POST BOOMERS/PRE X - finally, a thread just for us - Thread 5

[WIMom]

Last night, there was an anti baby boom thread that started with a rant, and before some disruptor trashed it, some of us who were born at the tail end of the baby boom - from 1956 to 1964 - were having some nice recollections. The things that we seem to have in common are the following:

1. We were too young to serve in Vietnam, but remember the news.

2. As far as we're concerned, the music, television and popular entertainment and heroes of the 60s were and still are a matter for personal taste, and don't represent the shining apex of all civilization, icons to be revered by generations to come - in short, the Beatles were just a band that some might not like, and old Trek was cheesy and not well written.

3. Old boomers came into adulthood at the ideal economic circumstance - we've had to work for ours.

4. Our clothes and music tended to be lighthearted, and we are more conservative/libertarian as a whole than the older boomers.

So post your memories of tunes, movies, shows, fashions, school stuff, etc.

And enjoy yourselves!

---

Thanks to one_particular_harbour for the fantastic idea!

[joey'smom]

What -- you never left your cake out in the rain??

[MasonGal]

I remember the milkman - hey how about Mr. Softee - did any of you have a Mr. Softee ice cream truck come by your house in the summer?

[DouglasKC]

and wasn't this image everywhere?

[Glenn]

This thread is SUCH a reach for something to belong to. It should be banned right away.

[MasonGal]

Well - they were popular songs - so I imagine they could have been themes almost anywhere.

But to answer your question - I grew up in a small town - just north of Cincinnati - called Mason. I graduated in '75.

[Sabertooth]

"Kim Richards!!!!yow!"

Met her briefly about 10 years ago... She'd married some older guy with bucks, but she sure looked great in a sweater!

[MichelleWSC]

Who remember's Grease

[WIMom]

I remember Blood Sweat and Tears, The Beach Boys, REO Speedwagon, Peter Frampton, a bunch of jazz bands that were really good. It was cheap then. 5, 6 dollars to see any band for free! Plus in the early 70's, if you were a resident of Milwaukee, you could get a special Milwaukee pass and pay one price for the entire 10 days. My first summerfest was in 71. I remember seeing Lionel Hampton. He was one of the greatest jazz artists from the early days.

[dtel]

All your base are belong to us.

[Sweet Hour of Prayer]

My parents hauled my brothers and me to some outdoor theater in Los Angeles to see the original, "Jesus Christ Superstar." It was amazing. I also will NEVER forget driving through a section of town in Oakland California where they had live "go-go" dancers, wearing next to nothing and boots, dancing in lit-up boxes(similar to a telephone booth). It was an eye-opener for this sheltered, church going kid.

[Siouxz]

Ours was "Do You Know Where You're Going To?" by Diana Ross. I can't remember which movie it was from. GAG!! We tried a write-in campaign for Stairway to Heaven, but it didn't work.

On thread 4 I saw a few posts about smoking lounges in the high schools. I'll do you one better. Our MIDDLE SCHOOL (6-8 grade) had one!!! My kid's absolutely do not believe me when I tell them this.

[JmyBryan]

Remember "The Weekly Reader" they used to give you in grade school. It was filled with all sorts of the stuff that all the Democratic agenda is filled with now. I consider it the most blatant form of propaganda hoisted upon us poor pre-Xers. (lol)(1960)

[edayna]

Our prom theme was...hmm...Almost Paradise, I think. Yuck. :)

Fun things to do - roller skating to disco, learning how to skate backwards so you could do couples' slow skates, trying not to fall down because in those skin-tight jeans it was hard to get back up ;) I had my own skates with those little pom-poms on the ties - still haven't gotten the hang of those rollerblade things :)

[edayna]

RE - "Weekly Reader" - They still have them! My daughter (5 years old) calls them "Wrinkly Reader" (They are that, by the time they get home ;)

[Forgiven_Sinner]

What a thread! I was born in 1956. I remember the late 50's and early 60's as a time of patriotism and positive feelings about America--of course we were great! I remember Mr. Clean commercials and "You'll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush you teeth with Pepsident!". I watched Bugs Bunny and Woody Woodpecker in those years.

We were at the peak of the boom, I think. I recall families with 11 kids down the street, and everyone had at least three. We were unusual because we had only 2. We owned a black VW bug we called "the midnight speedster". We packed 11 people into it one time.

I became politically aware at 12 (1968). I couldn't understand why we didn't win the Vietnam war. A simple invasion of N. Vietname would have done it. Later, I found out that mining the harbors almost defeated them. We chose to lose that war, as we did in Korea. (I'm speaking of politicians choosing not to win, whatever it cost. Our military was outstanding, under the foolish handicaps they were given) We should have kept McArthur and pitched Truman--wait, we did!

I remember being amazed at how funny Laugh In was in 1969 and staying up to watch the moon landing July 20th. But people remember Woodstock instead.

I wore plaid red and black bell bottoms in the early 70's in HS. I wore black shirts and white ties--4 " wide. I liked white bell bottoms with a white v neck shirt. I let my hair grow to 4" long after HS, but it didn't hang down my neck--I had a natural Afro with 1" curls.

I started going to church and I wore three piece suit. I also had a two piece suit, but it seemed less formal.

My HS, Midpark, in the Cleveland area had 2600 students in it. My class, 1974, had 777.

We listened to Karen Carpenter, Jim Croce, Led Zepplin's "Stairway to Heaven", the Animals, "House of the Rising Sun", Classical Gas, Popcorn. I got to see Wilt Chamberlain play against Kareem Jabbar (on TV). I saw the LA Lakers win 33 games in a row in 1972. Pete Maravich and George Gervin averaged well over 30 points per game, as did Jabbar.

That's enough memories for the night. G'night!

[Sabertooth]

"How about Hot Line?"

Oooo, nice! I wanna say The Sylvers, but I know that's wrong.

[WIMom]

We had the milk chute. It was a little door built into the side of the house to store milk. The milkman just put the milk in the milk chute instead of on the porch. You could get your milk without going outside. Very nice, especially in WI.

[JmyBryan]

In, I think, 1972 I (12 yrs old) I saw Isaac Hayes (Theme from Shaft) at Summerfest, by myself (my buddies, who I saved good seats, 12th row, all day for, didn't make it).
Quite the cultural awakening for that acne-faced white-boy.

[edayna]

Mr. Softee - oh yes! Those were the days, when ice cream trucks made a nice little "ding, ding" instead of the incredibly annoying music they play now!