Posted on 06/05/2005 6:37:36 AM PDT by sushiman
I would like to hear from folks who were adults during the 1950's ( I was born in 1952 ) about what it was really like back in those days . In nostalgiac moods I often wish I would go back , as an adult , and see for myself if it was a wonderful as I remember it with romantic , childhood visions ...I know this is a very broad topic ...any memories , thoughts , etc...would be appreciated ...
All this talk of Elvis on Milton Berle put me in a nostalgiac mood ...
A reminder is coming.
Many Many Many men were alcoholics. Only, people didn't know it was a problem.
Okay, I'm 18 I know but I talk to my parents ALRIGHT.
I remember that air conditioning only existed in supermarkets and movie theatres.
Yeah it was great... unless you were a Red Chinaman or a Damn Ruskie Commonist.
Well, not in public, anyway.
My Dad was one as well ...
Of course we had the Cold War ...Air Raid drills ...Heavy duty racism ...Conformity ...
Guitar players weren't near as good then....
Wasn't just the men.
The women just hid it better.
It wasn't all Ward and June Cleaver.
For one it was a time when the people in our neighborhood did not lock their doors when leaving so friends could come in and relax till you got back. The open housing law passed by congress sure changed all of that.
The average annual salary was $2,992.
" Many Many Many men were alcoholics "
Yes ...but now many many men are alcoholics , drug addicts , AIDS infected ...
Not that many, even now, despite the media hype and the fury on FR.
It IS after all, a self-correcting problem if someone gets that messed up.
You could be impaled by a tailfin at a drive in movie, a danger that no longer exists.
"What was the 50's really like ?"
It was a lot like now, except everything was older. And it was all in black and white, I remember that part vividly.
Women did a lot of cleaning; men put on a suit and tie and went to work; there was a martini waiting at home once you pulled in; breakfast consisted of a stack of pancakes, a mountain of scrambled eggs, two kinds of breakfast meats, a tall glass of whole milk, and strong coffee; dinner was a either a large steak, pork chops or meatloaf (fish on Friday); pensions were fully funded; everyone drove a Ford or GM product; houses had white picket fences; you rooted for the Yankees and laughed at the immigrants from Brooklyn; Johnny U. and Notre Dame were the football choices.
There was no sex except for reproductive purposes.
Being an engineer was the best job in the world; Sputnik happened across the nation we became math, physics and chemistry geniuses; we put together the precursors for putting a man on the moon; we entered the screw up known as Viet Nam in order to aid our "allies", the French (Dien Bien Phu); we set in motion the division of the nation that was the 60s.
Many people put their eyes out with a spoon in their sundae at the soda fountain.
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