The "Doin' Some Reminiscing" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Sitting with our friends Jerry and Just Sue, reminiscing about days gone by.  I tend to do that more as I age.  Now, doesn't that sound much better that saying "getting older."  Well, Jerry and I were talking about having to read a Bible verse at the start of  homeroom during our high school days. We graduated from the same high school, the same year.  Matter of fact Just Sue was also in our graduating class.  Carol, my wife, well she's jus' one of those young em's you know.  My homeroom teacher allowed us to pick which Bible verse we wanted so everyone got together and we all picked the same one.  Found the shortest verse in the Bible and that was the one we read.  I'm sure our homeroom teacher, Miss Nolan, knew what we were doing, but she didn't seem to care.  It was state law to read the verse, as was saying the pledge to the flag.  Some in the class would pay others a buck to read the Bible verse for them.  I never did that as well as I was never offered the dollar to read for someone.  Back then the dollar would just about pay for your entire meal at lunchtime or a gallon of gas for your car.  Gettin' back to some other things that I can still remember about "the good ole days."  Can you remember cars that had curb feelers?  They attached to the bottom of the wheel well and "told" you when you were getting too close to the curb.  Didn't want to put a mark on those great white-walled tires.  And, I'm sure you remember the new car models as well as the new TV shows would be introduced in the fall, right after school started back for the year.  My Three Sons, The Andy Griffith Show, The Flintstones and Route 66 are a few of the shows that I can remember from the early 60s that were introduced in the fall.  How about, do you remember when your mom would tell you to make sure you always had clean underwear on in case you were in an accident.  My mom always said that to me and I always replied that if I was in an accident it would scare the crap out of me anyway so what did it matter if my underpants were clean or dirty.  I have now solved that dilemma by eliminating the underpants when I get dressed in the morning.  How about this one ....... you know what "More powerful than a locomotive" actually meant.  If you asked someone who was maybe 25 years old or younger what that saying meant to them, I'll bet very few could tell you.  I can also remember when I would turn on the TV on Saturday morning to watch Covered Wagon Theatre and there would be a test pattern on the screen; and at the end of the day they would play the Star Spangled Banner before signing off for the evening.  Never could figure out what people who worked 2nd shift could watch on TV when they came home from work.  How many of you remember when your parents took you to the bank when you pre-teen and opened a bank account for you.  You got that little deposit book that they would stamp every time you put money in your account.  That was big time back then.  I can also remember heading to Philadelphia to watch the Phils play a double-header on Sunday afternoon.  Back then the 2nd game had to be stopped by 7:00 PM, even if it wasn't over; a state law.  The O's games in Baltimore couldn't be started after 2:00 PM on a Sunday; also a state law in Maryland.  And remember that retail stores couldn't be open on a Sunday; made a law so people could take their families to church and then have a great Sunday meal.  Called the "Blue Laws."  And my final recollection .... my school bus driver from time to time would stop the school bus and usher someone off the bus if they were messing around or were too loud on the bus.  Imagine doing that today!  Oh how times have changed.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.