One of the great toys of my youth was a Fort Apache Playset. My parents, or Santa Claus, I don’t remember which, gave me my first Fort Apache when I was 7 or 8. I spent hours and hours in my room positioning cavalry soldiers along the fort’s walls to defend against the attacking Indians. The set came in a tin box with sections of the fort wall along with cavalry men, horses, Indians, … [Read more...]

One thing I dearly miss from our Boomer years is a December full of great Christmas specials on TV. This was entertainment at its finest – top stars, top acts, great music, great comedy and classic cartoons. In the 1950’s and 60’s, variety shows dominated the airwaves. Singers with top hits appeared regularly and comedians like Bob Newhart and Jonathan Winters left us in stitches as Hollywood … [Read more...]

In the 1950’s, 60’s and well into the 70’s, Americans smoked cigarettes. A lot of cigarettes. It was almost assumed that a person of age would take up smoking. It was the thing to do, even though everyone knew – even without a warning from the Surgeon General – that smoking was bad for your health. “Don’t smoke. It will stunt your growth,” my dad always said. Yet, Boomers likely … [Read more...]

Winter’s coming. There will likely be a snowfall or two sending all of Central Virginia to Kroger’s to buy every carton of milk in sight and then retreat into hibernation. The radio and TV people will say, “Stay home unless you have to get out because there is – oh no – snow on the roads.” I took my driver’s license on a day when there was 13-inches of ice and snow on the highway. I passed … [Read more...]

It was Nov. 11, 1956. I was 12 years old, soon to be 13, and it was the opening of hunting season in West Virginia. In 1956, there were more albino armadillos in West Virginia than deer, so hunting season to me meant quail and rabbits. I had my own shotgun, a single barrel .410 and I was going hunting. November 11, Veteran’s Day, meant that my Dad would take the day off. He and Melvin Crantz … [Read more...]

The year 1955 was not a good one to be a raccoon. In fact, if you were such a masked critter, chances were pretty good you’d lose your tail and skin to a fad called “Coonskin Caps.” In the mid-1950’s, Walt Disney was a dominant program on TV. Families gathered around their Zenith, Philco or RCA black and white sets on a Saturday night, set up the trays for TV Dinners and watched whatever Disney … [Read more...]

Recycling is very fashionable these days among the younger generation, which speaks reverently about reducing carbon footprints, promoting alternative energy sources and buying most any product with the prefix “green”. While today’s generation takes great pride in recycling an aluminum can or two. Boomers didn’t recycle cans, they physically returned milk bottles, soda bottles and even beer … [Read more...]

What time is it? I don’t know. I don’t have my phone with me. Phone? Where’s your watch? What’s a watch? Time was, everyone wore a watch. A right of passage for a young girl or boy was their first watch. It was a big deal. I think I was 7 when I got my first watch. It was an inexpensive stopwatch. I was constantly stopping and starting the watch, which also reset the time. So I never … [Read more...]

Boomers look back fondly on many events and milestones throughout their lives:  The days of hot cars, great music, graduations, weddings, birth announcements and lives full of excitement and memories. But like the 18 ½ minute gap in the presidential tapes of Richard Nixon, there was one segment from Boomer history that should be erased – the era of Leisure Suits. How did we let that happen? … [Read more...]