In the 50’s and much of the 60s, stores were closed on Sundays. Folks went to church, came home for a big Sunday dinner, and then climbed in the car – the whole family - and went for a Sunday drive. Often Sunday drives were to no place in particular, just to wherever the steering wheel of the old Studebaker led. Sometimes they were out into farmland, or on mountain roads. When guests and … [Read more...]

Well, I did it. I wrote a childen’s book,r recently published by Dorrance Publishing. The book is called “Ava Meets a Gnome.” It’s about a little girl who discovers a garden gnome where her mother works and brings it to life through her imagination. They have wonderful adventures together. It’s a hardback book, meant to last, and professionally illustrated. It’s suggested for children up to age … [Read more...]

We were young and in love – and dumb as bricks. Nancy and I got married on March 3 and I decided – out of the blue – that we would go to Miami Beach for our honeymoon. At the time I did not realize that driving to Miami Beach from Charlottesville was the rough equivalent of driving halfway to Sydney, Australia if there was a highway on the Pacific Ocean. So, I took $500 out of my scant … [Read more...]

When is the last time you got a post card – other than a notice from your eye doctor? We’re talking post cards from Florida or Old Faithful or the Caribbean. Boomers remember when post cards were not only common, but essentially a requirement when folks went on vacation. Today, instead of post cards, our in-boxes are filled with e-mails sporting pictures of the vacations taken … [Read more...]

Colorful Baby Ducks I suppose the lives of most Boomers can be measured by the pets we owned, and my family had some doozies. At Easter, I recall getting baby chickens and baby ducks – dyed in pastel colors – in our Easter baskets. It was a rite of passage and there was no such thing as PETA. We just had pet birds for a spell. With ducks, when they lost their dyed colors and the … [Read more...]

We watched a lot of silly movies, growing up in the 1950s, movies that would have no chance whatsoever if they were made today. We had zany Jerry Lewis movies, Abbot and Costello, The Marx Brothers, The Little Rascals, and even a movie about an invisible rabbit named Harvey. We also had a series of movies starring Francis the Talking Mule. They were funny and each of the seven flicks filmed … [Read more...]

Before there was American Idol, before there was America’s Got Talent, before there was You Think You Can Dance, Boomers recall the original talent show – Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour. The Original Amateur Hour was a radio program, which aired from 1934 to 1945. Ted Mack brought the show to New York television in 1948. Mack would spin a wheel at the beginning of each broadcast to determine the order of … [Read more...]

I’ve read a few of the children’s books recently and they are Pablum. Vanilla pudding. “Can’t we all get along?” “I feel your pain”. “Don’t hurt anybody’s feelings.” Bull. I remember when children’s books were exciting, and they didn’t always turn out peaches and cream. Hansel and Gretel got kicked out of their own house and ended up cooking a witch in her own oven. Little Black Sambo … [Read more...]

The lunch bell rang, and the 4th grade kids reached beneath their desks to pull out their brown paper sacks and lunch boxes. Beneath the napkin, cookie, and apple, we all hoped for one thing. A bologna sandwich. A bologna sandwich was like a ribeye steak in a kid’s lunch box or bag. Sometimes, we had PP &J sammies and they were okay, but they couldn’t compare to a slice of bologna sandwich, … [Read more...]

Remembering Don and Phil It was spring 1957. I was playing basketball with Brad Stuart in his driveway when I heard them sing. We stopped shooting hoops and Brad turned up his radio. We listened intently to their hanting harmony. The song on WRON was “Bye Bye Love”. The artists were Don and Phil Everly – the Everly Brothers. Music was a vital part of life for young Boomers and we certainly … [Read more...]