things to do with 50+ kids throughout the winter, you can’t just wing it as your passions dictate. One day he was in ‘THE mood’, and decided the boys were going to do… Continue reading Elementary Gym Class II: The Saga of Cold Steel and Warm Flesh

“What devil art thou that dost torment me thus? This torture should be roar’d in dismal hell.” Our auditorium doubled as our gym.  Useless basketball nets on both sides of the room–you couldn’t even contemplate getting a ball up there until at least fifth grade..  That was it. The stage took up half of the… Continue reading Ahhhh, Gym Class (everybody sigh with pleasure)

When She’s Collecting S&H Green Stamps, of course! You didn’t live through the 60’s without being intimate with Green Stamps. Though they were hardly a new ‘thang’, grocery stores/supermarkets (even gas stations!) used Green Stamps as promotional items to get women in the door. “In the beginning”……………..a separate dispenser sat on top of the cash… Continue reading Riddle Me This, Batman: When is a Stamp Collector NOT a Philatelist?

Weird Scenes in Dark Hallways Before I go on, yes, we had the nuclear explosion drill–first and second grade. Get under your desk, cover your head. You’d exchange goofy looks with your friends, the girls would giggle and smile at you. Of course, that first grade teacher didn’t take no mess, so if you laughed,… Continue reading Elementary School Rituals–the Strange and the Wacky

Sometimes The Field just didn’t cut it! There comes a time when running barefoot through the weeds isn’t enough. With no playground or pool, where does a poor little baby-boomer-to-be hang out?  Well, the corner store became the fallback.  There was a huge parking lot and plenty of room near the store to park your… Continue reading A Guide to Hanging Out in Far Suburbia