Memory lane

From an e-mail from my folks:  Things that “If you can remember most or all of these, then you have lived!”

• 45 rpm spindles – I remember these — little inserts you could put in a 45 record’s hole to make it fit on a “normal” record player.  Don’t laugh — it’s essentialy the same as the little micro-SD chips that fit into a normal SD chip carrier.
• Green Stamps –  I remember my mom collecting these … though we were more of a Blue Chip Stamp kind of family.
• Metal ice cubes trays with levers – You can still find these in the refrigerators of churches and vacation cabins.  They are virtually indestructible, and will probably outlast civilization.
• Beanie and Cecil – I have utterly no recollection of the old TV puppet show — but I have fond memories of the cartoon version many years later.  “And your obedient serpent is … a Bob Clampett cartoooooooooon …”
• Roller-skate keys – Vague recollection.  They were used for skates that clamped onto shoes, right?  This was back at the dawn of time, when roller scale wheels were in two pairs, like auto tires, rather than inline, like ice skates.  Never had them, anyway.
• Cork pop guns – I actually had one of these.  Not terribly exciting.
• Marlin Perkins – Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom naturalist and pitch man.  “Just as that giant cobra is consuming Jim, so too can a personal disaster consume your life savings.  At Mutual of Omaha …”  We used to watch that show all the time when I was a kid.
• Drive in Movies – A few of these still exist.  While they were long past their heyday when I was dating, I did take in a drive-in movie or two.  Don’t ask me what they were.
• Drive in restaurants – Not in an American Graffiti kind of way — though you can “drive-in” to Sonics, which I’ve done a couple of times.
• Car Hops – Roller-skating waiters at drive-in restaurants.  Nope.
• Studebakers – Nope.
• Topo Gigio – Nope.
• Washtub wringers – My Nona had one, though I suspect she got it from the ranch where she grew up.
• The Fuller Brush Man – One of these guys actually sold us something when I was in kindergarten.  I recall having a Fuller Brush (or perhaps just a comb) for some years.
• Sky King – Before my time..
• Reel-To-Reel tape recorders – I remember when these were the mark of a true audiophile.  Some of the people my parents played chamber music with had these when I was growing up. 
• Tinkertoys – I had these.  They rocked.  (They are also still available in stores).
• Erector Sets – I had one of these, too, though it wasn’t quite as fun.  Not as flexible as Tinkertoys.
• Lincoln Logs – Had a set.  Booooring.
• 15 cent McDonald hamburgers – No, but I remember when you could order a Whopper and “get change back for your dollar.”
• 5 cent packs of baseball cards – No idea.  Never collected ’em.
• Penny candy – Not that I recall.  But I didn’t buy much candy growing up.
• 25 cent a gallon gasoline – Yes.  We used to on long (looooooong) weekend drives. “Let’s go back by way of Barstow!”
• Jiffy Pop popcorn – Not something we ever got, but I was always fascinated by the commercials.
• 5 cent stamps – I don’t recall.
• Gum wrapper chains – I remember kids making these, but I never did.
• Chatty Cathy dolls – Not that I recall.
• 5 cent Cokes – Not that I recall.
• Speedy Alka-Seltzer – Before my time.  I was more a “I can’t believe I ate the whooooole thing” generational sort.
• Cigarettes for Christmas – Egads!  No.
• Falstaff Beer – Before my time.
• Burma Shave signs – Before my time.
• Brownie camera – We had one.  Shot huuuuuuge negatives.  A great little camera.
• Flash bulbs – Aside from countless TV shows and movies, we never used ’em.  We did have an Instamatic that used flash cubes, though.
• TV Test patterns – Sure, back when channels actually went off the air for the evening (following a rendition of the National Anthem, and, possibly, that flying poem).
• Old Yeller – Never saw it.  Read the book growing up, though.  Never had a desire to see it after that.
• Chef Boy-AR-dee – Um, still around.
• Fire escape tubes – What?
• Timmy and Lassie – We occasionally watched Lassie when I was growing up, but in color, and post-Timmy.
• Ding Dong Avon calling – Yuppers.
• Brylcreem – Before my time.
• Aluminum Christmas Trees – Only by reference in “A Charlie Brown Christmas”

Yes, I am old.