Remember when the United Nations was so important that a Supreme Court Justice quit the bench in order to serve as ambassador?
Remember when Clark Gable’s line in Gone With The Wind - “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn” - was considered scandalous?
Remember when there were no fact checkers to determine that Gable’s line was not in use until well after the Civil War?
Remember when the US military last won a war?
Remember when an 8-year-old could memorize the entire Major League Baseball roster for 16 teams and buy enough bubble gum to collect a stat card for each player?
Remember these once famous pop musicians who will now afford you oodles of opportunity on YouTube: Johnny Ray, Russ Columbo, The Ink Spots, Vera Lynn, Dick Haymes, Margaret Whiting, Sammy Kaye, Kay Kyser, Kate Smith, Dinah Shore, Xavier Cugat, Vaughn Monroe, Guy Mitchell, Vic Damone, Helen Forrest, Ray Eberle, Frankie Laine, Spike Jones, Kitty Killen, Arthur Godfrey, Martha Raye, Perez Prado, Hoagy Carmichael…to name a few.
Remember when the lone TV on the block was a magnet for all the neighbors?
Remember when there were such things as children’s clothes and school clothes?
Remember when going to grandma’s house was a 5-story walk up?
Remember when there were three great baseball teams in New York but only one great center fielder?
Remember when even a sip of water on a Sunday morning disqualified you from Holy Communion at Catholic Mass?
Remember when pizza was10 cents a slice, and you could get the whole pie for 75 cents?
Remember the holes in the soles of Adlai Stevenson’s shoes?
Remember the Collier brothers and why?
Remember when you couldn’t tell whether the Studebaker was coming or going?
Remember how a Ford Edsel made you want to suck on a lemon?
Remember the First Amendment before it was cancelled by the Second Amendment?
Remember when everyone read at least two newspapers a day?
Remember when before buying a pair of new shoes we’d polish the old?
Remember when shoe stores would X-ray your feet to test the fit?
Remember when blocks of ice arrived in delivery trucks for use in bars and at soda fountains?
Remember when we started referring to prejudice as racism?
Remember when Hollywood mega-star John Wayne advertised the manly benefits of smoking long before he died of lung cancer?