Ray’s Daily
April 27, 2022
The moments we share are the moments we keep forever.
Author Unknown
These days I enjoy the memories of days gone by. While it is the 21st centaury most of my happiest days took place some time ago. Here are reminders of what life was like in the 50’s.
The 50’s were a charming decade-a time where everything seemed so simple. Food (especially candy), music, and movies used to be so cheap, which meant there was always something fun to do.
But If you were still bored, you could just walk on over to your neighbor’s house and see what they were up to. If you grew up in the 50’s, you will remember how true these were.
20. Horse-drawn milk carts…The milkman had a horse and cart. Yes Ernie really lived… and you WOULD hear the clip clop of his horse and the clink of the bottles on the doorstep as he made his way down your street well before dawn.
19. The Corona Lorry – It came around once a week and your biggest decision was whether to choose root beer or cream soda! And you always kept the bottles to return, as you’d get a penny back on each one!
18. The communal telephone – You had just the one, and it may have been a party line, shared with a neighbor You’d have different numbers, but if you picked up and they were talking, you’d just have to wait to make your call!
17. The Rag And Bone Man – He’d also came round on a horse and cart, ringing a bell so you’d know he was around, and shouting out ‘Any old iron, any old iron?’
16. The Rented TV – Yep, back in the 1950s, the telly was paid for each week up at the Radio Rentals shop, and if you were lucky your mum and dad would change it every year or so for the latest model.
15. The arrival of color television! – Nothing quite compared with the excitement of seeing your favourite programmes in blazing colour for the first time. Joy!
14. Making a go cart – Hot rods and jalopies
13. The cold! – There was no central heating. Individual rooms were heated with a coal fire or a gas heater – turned on only when the rooms were being used. Your bedroom wasn’t heated!
12. Play time – We’d go out and play for hours – sometimes all day. Our mom wouldn’t have a clue where we were or what we were up to – and she didn’t worry!
11. Old Money – Decimal coins came in 1971, so we grew up with the old money.
10. Stamps and Coupons – Your mom collected Green Shield Stamps and Co-Op ‘divi’ stamps, your dad collected the Embassy tokens from the cigarette packets and you spent many a happy hour flicking through the catalogs deciding what to ‘spend’ them on!
9. Cigarette sticks and coconut tobacco – We’d pretend to smoke our candy sticks – complete with a pink tip – and scoff brown coconut ‘tobacco’ from a pouch. There were also Jamboree bags, gobstoppers and milk bottles (and thankfully you can still buy them today!)
8. Your dad’s car – To start it, he’d pull out the choke to let the gas into the engine. Too much and it’d flood, and much cursing would ensue while you waited for it to dry out so he could try again. When he indicated, a little orange arrow-shaped indicator popped out from the side of the car. Seatbelts? What were they…?
7. The first tights – Oh the joy of giving up your suspender belt and nylon stockings for a pair of tights. It was life changing and, yes, we wore bum-scraping mini skirts and tiny hot pants the first time around!
6. Eating out – You’d meet your mates in the local Wimpy Bar for a cheeseburger, cola float and a sticky Rum Baba. A trip out with mom and dad was steak and fries, followed by Black Forest Gateau at the local Berni Inn.
5. New supermarkets – When you were little, your mom went to lots of different shops – meat from the butcher, bread from the bakery, veg and fruit from the greengrocers, but then the first ‘self-service’ shop opened in your high street. Supermarkets had arrived.
4. Your first job – It paid less than $20 a week, you got your wages in a brown envelope on a Friday and, if you were lucky, you also had a Luncheon Voucher every day – it was enough to buy a sandwich AND a bag of chips!
3. ‘Proper’ music – Remember your little hand-held transistor radio? You took it to bed at night to tune in under the covers when your mum thought you were asleep! You listened to your 45s and LPs on your mum and dad’s huge wooden gramophone, or up in your bedroom on a portable ‘Dansette’ record player.
2. You went to five and dimes – Forget the Dollar Store—you shopped at Woolworth’s. You bought candy, nuts, toy soldiers, makeup, hair clips, balloons, handkerchiefs—whatever childhood treasure you could afford with your precious nickels. And after shopping, you sidled up to the lunch counter for the most delicious sandwich and fountain soda you’ve ever had. Try getting THAT at Walmart.
What’s Number 1 on our countdown? Well, we are leaving that up to you! What did we miss? What can you add?
~~~
No one can ever take your memories from you – each day is a new beginning, make good memories every day.
Catherine Pulsifer
~~~
Some headlines from the past you may have missed:
Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
Lung Cancer in Women Mushrooms
Teacher Strikes Idle Kids
Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim
Shot Off Woman’s Leg Helps Nicklaus to 66
~~~
“I’ve learned that I should make the little decisions with my head and the big decisions with my heart.”
~~~
A pious man who had reached the age of 105 suddenly stopped going to synagogue. Alarmed by the old fellow’s absence after so many years of faithful attendance the Rabbi went to see him.
He found him in excellent health, so the Rabbi asked, “How come after all these years we don’t see you at services anymore?”
The old man looked around and lowered his voice. “I’ll tell you, Rabbi,” he whispered. “When I got to be 90, I expected God to take me any day. But then I got to be 95, then 100, then 105. So I figured that God is very busy and must’ve forgotten about me, and I don’t want to remind Him!”
~~~
She said: It begins when you sink into his arms and ends with your arms in the sink.
~~~
I suppose some degree of commerce would grind to a halt if telephone solicitors weren’t able to call people at home during the dinner hour. But that doesn’t make it any more pleasant.
Now Steve Rubenstein, a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, has proposed “Three Little Words” based on his brief experience in a telemarketing operation — that would stop the nuisance for all time. The three little words are “Hold on, please.”
Saying this while putting down your phone and walking off instead of hanging up immediately — would make each telemarketing call so time-consuming that boiler rooms would grind to a halt.
When you eventually hear the phone company’s beep-beep-beep tone, you know it’s time to go back and hang up your handset, which has efficiently completed its task.
~~~
She said, men have feelings too (but who really cares)
~~~
A troop of Boy Scouts was being used as “guinea pigs” in a test of emergency systems. A mock earthquake was staged, and the Scouts impersonated wounded persons who were to be picked up and cared for by the emergency units.
One Scout was supposed to lie on the ground and await his rescuers, but the first-aid people got behind schedule, and the Scout lay “wounded” for several hours.
When the first-aid squad arrived where the casualty was supposed to be, they found nothing but a brief note: “Have bled to death and gone home.”
~~~
“A girl phoned me the other day and said, ‘Come on over; nobody’s home.’ I went over. Nobody was home.”
Rodney Dangerfield
~~~
A little boy, who was “very” much afraid of the dark, was told by his mother to go out to the back porch and bring her the broom. The little boy turned to his mother and said, “Mama, I don’t want to go out there. It’s dark.”
The mother smiled reassuringly at her son. You don’t have to be afraid of the dark,” she explained. “Jesus is out there he’ll look after you and protect you.”
The little boy looked at his mother real hard and asked, “Are you sure he’s out there?”
“Yes, I’m sure. He is everywhere, and he is always ready to help you when you need him,” she said.
The little boy thought about that for a minute and then went to the back door and cracked it a little. Peering out into the darkness, he called “Jesus? If you’re out there, would you please hand me the broom?
~~~
“There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart. Pursue those.”
~~~
We must use time wisely for our development and advancement; so that when we are old, we can look back and recollect the pleasant memories and deeds that we have achieved.
Michael Lee
~~~
Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies. The editor is somewhat senile.
Ray’s Daily has been sent for more than twenty years to people who want to start their day on an upbeat. If you have system overload because of our daily clutter, let me know and I will send you the information via mental telepathy. If you have not been getting our daily you can request to be added by e-mailing me at raykiwsp@comcast.net. Back issues are posted at http://rays-daily,com/ currently there are hundreds of readers from around the world.
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