Born in the 50'es and the 70 was good to me.

Old Man Ray, I STILL believe in Santa Claus. LOL!! Born in the 50s, lived it up in the 70s, come to think of it still living it up in 2014. Where so I start?

Long before computers, cell phones, and pagers my parents had a proven way to communicate with us. During the summer we would be outside all the time. you generally played on your own block. When you saw dads car rolling down the street it was time to get home for dinner. After dinner it was back outside. You had til the streetlights flickered then you better be in that house. We did not need phones etc for any of that. Everybody had a Schwinn bike, Hot Wheels, and Johnny Lightning cars. Pocket Magnafying lenses to burn holes in paper and burn ants, pockets of change to get a Good Humor ice cream when the little white truck was on our street. We had Hula Hoops. Played 4 Square, Fast Pitch behind the school. Two AM radio rock stations. One of them actually tried a gimmick to simulate stereo. If you tuned just to either side just a little there was a faint echo mimmicking stereo. There was not a place where you could not make money. From cutting grass, moving snow, collecting milk crates and bringing them to the local A&P, bottles had deposit money on them so finding them and hitting up the store could nete some cash. Stores always needed kids to help clean, paint, stock shelves, or help folks carry items. In fact one job I had in 1966 was working for the corner Rexall Pharmacy. I delivered drugs on the stores big red Schwinn Cycle Truck bike. This was an odd looking bike. Red with a metal plate between the frame tubes so the store name could be painted on, 26 inch wheel in the back, 20 inch wheel in the front, big metal mesh basket mounted under the handlebars, single speed with coaster brakes. It was a slow and heavy bike. Anyhow, I would get a box from the drugstore with multiple bags of drugs going to homes all over the place. In them bags were all sorts of drugs. I had to deliver all of them stopping at each home, collecting cash all the time leaving the bike unattended unlocked with all the other drugs and continue this until they were all delivered. At the end of the day I returned with an empty bike with a large bag of cash in the basket. Imagine trying that today!!
Chas.