Remember when Johnny Vandermeer pitched two consecutive no hitters for the Cincinnati Reds?
Remember when star athletes were paid and valued so little that Don Newcombe, full of Dodger bravado, could start both ends of a Sunday doubleheader?
Remember the little speech about “no toilet breaks” before each car trip?
Remember the vengeful refrain, “Are we there yet?”
Remember when some ice cream pops came with lucky sticks that entitled one to a free ice cream next time?
Remember when the higher priced Hallmark cards were so well written that one could spends hours poring over them to find just the right sentiment for that special person?
Remember when restaurant signs dominated facades in the Times Square area: Nedicks, Chock-Full-of-Nuts, Lindy’s, Horn & Hardart, Schrafft’s, Burger Chef, Romeos’s, Tad’s Steakhouse, Mamaleone’s and countless quick stops featuring coconut drinks, chocolate egg creams and boiled Sabrett hot dogs?
Remember when they demolished the old Dodger ballpark, Ebbets Field, only to have the idea of it resurface years later in Camden Yards, Baltimore?
Remember those lean days when one discovered one could charge at Macy’s on their card and return the item the next day for cash?
Remember when everyone’s favorite highball was a 7&7, Seagrams plus 7-Up?
Remember when “the dip” was a make or break dance move?
Remember when one’s first trip to London revealed that there was no such thing as “English muffin”? Ditto in Italy for “spaghetti and meatballs” and “hero sandwiches”?
Remember when most of your school friends hated science and math, later becoming antivaxers or Republicans?
Remember when Uncle Don lost his kids show, thinking he was off mike exclaiming “That should hold the little bastards for a while.”
Remember when Ronald Reagan was a unionizing Democrat before he became a union busting Republican?
Remember when The Emil Coleman Orchestra, high society’s big band, had a 10-year run at NY’s Waldorf Astoria, featuring Happy Reiss on the drums?
Remember when St. Christopher was decommissioned, Mary Magdalene
restored, and Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer celebrated?
Remember when pasta was either spaghetti or macaroni?
Remember when one sucked spaghetti up one strand at a time before learning how to twirl it on a fork?
Remember when success in life or marriage depended on climbing the wealth ladder higher than one’s parents did?
Remember when the only kids who got trophies were on winning teams?