quote Originally posted by Formula88: I wonder how much of the "changing times" is due to the times themselves, or us. We remember people being more trustworthy when we were young - but we were young and more trusting. Do the times stay the same (sort of) and we just experience it more and find out the harsh realities of life?

Sure, we all 'grew up' at some point, but the world has changed too, for the worst for the most part.

quote Originally posted by theBDub: Right now, I can't imagine anyone wanting to know "what it was like" growing up in the 90's. I just can't imagine anyone in the future really curious about it. Is that how y'all felt? Did you feel like every new invention or innovation was just part of things, like they are now, or did you recognize how big some inventions were? To clarify that, I mean... Right now, I feel like all these iPods and gadgets are just part of the technological world we live in, and I no longer get blown away when something better comes out. When big things like color TV and stereos started getting more common, did you recognize how big that was or was it just "part of the world" you lived in?

I think it was more of a gradual transition in the past. Things weren’t instantly obsolete when new technology came along. For example, phone company plant equipment was amortized over 30 years.

quote Originally posted by Nurb432: Sure, we all 'grew up' at some point, but the world has changed too, for the worst for the most part.

But we're basing that comparison on our own perspective, which has changed over the years.
Today we have technology you could only read about in Science Fiction novels in the 50's.
People can be cured of what used to be certain death from various illnesses and injuries.

Boonie mentioned terrorism, but killing and power hungry tribal warfare has been around since mankind existed. With global media we all hear about more of it today than we would have in the past. There have been no more World Wars since WWII. The wars we've been in measure casualties in the thousands, not hundreds of thousands.
We have cars that put out over 400 HP and still get over 20 mpg.

Have humans as a species really changed much in the short span of 60 years?

born 1942,my father was at pearl harbour dec 7
I was 8 year old in 1950
lived in texas 7 florida Tampa & Orlando
this is about Orlando 60,000 to 70,000 people
my family was ,,like leave it to beaver, mayberry
women were addressed as mam ,men as sir
teen boys did not wear hats
most boys smoked
father career military 24 years,air force mom stay at home
grew up in planed community homes $8,000 to 12,5000
mostly 3 bedroom 1 bath,
no air conditioning
Movie theatre & publix super market had A/C,,later 50smany stores had air conditioning
I was a cub scout ,boyscout
The 54 ford/mercury was the first mass OHV V8
Oldsmobile rocket 88s were not common
the 55 chevy was HOT kids wanted one
swap from ford flathead to olds rocket V8 was the common swap, lincoln big flat head V8 was put in fords
never saw a chevy 6 swaped to anything
younger kids rode bicycle, older teenagers walked
no one had more than one car
My father was a car nut,like to race ,knew fireball roberts, sold almquist speed parts to young airforce enlisted
girls hung out together
no teen boys were getting any
we would get a bunch of guys in one car & drive down the main drag looking to race & meet girls
the girls would be in one car ,,we tried to get the girls to meet us at a drive in..
occasionally boys in one car would end up infight with another car.
some of the drive in,s had girls on skates
PIG & WHISTLE,,,A&W ROOT BEER,,STEAK & SHAKE
MANY SENIOR GIRLS ONLY DATED GUYS IN THE SERVICE
All men went into the service
you could walk the streets with out fear
I could walk to the drug store at nite & hang out with the guys
there were drugs goofballs ,but not much,,you went to the black sction to buy drugs.
All blacks lived accross the tracks
seldom saw blacks ,integration was only a blib here. a few lunch counter sit ins
there were few white & black rest rooms
NO girls were allowed to go out at nite ,unless to go to a girl friend house close rules were very different for girls
Girls wore skirts to school
at a pep rally we sang !!
BOYS "we like short shorts"" GIRLS""we wear short shorts ""
BOYs"" we like short shorts"" GIRLs ""we"re cutting them short,shorter""laughter
a girl would not let you touch her breast unless you dateed alooooonnng time
there were a few sluts in BIG demand
45 & 78 rpm(large disc record) were the type of records
some guys install 45 ecord player in dash glove box,, NEAT
little Richard,chuck berry, elvis, the fleetwoods""Ive waited,waited so long,for your kisses & your love
very few teens had cars I was lucky first in my area because dad was gear head 7 I had large paper route 49 ford flathead V8
My dad has a new 56 buick,black ,pink & white,all the girls wanted a ride
Girls were feminine,, NO feminist
getting laid was very difficult,, teen girls often wore tight shorts ,it was pure agony,,I wear very thick glasses now,shave my hand..
you could not buy playboy or any sex magazines
BEER was difficult to buy

[This message has been edited by uhlanstan (edited 05-30-2011).]

Born in 1949 so the early 50s were a bit of a blur. However, I do remember bits about the Korean war since my father was recalled to active duty then. I either walked to school or rode my bike if the weather was decent. The teachers appeared to like what they did and got respect from the kids (especially one that was married to the county Sheriff). My dad gave me a pockert knife at an early age and I routinely carried it everywhere including school.

Air conditioning was almost nonexistant but all of my homes did have central heat (coal, oil, or gas). Saturday movies were either a quarter or so many bottle caps for admission (I liked the bottle caps since I knew a guy that ran a gas station and would let me have all the bottle caps that I wanted). Kids played all over town and roamed freely from one friends place to another. TV was mostly black and white but I was quite happy to have one since I occasionally got to watch a movie. Most of the kid oriented TV programs were very simple (Captian Kangaroo, cartoons, etc.) and would be very dull by today's standards.

The big news at school was the arrival of staff members that did a flouride treatment on your teath to help prevent tooth decay. Polio vaccine was fairly new then, consisted solely of a series of injections with a very large needle, and required dropping your trousers. Life was much simpler then even with the Cold War, the continual threat of nuclear war, U2 shootdowns, etc. I remember the first satellite (Sputnick), the US attempt to launch the firts ones from this country and the subsequent pad explosions, and the first successful launch from the Jupiter platform. Life was different then but I would not go back.

quote Originally posted by hnthomps: Life was different then but I would not go back.

I hear that all the time and I DON'T GET IT!
It's like when people say, "What, you want to live forever?!"

Uh, HELL YEAH!!!

quote Originally posted by uhlanstan: some guys install 45 ecord player in dash glove box,, NEAT

I could see you transition from "This is how it was" to "I'm back in my time, this is what I'm experiencing."

What a cool post Stan. The quoted line above made me smile big. Thank you!

I remember my dad telling me about a car he had ('50 Mercury, I think) that had an under dash record player. It was upside down, and the record clamped onto the turntable and the tonearm came up from below.

Back in the '50's, my grandfather owned a Lincoln-Mercury dealership. My father and his two brothers all worked there at some point.

This was back when the big race at Daytona Beach was ON the beach.


Sorry for the poor quality pics. This is a screen grab from a DVD transfer of 50 year old 8mm home movies.

[This message has been edited by Formula88 (edited 05-30-2011).]

quote Originally posted by williegoat: "The Future" was filled with hopes and dreams. Every new product was touted as a big step into the future. People were still talking about the 1939 World's Fair. We really believed that we would, someday, be living like George Jetson. They promised me a flying car. I'm still waiting.

And what happened to the 4 day work week that was suposed to happen? Never mind - I retired at the beginning of this month.

Guys thanks for all the posts. I am reading every word of every post. I really enjoy hearing the stories of how things use to be. Also I enjoy the 'true' stories, I don't believe what TV tells us about the 50's, and what my dad tells me I think is the PG rated version of his events. LoL.

quote Originally posted by DeLorean00: I was born in the 1980's so the only knowledge I have of the 1950's is what I have read in text books and the TV's shows I have watched from that era. Obviously I know there were problems, i.e. civil rights issues, coming out of wars and getting ready to go into other wars. But aside from the issues, what was America like back then? I have often wished I was alive during that period. It seems like America was so new and full of life. Family values were strong, communities were also strong, technology was advancing, and it just seemed like a great time to be alive. Almost like America peaked in the 50's in a lot of ways. So please share your experiences so us younger generations can learn what it was really like. Thanks in advance!

America didn't "peak" in the 50s.

What happened in the 50s is that the war was over, and through the period leading up to that point, there was a lot of sacrifice that had to be made. Car models through most of the late 40s were totally unchanged, and outdated. With the war over, people were focusing back on normal life, and a lot of innovations and technologies (and modern styling) hit the market. Everything from the fridge, pop-culture, to bake-lite, to car styling... everything seemed to come out at the same time. It was probably a pretty great time to be alive. People were mostly poor though, but the work was honest, and there were a lot of manufacturing jobs. Almost everything was made in America, so the money was all flowing to the US.

It wasn't all peaches and cream... there was some major **** going on that doesn't get talked about a lot. There was major infiltration of communism throughout Europe, South America, and the US. A lot of leftys will tell you that people like McCarthy were crazy, but read any of the books that came out during that time, and it paints a very scary picture. For example, Inside a Soviet Embassy, The Venona Secrets, The Dark Side of Camelot, Bay of Pigs, etc...

I always get a HUGE kick out of it when I hear people tell me that McCarthy did nothing more than start a "witch-hunt" and that it was all garbage. Then... they link to a couple of liberal websites and say "see... these are facts" and really don't have a ****ing **** in the wind clue as to what really went on. America has always been great, and the stuff we see today on TV about the 50s was a paradise type of reality. But there was a lot about society that was hidden.... things that can't be hidden in today's society. If there's a secret meeting between a foreign national and a congressman now... it makes it all over YouTube... back then, it happened every day and no one knew about it.

You'd really like the book "Executive Secrets" I think... it was written by a guy named James Dougherty. He was the poor son of a ***** that was captured during the 1979 Islamic revolution, and wasn't freed until 1981. In any case, he wrote an entire history of the government's clandestine actions across the US by president. It's an excellent book. One of the things I found very interesting is that almost every Democrat president starts his administration with huge animosity towards the clandestine agencies, but ends up doing an about-face, and using them more than the Republican presidents. Nearly 80% of the "campaigns" that Reagan followed throughout the 80s, were actually started by Carter. Funny, considering that Reagan won almost exclusively on the concept that Carter didn't think Communism was a real threat.

Anyway... I get my knowledge from talking to a lot of old farts, and reading a lot of old books that were written during the time.

My favorite, I'd have to say, was Inside a Soviety Embassy. You can't buy it now... it was last published in 1962... but if you can somehow get an older copy, it's worth it.

Just keep in mind that the issue with McCarthy wasn't that he was wrong (finding communist sympathizer isn't exactly difficult), it was that he accused people only for their thoughts and associations alone and accused people that clearly weren't sympathetic to communism.

Yes, there were communists as there are now and will always be (welcome to freedom), but free thought shouldn't be illegal. Espionage and treason is and should be.

[This message has been edited by TK (edited 05-30-2011).]

quote Originally posted by Old Lar: Since WW II was over for only five years in 1950, I remember Walter Cronkite's TV show about the war every Sunday I think. B&W TV if you had the funds to buy one. I think we got a TV 1954 or 55. The duck & cover exercizes at school in case of nuclear war. You walked to elementary school, walked home for lunch then back for afternoon classes. Or once I got my bike, ride to school back and forth. No school cafeteria, or you packed a "brown bag" lunch. Definitely a simpler time to grow up.

If school cafeterias were shunned for brown bags even though it was available? Why was it even offered? When it did really take off as an accepted way to receive lunch? Asking from an 80's school kid.

quote Originally posted by TK: Just keep in mind that the issue with McCarthy wasn't that he was wrong, it was that he accused people only for their thoughts and associations alone and accused people that clearly weren't sympathetic to communism. Yes, there were communists as there are now and will always be (welcome to freedom), but free thought shouldn't be illegal. Espionage and treason is and should be.

Seriously, do you have ANY idea at all how rampant communism was during the 50s?

In every country in South America, and every country in Europe, Russia was funneling hundreds of millions of dollars (what would amount to nearly a trillion dollars in today's money) into communist campaigns throughout. In nearly every country on this planet, even ones that didn't have an organized government, both the US and Russia were fighting a propoganda war. Russia would fund the communist party, or the socialist party. The United States would fund the Democracy Party, whoever was the resistance, or at the absolute worst, the socialist party if the alternative was the communist party. The United States won... but the amount of propoganda and influence the Russians had on these countries were astounding. There's a reason why Europe became what we perceive now to be "socialist." We barely won some of those countries, including Greece and Spain. Communism is still a major part of Greece, and they actually have a decent party representation there under slightly different names. All the founders are from the earlier KKE and KNE organizations.

South America was another one... we only won Uruguay by a mere thread... and places like Argentina are still just a stones throw from becoming communist again like it was under the stupid ***** Eva and Juan Peron.

If you believe for a second that McCarthy went "overboard" then you clearly don't know what was going on in the rest of the world (and the US) during that time.


EDIT: Sorry if I'm coming off kind of aggressive here, but people today really have absolutely NO IDEA how close we were to losing America, or the rest of the world, to Communism.

[This message has been edited by 82-T/A [At Work] (edited 05-30-2011).]

quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: EDIT: Sorry if I'm coming off kind of aggressive here, but people today really have absolutely NO IDEA how close we were to losing America, or the rest of the world, to Communism.

I don't think we were near as "close to losing America" as others were/have been led to believe.
Think about what that would take.
The mechanics of it to actually take hold.
Look at the accusations of socialism being believed of our government by a large segment of our own people these very days.

Communism has always been supposed to be waiting in the wings to take us over.
We have involved ourselves in other countries wars many times based on that very belief.
It's a boogie man we have had for so long that we probibly will always neeed to have it.
After all, for such an ever-pending horror, stretched over many lifetimes, why does it still exsist at all?
Shouldn't we know every inch of it by now?
Where are todays arrests, the court cases, the spy trials, the uprirings, the coversion meetings, the propaganda, and all the other signs that were so prevelent during the last scare?

Maybe becouse the new boogieman is Islam or Muslim?

I'm just saying there are and have been those that always think someone is out there waiting not destroy us, but to take us over.
To change our way of life.
To change the way we think.
But the real fear is not that it will be by force that they change us, but that most of us are just weak & stupid enough to actually fall for it, willingly.

The fear is, and always has been, mostly about us.

P.S. Just my opinion from what I read and see and am a part of.
Not to be construed in any way as truth or fact.
Just opinion.

[This message has been edited by Boondawg (edited 05-30-2011).]

1950's high tech:



Every car was a classic then but we didn't know it:

[This message has been edited by spark1 (edited 05-31-2011).]

quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: Seriously, do you have ANY idea at all how rampant communism was during the 50s If you believe for a second that McCarthy went "overboard" then you clearly don't know what was going on in the rest of the world (and the US) during that time. EDIT: Sorry if I'm coming off kind of aggressive here, but people today really have absolutely NO IDEA how close we were to losing America, or the rest of the world, to Communism.

NO that is not even close to true
commies were few and far between in the USA

what tailgunner joe was going nuts about
was people like robert Oppenheimer the guy who led the A-bomb
he had a girl friend who was a commie once
and that made him a threat to national security [ never mind he won the war]
that was enough to send tailguner and his boys into a foam at the mouth fit
I dought tailgunner ever caught a real spy or threat

yes ''they'' were worried about a red under every bed
but even later in the civil rights and anti-war 60's
real commies were never very many
probably more fake cop agent provocateurs then party people
far more hippys wanted nothing to do with politic or fights with cops
so left does not and never did equal commie
and the nut left is so split but most hate the commies more then the right
and that is one thing the right will never understand
the left never was law and order fans or the type to follow rules or leaders
an that is why commies had/have no chance in america
and are just a rightwing nitemare
it short reds never were a real problem here or 1st world anywhere but italy

Figures that someone just HAD to come crap all over what had been an enjoyable, light-hearted thread with their misguided political zealousness. And I'm not talking about Ray here.

quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: Seriously, do you have ANY idea at all how rampant communism was during the 50s If you believe for a second that McCarthy went "overboard" then you clearly don't know what was going on in the rest of the world (and the US) during that time. EDIT: Sorry if I'm coming off kind of aggressive here, but people today really have absolutely NO IDEA how close we were to losing America, or the rest of the world, to Communism.

NO that is not even close to true
commies were few and far between in the USA

what tailgunner joe was going nuts about
was people like robert Oppenheimer the guy who led the A-bomb
he had a girl friend who was a commie once
and that made him a threat to national security [ never mind he won the war]
that was enough to send tailguner and his boys into a foam at the mouth fit
I dought tailgunner ever caught a real spy or threat

yes ''they'' were worried about a red under every bed
but even later in the civil rights and anti-war 60's
real commies were never very many
probably more fake cop agent provocateurs then party people
far more hippys wanted nothing to do with politic or fights with cops
so left does not and never did equal commie
and the nut left is so split but most hate the commies more then the right
and that is one thing the right will never understand
the left never was law and order fans or the type to follow rules or leaders
an that is why commies had/have no chance in america
and are just a rightwing nitemare
it short reds never were a real problem here or 1st world anywhere but italy

my origial post was to long got logged our errrr
was comunism a problem??
many accused by tail gunner Joe turned out to be real communist
we are paying the price RIGHT NOW funk soul brothers for the commie left influence ,america is falling NOW,sinking

Girls had a different mind set,they all wanted to get Married
the girls who did not want to Marry were ugly
80% of young men wanted to serve in Military
the only men who talked about WW2 were Marines ??
we marked off drag strips on newly built roads
you could sleep on the beach,,build bon fires
I use to help the fishermen pull in thier nets
a car load of boys was decapitated when thier convertible car going 75 MPH on the beach hit a drain pipe at nite in Cocoa beach area
Police would look for couples parked in remote areas
Never heard about a missing child
Gas wars as low as 15 cents a gallon.
my first hi school every one in my area road the bus,,you knew every one
my second hi school it was a 21/2 mile walk,I would carry my girl friends books.
no one had a black friend
a teen boy having his own car was a status symbol,easier to date,,BIG KAHUNA stuff
we were all so similar ,some tried to be different
There were no Boys with long hair,,girls wore long Hair
Bikers wore jeans & T shirts often the cuffs rolled up
a lot of boys that smoke rolled the cigarette pack up in their T shirt sleve
A greaser had long hair elvis style ,,some wore black leather jackets in winter a lot wore white T shirts
I at one time wore boots with chains !! Woopee decided it was stupid
blue & white suede shoes were popular at one time
a few boys rolled queers in Eola park,,it was called gobler park many people came to Florida in winter, many queers would try to pick up young boys or teens This was a real problem,, they finally filled the place with cops .
a date was going to the Movie , the drive in was date spot & many friends would be there
It was cool to have a neato jet nick name like HOT ROD OR DADDY OR DADDY O
i WAS KNOWN AS reader HATED IT!!
BRYLCREME & VITALIS WERE POPULAR TO KEEP GREASER HAIR INPLACE
ITS WHERE THE KOOKY LOAN ME YOUR COMB CAME FROM
VANDALISM ?? we went over the fence at the community swimming pool at nite
One guy stole a beer truck we were drunk for weeks
In Orlando Florida kids obeyed the law
Every one i knew had a MOM & Dad,,never saw abuse of any sort
a lot of people moved from the north,,they had lower morales more likely to shoplift,ect
there were many CAR dirt track races,3 in Orlando at one time
skeeters were common, this was a car with all the body removed ..

[This message has been edited by uhlanstan (edited 05-31-2011).]

quote Originally posted by uhlanstan: my origial post was to long got loged our errrr was comunism a problem?? many accused by tail gunner Joe turned out to be real communist we are paying the price RIGHT NOW funk soul brothers for the commie left influence ,america is falling NOW,sinking Girls had a different mind set,they all wanted to get Married the girls who did not want to Marry were ugly 80% of young menwanted to serve in Military the only men who talked about WW2 were Marines ?? we marked off drag strips on newly built roads you could sleep on the beach,,build bon fires I use to help the fishermen pull in thier nets a car load of boys was decapitated when thier convertible car going 75 MPH on the beach hit a drain pipe at nite in Coaco beach area Police would look for couples parked in remote areas Never heard about a missing child Gas wars as low as 15 cents a gallon. my first hi school every one in my area road the bus,,you knew every one my second hi school it was a 21/2 mile walk,I would carry my girl friends books. no one had a black friend a teen boy having his own car was a status symbol,easier to date,,BIG KAHUNA stuff we were all so similar ,some tried to be different There were no Boys with long hair,,girls wore long Hair Bikers wore jeans & T shirts often the cuffs rolled up a lot of boys that smoke rolled the cigarette pack up in their T shirt sleve A greaser had long hair elvis style ,,some wore black leather jackets in winter a lot wore white T shirts I at one time wore boots with chains !! Woopee decided it was stupid blue & white suede shoes were popular at one time a few boys rolled queers in Eola park,,it was called gobler park many people came to Florida in winter, many queers would try to pick up young boys or teens This was a real problem,, they finally filled the place with cops . a date was going to the Movie , the drive in was date spot & many friends would be there It was cool to have a neato jet nick name like HOT ROD OR DADDY OR DADDY O i WAS KNOWN AS reader HATED IT!! BRYLCREME & VITALIS WERE POPULAR TO KEEP GREASER HAIR INPLACE ITS WHERE THE KOOKY LOAN ME YOUR COMB CAME FROM VANDALISM ?? we went over the fence at the community swimming pool at nite One guy stole a beer truck we were drunk for weeks In Orlando Florida kids obeyed the law Every one i knew had a MOM & Dad,,never saw abuse of any sort a lot of people moved from the north,,they had lower morales more likely to shoplift,ect

Thanks for getting us back on track. I love reading about life back then.

Watch out for the guy on the right.

I WAS going to post about what it was like in the UK when I was a kid. But decided neither you (collectively ) nor I have the time, or inclination, to go there
Nick

I'm 29, my father was born in 1934, so I have the luxury of hearing all this from him. He graduated high school in 1952! My Uncle June, was a 101st Airborne paratrooper in WWII and fought in the battle of the bulge. He was captured twice and escaped twice. He did like to speak about the war, but before he died he opened up and shared some amazing stories with me. I have been blessed with some great first hand people to share history with me.

quote Originally posted by Boondawg: I don't think we were near as "close to losing America" as others were/have been led to believe. Think about what that would take. The mechanics of it to actually take hold. Look at the accusations of socialism being believed of our government by a large segment of our own people these very days. Communism has always been supposed to be waiting in the wings to take us over. We have involved ourselves in other countries wars many times based on that very belief. It's a boogie man we have had for so long that we probibly will always neeed to have it. After all, for such an ever-pending horror, stretched over many lifetimes, why does it still exsist at all? Shouldn't we know every inch of it by now? Where are todays arrests, the court cases, the spy trials, the uprirings, the coversion meetings, the propaganda, and all the other signs that were so prevelent during the last scare? Maybe becouse the new boogieman is Islam or Muslim? I'm just saying there are and have been those that always think someone is out there waiting not destroy us, but to take us over. To change our way of life. To change the way we think. But the real fear is not that it will be by force that they change us, but that most of us are just weak & stupid enough to actually fall for it, willingly. The fear is, and always has been, mostly about us. P.S. Just my opinion from what I read and see and am a part of. Not to be construed in any way as truth or fact. Just opinion.

Boonie, not to be disrespectful here, and you're certainly entitled to your opinion... but have you actually spent any significant time studying or researching that time in American history, or were you merely an innocent bystander during that time?

The United States and Russia ran propoganda wars in almost LITERALLY every single country on this planet during the 50s.

As I said in my long post, you simply cannot get away with the stuff today, as you could back then. A person could have any number of secret meetings, and the only thing you had (at best) was a paper trail. You couldn't even make photocopies, you needed carbon paper copies if you wanted to copy stuff.

It really was a dangerous time, and Russia had a massive push to infiltrate our government during that time. There's a lot of books on that, and you can read them if it interests you... people like the Sobels, and other agents regularly had direct access to our intelligence community. There was good reason for that reaction.

In case you don't remember, we just busted 10 Russian spies in the DC / Metro area last year. That's was really no big deal for us. Business as usual. Understand that back in the 50s though, these people were less scruitinized, and less likely to be discovered... so there were significantly more people back then, than there were today.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stor...ld/main6627393.shtml

quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: Boonie, not to be disrespectful here, and you're certainly entitled to your opinion... but have you actually spent any significant time studying or researching that time in American history, or were you merely an innocent bystander during that time?

No offense taken.
I have done what would probibly be considered light/moderate study over the years on the subject.
Just enough to flap my gums.
And in no way enough to be qualified to teach about it.

Gums is all I got.

quote Originally posted by Boondawg: No offense taken. I have done what would probibly be considered light/moderate study over the years on the subject. Just enough to flap my gums. And in no way enough to be qualified to teach about it. Gums is all I got.

For me, I consider it to be a VERY exciting (and rather costly) piece of American history that few, if anyone, actually knows about.

One of the books which I am almost finished reading, is "Feet to the Fire." It's a book about our anti-communist movement in Indonesia from the late 40s through the 50s. Extremely interesting. It tells about the whole story, including the back-story, from the moment the Dutch left Indonesia after they gained their independence. It's interesting because it talks about the Russian and Chinese communist influence in Indonesia, and how many smaller battles were fought throughout the surrounding islands, and the mainland. At one point, the US gives support to the anti-communist rebels who fight the communists. The anti-communist rebels are native Islamic marines, who were actually trained militarily by the Dutch. They pretty much kick ass... but I can't tell you how the history results since I haven't finished reading it.

Inside a Soviet Embassey, I'd have to say, is probably one of my favorites. Excellent book. It was written by a Russian KGB officer who worked undercover in Burmese Russian Embassy as an attache' officer. It chronicals his life both as a communist..

(sorry, just farted so bad that I had to step away for a moment)

Anyway... he details a brief history of his rise to position, how he made it there, and his experience growing up under a communist rule, and their propoganda and covert actions towards other countries.

Excellent book...

I just found a review online about the book, and the guy who reviewed it liked it almost as much as myself.

https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol7no3/html/v07i3a12p_0001.htm

I was born in 1951. I think the biggest contrast I can see is that people seemed to be kinder then. Cared about their family, respected their neighbor's property, talked to each other more (not on the cell phones). We seem to be more selfish as a society now than then. It's not that all that has gone, but it's less so now, and kindness tends to get muted in the noise of global living.

We are so connected that we learn about more local and world problems quicker and in more depth than before; maybe it just seems scarier than it used to be.

I remember being afraid of "the bomb" though. We had air raid drills where we crouched under our desks in school.

quote Originally posted by spark1: Watch out for the guy on the right.

Is that you?

Then there was the drive-in theaters\.
The place where you hoped to get that sweet thing sitting next to you in the front seat, was going to get in the back seat.
And just about the time you both had enough clothes off to get down to business, the usher would beat on the window with his flashlight and tell you to stop.
Undaunted you would go to Lover's Lane, half way up Little Mountain, where you hoped the view of the city would put her in the mood again.
Always spoiled by a cop beating on the window with his flash light.
A guy just couldn't win.

quote Originally posted by theBDub: ...Right now, I feel like all these iPods and gadgets are just part of the technological world we live in, and I no longer get blown away when something better comes out. When big things like color TV and stereos started getting more common, did you recognize how big that was or was it just "part of the world" you lived in?

The progress of technology used to be much slower. This was before integrated circuits and microprocessors. I'm not sure of the exact date of the invention of the transistor, but having a radio without tubes was a very big deal. Prior to that, vacuum tubes were a part of any kind of receiver. They had to warm up for a minute or so before they'd make a sound.

Things changed when the space race started. Lots of money and brain power went into the effort. Technology seemed to spawn yet more technology. Breakthroughs and discoveries built upon each other.
To put this in perspective, the computer system that parked the Apollo lander on the moon was the functional equivalent of a 486 processor. You've got many times more computing power in your phone or iPod.

quote Originally posted by uhlanstan: my origial post was to long got logged our errrr was comunism a problem?? many accused by tail gunner Joe turned out to be real communist we are paying the price RIGHT NOW funk soul brothers for the commie left influence ,america is falling NOW,sinking Girls had a different mind set,they all wanted to get Married the girls who did not want to Marry were ugly 80% of young men wanted to serve in Military the only men who talked about WW2 were Marines ?? we marked off drag strips on newly built roads you could sleep on the beach,,build bon fires I use to help the fishermen pull in thier nets a car load of boys was decapitated when thier convertible car going 75 MPH on the beach hit a drain pipe at nite in Cocoa beach area Police would look for couples parked in remote areas Never heard about a missing child Gas wars as low as 15 cents a gallon. my first hi school every one in my area road the bus,,you knew every one my second hi school it was a 21/2 mile walk,I would carry my girl friends books. no one had a black friend a teen boy having his own car was a status symbol,easier to date,,BIG KAHUNA stuff we were all so similar ,some tried to be different There were no Boys with long hair,,girls wore long Hair Bikers wore jeans & T shirts often the cuffs rolled up a lot of boys that smoke rolled the cigarette pack up in their T shirt sleve A greaser had long hair elvis style ,,some wore black leather jackets in winter a lot wore white T shirts I at one time wore boots with chains !! Woopee decided it was stupid blue & white suede shoes were popular at one time a few boys rolled queers in Eola park,,it was called gobler park many people came to Florida in winter, many queers would try to pick up young boys or teens This was a real problem,, they finally filled the place with cops . a date was going to the Movie , the drive in was date spot & many friends would be there It was cool to have a neato jet nick name like HOT ROD OR DADDY OR DADDY O i WAS KNOWN AS reader HATED IT!! BRYLCREME & VITALIS WERE POPULAR TO KEEP GREASER HAIR INPLACE ITS WHERE THE KOOKY LOAN ME YOUR COMB CAME FROM VANDALISM ?? we went over the fence at the community swimming pool at nite One guy stole a beer truck we were drunk for weeks In Orlando Florida kids obeyed the law Every one i knew had a MOM & Dad,,never saw abuse of any sort a lot of people moved from the north,,they had lower morales more likely to shoplift,ect there were many CAR dirt track races,3 in Orlando at one time skeeters were common, this was a car with all the body removed ..

Thanks for such an awesome post READER

I'm gonna call you that from now on haha.

I like how you said

quote Originally posted by uhlanstan: One guy stole a beer truck we were drunk for weeks In Orlando Florida kids obeyed the law

LOL

quote Originally posted by williegoat: Is that you?

No, but I knew many people who dressed like that, Levi's, leather jacket and engineer boots. It was the hood uniform.

quote Originally posted by Dennis Alexio in the movie KICKBOXER: I used to be able to kick the doors off a 59 caddy.

Thats one strong leg

quote Originally posted by Raydar: To put this in perspective, the computer system that parked the Apollo lander on the moon was the functional equivalent of a 486 processor. You've got many times more computing power in your phone or iPod.

Is that true? The 486 processor, I realize is pretty old (early 90s), but it's still a pretty powerful machine, if somewhat slow. There's not much difference between a 486 DX processor (that has the integrated MathCo), and a Pentium III processor, with the exception of pipeline / cache / size / speed.

Splitting hairs maybe, but I was always under the impression that the equivelant was even less than say, an 8088 processor.

quote Originally posted by spark1: Every car was a classic then but we didn't know it:

hottie punanis

quote Originally posted by fierofetish: I WAS going to post about what it was like in the UK when I was a kid. But decided neither you (collectively ) nor I have the time, or inclination, to go there Nick

Toss it on here! I'd be curious to hear the differences to the US.

depends on who you are & where you are from
yes, most certainly a wonderful time to be a white male in the USA
still had nigggers & housewives
and both readily available for a beatdown if they didnt respect your authourity
all entertainment & media HEAVILY censored. after all - "The Bomb" was on the way from the commies.
drinking & driving? no problem. street racing? oh you silly boys. well, for whites...

but - dont for a second think there was less crime, or people were in any way "better". still had police, jails, criminals, violence, etc. there was just so much less that could be done. children & young ladies were sexually abused at what today would be an alarming rate. just heavily "hushed up". dont speak of such things.

and, also gotta keep in mind the roaring 20's are still recent past too. the times which created the modern drug laws. because holy crap did them folk do some drugs! likely the most decadent decade ever. yes, the 80's did a good job with cocaine - but - the 20's - they had it all. and lots of it. legal. much right over the counter. and of the children of the 20's (mature adults of the 50's) were actually raised on cocaine.

yes - Happy Days/Amercan Graffit etc. are fiction - and should be viewed as such. Yes, Grease was a fun musical. but thats it. They be stories.

like any other time - it was as great as you could make it.

quote Originally posted by Pyrthian: yes, most certainly a wonderful time to be a white male in the USA still had nigggers & housewives and both readily available for a beatdown if they didnt respect your authourity .....well, for whites...

Very true.
Being a white male was everything.
Hell, it was the only thing.

Whatever white is.....

[This message has been edited by Boondawg (edited 05-31-2011).]

quote Originally posted by Pyrthian: depends on who you are & where you are from yes, most certainly a wonderful time to be a white male in the USA still had nigggers & housewives and both readily available for a beatdown if they didnt respect your authourity all entertainment & media HEAVILY censored. after all - "The Bomb" was on the way from the commies. drinking & driving? no problem. street racing? oh you silly boys. well, for whites... but - dont for a second think there was less crime, or people were in any way "better". still had police, jails, criminals, violence, etc. there was just so much less that could be done. children & young ladies were sexually abused at what today would be an alarming rate. just heavily "hushed up". dont speak of such things. and, also gotta keep in mind the roaring 20's are still recent past too. the times which created the modern drug laws. because holy crap did them folk do some drugs! likely the most decadent decade ever. yes, the 80's did a good job with cocaine - but - the 20's - they had it all. and lots of it. legal. much right over the counter. and of the children of the 20's (mature adults of the 50's) were actually raised on cocaine. yes - Happy Days/Amercan Graffit etc. are fiction - and should be viewed as such. Yes, Grease was a fun musical. but thats it. They be stories. like any other time - it was as great as you could make it.

Pretty much x2 for me here (although I would have used more PC choice words... hahah)