Lets Hear One of Your "Back in my Day" Stories

[VWAmTele]

In 1965 I could take a bus, ferry, then subway to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx NY, see a double header on Bat Day (which would be my bat for the season), buy a hot dog - all for a grand total of $2.
No adults present - just me and a couple of other 9 year olds.

 

[brookdalebill]

Here’s one I like.
My first car was a 1956 Chevy 210.
I bought in 1973, for $200 grocery sacking dollars.
I was 16.
A classmate’s dad fixed it up for him, but it was too old and uncool for him.
It was a 4 door, blue on white sedan, with an in-line six cyl. engine, 3 on a tree unsynchronized transmission.
I drove it for 5 years, till I was 21.
I loved it, it’s from the year of my conception.
I always like 56 Chevys best.
I’m a 57 model, but I don’t like em’, too common.
I bought another one 5 years later, same color, same engine, but it had a Powerglide transmission.
Stuff like that won’t ever happen again.

 

[Tonetele]

Back in my day school was a wooden room with a wood heater for winter, but one summer they let us go home @ 117F as we only had a ceiling fan, that's Straya for ya.

 

[Lef T]

OP checking in.
I'm loving every reply in this thread.
As one poster said,some of these are pure poetry.
A lot of the posts do harken back to a very pure time in their lives.
One common thing seems to be that our parents gave us a lot of free time just to explore and experience life.
There was a time when helicopter parents didn't seem to exist.
I'm so glad that my folks let me follow my muse.
I'm also glad that I didn't kill myself along the way.
Please keep the stories coming.
They are a joy to read.

 

[StoneH]

You

You mean to say Spirit and Led Zeppelin played at the same concert? Wow

Spirit toured with Zeppelin and later sued, claiming they plagiarized "Stairway to Heaven"

 

[ZackyDog]

 

[johnny k]

in the high school cantina, We could get a glass of soda with our meal.

 

[Telekarster]

I remember full service and self service at the gas station. We filled the tank, checked and topped off the oil, tire pressure, washed the windows……

I was the dude running the station! LOL! Ok so... I guess my story on this point is that I worked at the local gas station that was still circa 1950's complete with the old pumps you now see on those "antique finds" TV shows, in the little town I grew up in. We were full service just as you say, Mobile brand (flying horse!), we also had self service but that was sort of new and not used much. We also had a full mechanic shop complete with lift and did oil changes, belt dressing/changing, radiator flush, brakes, etc. and most of the jobs were 10-20 bucks if I recall. I used the change dispenser on my belt (remember those?) and I got really good at it too I could whip that change right out of that thing in a flash! The station had a lounge complete with couch and table and chairs, and lets not forget the floor ash trays, and the locals would come in and yuck it up all afternoon and smoke, hang out, and kept me company. Great people. Yep... those were good days, even though we were covered in oil and grease most of the time LOL!

 

[viking]

Im 57 years old , I dont remember much looking back. I also dont remember what things or fuel cost.
Its a good thing I rarely want to look back , and Im much more interested in looking forward , than looking back.
Thank......someone , that things arent what they used to be !

 

[wangdaning]

Sitting back with friends in a burnt out redwood. A bottle of whiskey and a fire cause we had smokes as well. I was maybe 11 or 12.

 

[boredguy6060]

Back in 1962 my dad had a girlfriend who worked in his bar. That’s the way most of his girlfriends started out, as waitresses. Anyway she wanted to go back to Montgomery Alabama, where her mother still lived and she planned to stay for two weeks. However she was scared to travel by bus from where we lived in Lynwood/ Compton area of Southern California.
My dad came to me and told me he would buy me anything I wanted if I would go with her.
I was a clothes horse ( my dad’s saying) even as a very young kid, so his offer to buy me anything I wanted, was singing my song. The average price for a pair of kid shoes was 10-12 bucks, the shoes I had wanted for months were $32.00. My dad said he had never owned a $32.00 of shoes in his life, but he agreed to buy them as part of our deal. A few pairs of Levi’s corduroy jeans and some shirts and I was ready for our trip. I had no idea how this trip would change my outlook, but at 71 years old its still is branded in my brain. Truth be told, I didn’t need much of a reason to get away from my dad and brothers.
We left downtown Los Angeles about mid day. In those days riding a Greyhound Bus across country was nice. The interior of the bus was clean, people were dressed for traveling, the bus had a restroom, I was ready for an adventure.
Our first stop was in Arizona, it was dark, the bus station had the smell of diesel fumes from the busses idling very noisy until you step through the door of the bus station.
I always loved a lunch counter, we had dinner at the counter and we were off into the pitch black of the night on Route 66.
I was so excited I couldn’t sleep, I always had trouble sleeping when I was moving, so between the motion and excitement I couldn’t sleep a wink.
Not much happened, it was a pleasant enough trip until we got to Little Rock, Arkansas
We had to change from Greyhound to American Trailways.
Greyhound didn’t have any routes through the south. The Trailways bus was a filthy, stinky rattle trap. You could smell the rest room all over the bus. The first time I had experienced signs in the bus station like colored only, whites only, no coloreds allowed. It didn’t take long to find out what all that meant. It really made me sick, and angry.
As we traveled the back roads after leaving Montgomery going to Laverne I saw shacks, I do mean shacks. Many one to two rooms and a much smaller shack away from the house. It was stone dark when we arrived from the bus station by cab to her moms house.
I was in a state of shock, I had never seen such poverty, the rooms were covered with newspapers glued to the walls.
no electricity. Oil lamps, and candles were the only source of light after sunset. I found that the little shack out back had only one function, at least for men. No#1, go anywhere you like. No#2 you went into the shack out back, but you didn’t hang out, bees, yellow jackets, kept you from spending any more time than necessary.
Needless to say I couldn’t wait to get out of there. There was a truck stop about a mile away. It had air conditioning so I spent most of my time up there. I got friendly with the manager, being from California and my dad owning a bar, I had plenty of stories he was interested in, he had stories too.
to my surprise my dad had heard of how out of place we both were, he arranged for us to ride a bus to Chicago, then took the train to Los Angeles. The Santa Fe Chief, what a trip. I learned to love trains after that. After I got back home and recuperated from my trip I felt like I had kept my end of the bargain with my dad, and for about an hour I was glad to see my older brothers.
There was a lot I could have said about the state of our country especially my experiences with how minorities were treated without anyone even acted like anything was wrong.
but those stories ain’t about guitars and music so I didn’t see the need to add them. After writing this long I didn’t want me and my story to get booted.

 

[Timbresmith1]

My parents let me go to NYC, BY MYSELF at age 17, to audition at Juilliard and the Manhattan School of Music. Stayed at the Empire Hotel. This was the early 80’s and I had NO idea how to navigate the city. It was my first time on a plane. First time in a cab. I think I ate pizza by the slice for every meal

 

[WRHB]

Im 57 years old , I dont remember much looking back. I also dont remember what things or fuel cost.
Its a good thing I rarely want to look back , and Im much more interested in looking forward , than looking back.
Thank......someone , that things arent what they used to be !

The most important thing is that you’re happy now. I like to look back at the good stuff but I also know there was bad stuff I wish I didn’t remember.

 

[Twofingerlou]

Back in my day I wasn’t surrounded by so many old farts then, as I am now after joining this forum. I’m in my 30’s and feel fresh off the bus after reading through this thread haha.

 

[Tarkus60]

1974 spending the weekend at IU to see the Who.....no adults crazy weekend.

 

[IanMoss]

nvm

 

[teleplayr]

Wow!
That was a good score.
I saw them at Maple Leaf Gardens and it cost me $7.50.
It was still chump change.

I saw them on their last American tour. Tickets were $12 and people were pissed.

 

[Jackroadkill]

When I was a kid you could fight other boys all day long and when you got home the question you were asked was "Did you win?" and the answer had better be yes.

 

[naveed211]

Back in my day I wasn’t surrounded by so many old farts then, as I am now after joining this forum. I’m in my 30’s and feel fresh off the bus after reading through this thread haha.

Haha, I hear you, I’m 37, so a lot of this stuff seems pretty alien to me.

But I do recall riding my bike and being out around the town with my friends by ourselves for all hours of the day with zero worries from our parents.

I remember the original Nintendo controllers being super uncomfortable, but we played the hell out of it anyway, blowing on the cartridges when they didn’t work.

I remember when we first got internet when I was 12. It took all day for an email to send.

 

[trev333]

I reckon I was near 12 when I got my first transistor radio....