Who left the dimensional door open? - Thread 020

News Center (Online) ^ | 1/29/02 | Unknown

[acnielsen guy]

THREAD 020

Dregs and Flakes

Posts since 1/29/02 22,729

[Neets]

I have not left yet...will be leaving in about an hour tho...then batten down the hatches and pull out your rainboots...I didn't do my nails yet,,,hot pink will wait till I get to the nail salon when I reach my romantic weekend destination

Frodo Neets Munckin

[andysandmikesmom]

Neets, please have a grand romantical weekend, and continue on with your ceiling inspections....

As per our usual nosiness, we expect a full report of the festivities when you return...

[andysandmikesmom]

When I was a kid, I loved going back to school...

Because we always got brand new clothes....we got new clothes only for back to school, Christmas and the different holidays, and for our birthdays...otherwise, we were always dragged up to the Salvation Army or the Goodwill, if we needed clothes in between times....

And I loved getting all the new school supplies...new compostion books, new packs of paper, all new pens and pencils and bottles of ink(I loved the Peaccock Blue and Red inks, tho the teachers made us use only black and dark blue for our assignments...but mom always bought me the Peacock blue and Red for my own pleasure)...

Silly as it sounds, after I got all my new school supplies, I put them all in a neat pile, and would drag them out each day, and put them on my bed and inspect them...dont know why I would do such a goofy thing, but somehow I just liked the look of all that new clean fresh paper, and supplies that had not been used yet...

So with all new school supplies, and all new clothes, I happily went back to school...of course, that novelty wore thin very quickly, and soon we were wishing it was still summer....

However, that being said, I must say, I enjoyed school....we had some really odd teachers, with really strange personalities, and every class has it usual kids who are jokers and just plain funny...so actually, sometimes going to school, depending on the shenanigans of the teachers and the students, could be quite entertaining...

[lodwick]

;-) I LOVED peacock blue - my teachers hated it.

Do you remember the kid who would throw up in the class right after lunch?
Or the one or two that would get whacked with the teacher's ruler?
Then there were the not so bright kids that were not promoted - and would bully the younger kids at recess.
Playing Red Rover. Let Jimmy come over? Kiss the girls and away he ran - chased by all the little girls.

Great job with those memories Mom - thanks.

[andysandmikesmom]

Ah, Loddy, you bring back such pleasant memories of my grade school days....

Getting smacked with a teachers ruler? Each class had its own set of bad kids who got smacked with that ruler...but in 5th grade, I had this teacher, Mr. Deans, who took no nonsense from anyone, mainly the bad boys...he walked around the room like a general, always a yardstick(never just a foot ruler), in his hand, or a long pointer...if ANY boy so much as look at him crooked, WHACK...that kid got it...almost every boy got whacked by him at one time or another, even the well behaved boys, who sometimes also got out of control...

He never smacked a girl, not ever....and we had our share of bad girls as well...if a girl acted up, she was sent to the corner...

And when Teacher-Parent time came, everyones parents came up, even the bad kids, whose parents did wish for their children to be better...they personally would thank Mr. Deans for smacking their kids, and tell him to continue doing that should their kid act up...he was strict, and that yardstick got a good working out(One time he hit a kid so hard, that yardstick splintered into pieces)...but he was also fair, and demanded that we learn and teach us he did well...I have often wondered about some of those bad boys, and is it no possible, that Mr. Deans made a big influence in their lives, perhaps making them think twice about their bad behavior, and perhaps setting them straight in life...

Being that we lived in Chicago, and went to a neighborhood school, we always went home for lunch...few of us had moms that worked, so most everybody went home...we had an hour to get home, eat, and get back to school....the school did have a lunch room downstairs, for kids whose mom worked, and the kids packed a lunch and ate down there...

But we loved running home for lunch...mom always, always had soup and crackers, and PBandJ or bologna sandwiches, and potato chips, and milk, and some sort of cookies or sweets...and we watched 'Uncle Johnny Coons' on TV, a local guy with a kids program of skits, and Three Stooges and cartoons...so lunch time was indeed glorious, with a great lunch and fun watching TV...then back to school, prepared for the afternoon session...

When we were in the upper grades, 6th, 7th and 8th, gym, as we called it, or phys ed, as I guess they call it today, was always strictly just the boys together, and then the girls together....but once a week, the boys and girls had gym together...our gym teacher, was going to teach us to dance...usually square dancing, or slow waltzes...

It was all too comical....the girls would line up in one long line, and the gym teacher told the boys to ask which girl they wanted to dance with...after some of the boys had made their choices, the gym teacher would then pair up the boys who were too shy to ask, with the leftover girls who were not asked....

I always was asked to dance by, I guess, my first 'boyfriend' Daniel....he was so very cute, at least to me, and he always asked me to dance, and my little girl heart would throb....I guess its just toooo cute, in that innocent time, with the boys and girls first really getting to know each other, and dancing together...sounds sooo simplistic, I suppose to todays children of that same age, but we were young and so very innocent, and so very cute, and so very anxious to act all grown up, and dance...

On the last day of school, it was just a 1/2 session...we usually just talked, and the teacher recapped the year, and sometimes we sang...it was just a little get together...then just about 1 hour before dismissal, the teacher passed out the report cards, and you got to see your final grades, and then it was also written down, whether you passed on to the next grade, or failed, and had to repeat...you could always tell who failed...the failing girls would cry, and have to comforted by their classmates and the teacher, the boys would get mad and commiserate with their boy buddies...

Altho there always seemed to be at least one or two who failed, by and large we all passed...in those days, kids did generally respect the teacher, the parents wanted their children to succeed, and made them work hard, and the teachers really did teach the good old basics, and with repetition, and perserverance, most of the kids passed to the next grade...

Grade school memories, memories of a child of the 50s...they were wonderful, innocent times, a time when we knew our dads worked hard, our moms were at home for us, our teachers really did care about us, and did teach us well...I may be getting on in age, but I am so very thankful, that I was a child of the 50s, especially when I look at the kids of today...I am not sure if they will ever view their childhood school days, with the same nostalgia and love that I can view my own school days...

[palo verde]

hi andysmom
what wonderful stories
they bring back memories
me too, I loved the peacock blue, and red ink
we were allowed to use it in class too
Love, Palo

they taught us the box step in 6th grade, it was in the gym
the boys asked the girls to dance
I got asked by a boy named Andre
maybe he was in the other class
I dont remember him till he asked me to dance

[palo verde]

after I got all my new school supplies, I put them all in a neat pile, and would drag them out each day, and put them on my bed and inspect them

I like this part of your story

[palo verde]

I dont remember girls getting hit with the ruler
just boys
when I was first with Bill
he became friends with Charlie in physics class (at ccny)
one weekend we visited charlie and bob in house they rented in queens
they were roomates
both guys lived their whole life in queens
we smoked pot, played cards, watched tv
it musta been a party
while we were watching tv Bob said when girls are born they are dopped onto a silk feather pillow
when boys are born they are dropped onto cement

[andysandmikesmom]

Do you remember the fire drills? The bells would ring, and we had to practice evacuating the school, in a neat orderly group...now when I was in 8th grade, we did not have to go to the regular exits with the rest of the school, because we had a fire escape off a door in our classroom, which was on the third floor...so we got to go down the fire escape....we sure did like that...

However, the boys liked it too much...why? because when those fire bells rang, the boys all ran to be first in line going down the fire escape....they wanted to be first in line, because that way they could get down the fire escape quickly, and then look up the girls dresses as we were coming down...and then when the all clear bells rang, ,they wanted the girls to be in line first, so going back up the fire escape, the girls would be first, and the boys would be on the ground or the lower part of the fire escape, ,and could then look up our dresses again....in that time, girls always had to wear dresses....we never considered trying to wear shorts or pants...dresses and skirts were required...

Now in Chicago, its a custom, tho I dont know if it still continues today, but in my childhood days, and even after I was married and had kids, there was always something that happened every single Tuesday, at 10:30am....the air raid sirens would go off....it was like, once a week, all places that had air raid sirens, needed to turn them on, to test them...and on TV, at that same time, all the stations went to the EBS(Emergency Broadcast System), for one minute, whereby they told us, in case of emergencies of statewide, or local, or even federal importance, this is how it would look on our TV screens...

So every Tuesday at 10:30, the air raid sirens went off...dogs howled, people new to the area, who were unfamiliar with the practice, panicked, and at least at our school, we were required to jump under our desks, and prepare ourselves for attack...it was all too funny, remembering how we were all crouched under our desks, anticipating being bombed by the Russians(For it was no doubt the Russians we were mean enough to bomb us)...

While we were hiding under our desks, the boys would be spitting spit balls, or scratching where it was impolite to scratch while seated at your desk, and the girls would be whispering and acting silly...

But we did know, at the sirens blast, to drop and get under that desk...kind of like a Pavlovian response....to this day, when I hear sirens, the urge to drop under a desk or a chair, is still with me...

[palo verde]

lol
we too had to hide under our desks
it wasnt called a fire drill
fire drill meant leaving the building
maybe it was called a bomb drill
(it had its own name)

the boys in your class were so enterprising

[palo verde]

the main thng I remember about lining up
especially when we lined up after cafeteria to return to class
(this was in junior high)
is if anyone took out a packet of gum, everyone would ask him for some
till he didnt have any left

[andysandmikesmom]

Palo, we went down the fire escape when the fire bells went off...that was the fire drill...

But when the air raid sirens went off every Tuesday at 10:30 in the morning, that was when we had to hide under the desks, and it was a bomb drill...

I always remember lunch in the high school cafeteria...most of the time, I had to bring my lunch, packed by my mom, at home....but often I would tell her not to pack me my lunch, as I was going to use my allowance money or my babysitting money, to buy a hot lunch....I used to love my schools hamburgers and fries, tho I suppose if I tried them today, I would be appalled at their taste....I always like their jello too, because it was all in neat little cubes..when we had jello at home, mom just made it in a big bowl, and then we just scooped it out in a big mess in our dessert bowl...I always liked the look of those little squares of jello....

[lodwick]

Great memories everyone!

My Junior High building was in the old Senior High building built back in the great depression...it had the high ceilings, ceiling fans, transom vents, and all that they could do to ventilate the place - back in the day.

The fire escapes were indeed metal tubes down the side of the building - they all seemed to have a burr or two, to rip your pants and cut your ass.

Bomb drills were a trip. The principal coming in on the intercom and telling everyone to get down - the commies had launched an attack. What a crock that turns out to be.

I'm very glad to have lived when I've lived - the best of times, the worst of times. ;-)

[andysandmikesmom]

I guess, what I am the saddest for, is that todays children have such a very different childhood....

When I was a kid, I guess by todays, standards, I was just plain dumb....we knew not to talk to strangers, but we were not frozen with the fear, that we might be grabbed off the streets, or grabbed from our homes....

We had TV, but more than that, we had our imaginations...TV was great, but it did not fill our time...we still played jumprope, and tag, and 'Cops and Robbers' and rode our bikes, and best of all, we got filthy rotten dirty and enjoyed getting that way...

Nothing was better, than coming into the house, so tired from playing, so dirty from all that playing, and then taking a nice hot bath, getting into our PJs, and then and only then, did we bother to watch TV...accompanied by ice cream or popcorn...

Today, the kids have TV and 100s of channels, electronic games, the computer and the internet...a kid could stay indoors all summer if they chose, and still be amused by what was on a 'screen'....I am all for progress...goodness knows I love TV and the internet as much as anyone...

But I also love to get away, go camping, escape to the mountains, enjoy life away from all that progress...

For the number of kids living in our neighborhood, I am shocked at how few I see outside playing in the summer air...some would say, I dont keep up, that progress and all the new fangled gadgets can amuse the kids for hours, just inside their homes...and I guess each generation of kids and parents have their own way of looking at what passes for childhood experiences...

For me, I am just so glad that I was a child, when I was...

I think it was as you say, Loddy, the best of time, the worst of times..perhaps that is how each generation of kids looks at their childhoods...I still think, those of us growing up in the 50s had it so very good, and sadly, it will never be that good again...

Today, I am afraid to talk to any child, I do not know personally, because I fear being arrested...the fear of having your child abducted is so rampant...and many parents, rightfully so, over react, in an attempt to protect their children....Childhood should be a time of innocence, a time of exploration, a time to feel safe, a time to play, and play hard, and a time to learn about the world...sadly that has to now be tempered with constant concerns for safety...

Ah, my mind meanders...

[palo verde]

my school was like loddy's
we did not have all-city sirens
the emergency broadcasting system we did have, but it only affected radio and tv
it would stop the shows for minute or two
for firedrill bells rang in school
the bomb drills were different, quiet affairs
the implication was we were practising in case the Russians dropped A bomb on our school
so we would hide under our desk
till teacher said ok to come out
maybe the principal announced it on PA system, I dont remember school bells ringing
it was not high drama cause there were no bells or sirens
and did not continue after elementary school
rofl I guess chicago expected to be hit but nyc did not
Love, Palo

[andysandmikesmom]

I shall have to email friends back in Chicago, to find out if those air raid sirens still go off every Tuesday at 10;30 in the morning....our house was right next to a factory, and that factory had air raid sirens...so when 10:30 on Tuesday came, we sure had a loud blast...

But I am not sure if they still do it or not...I left Chicago in 1978, and I am not sure if those sirens were still going off then or not...

I am going to have to find out about those sirens....

[palo verde]

we had the emergency broadcastng thingy till I left nyc in '91
I think it was just on radio tho
I'd be listening to a show
and they would say ''we are interrupting this broadcast to test our emergency broadcasting thingy''
then there would be silence for a whole minute
then they would say ''if this had been an actual emergency you would have received instructions''
then the show continued

[andysandmikesmom]

Well, I did a brief search on the internet, and could not find out whether those air raid sirens still go on every Tuesday morn at 10:30...I did however find an article, where a guy talks about growing up in Chicago during the 50s and mentions those weekly air raid sirens...

However he states that the air raid sirens were in the fire stations....I always thought they were in our factory next door, as they sounded so close, but then the fire station was only one block from our house, so I guess, the air raid sirens were in the fire house not the factory...

This article also mentions, that when he was a kid, the author of this piece, remembers thinking to himself, that clever Russians would actually bomb Chicago on a Tuesday morning at 10:30, because no one would actually think a bombing was going on at that time, because we were all so used to the regular weekly sirens...

[palo verde]

ohhh those devious Russians
I am sure they planned to bomb chicago at 10:30 am on a tuesday morning
when the girls were under their desk, and the boys were looking at their underpants

[andysandmikesmom]

We get that emergency broadcasting thingy here, exactly as you describe it...and we also had it that way in Chicago...

But I never knew of any other city, which had regular weekly air sirens going off, so that everyone outside and inside would hear them...

Now I have to find out if those sirens still go off...

Dogs hated it most of all...you would hear the sirens, and when they finally went off, the dogs were all still howling for a few seconds....

I suppose those sirens would have scared Happy, and irked Lulu...I could just see Lulu, with her barrel chest stuck out, her face pointed skyward, and a bellowing howl, and rumble coming from her, because those sirens hurt a doggies ears....

And what is the amazing Lulu up to right now?