I poured myself a bowl of cereal the other day and immediately turned the box around to read the back cover. Instead of a puzzle, a game or the adventures of some cartoon character, I read only about fiber, saturated fats, calories, various vitamins, niacins, calciums and sugar content. According to the backs of modern boxes, cereals today are heart-healthy, gluten free, whole grain, nutrient … [Read more...]

Throughout World War II, American soldiers wore crew cuts, or GI’s as they were often called. It was a rallying point for the troops to have their locks collectively sheared to the scalp. After “The Boys” came home in 1945 and in years to follow, the crew cut became the hair to wear for young Boomers. “I want a GI,” were the instructions to the barbers of that era. For a quarter, and in about 3 … [Read more...]

Can you imagine what would happen if a seven year old boy brought a pocket knife to school today? When discovered, the school would be swarming with a swat team and metal sniffing German Shepherds and the child would be in shackles, followed soon by his negligent parents. Perish the thought of a pocketknife in the hands of a young boy. Yet…every single Boomer boy that I knew had a … [Read more...]

In an effort to save money and frustrate customers, Boomers have noticed that most grocery stores have installed do-it-yourself checkout stations where people who have always wanted to bag their own groceries can have at it. No longer will a loaf of bread be placed beneath two 48 ounce jars of pasta sauce nor a carton of eggs be lumped in with several liters of roly-poly bottles of Seven Up. For … [Read more...]

A movie called “The Founder” will hit the silver screen in January. It’s a film portraying Michael Keaton starring as Ray Kroc, the founder of Mickey D’s – McDonald’s. It takes us back to 1955 when Kroc went in business with the original McDonald brothers and grew the franchise to its current state as the world’s second largest private employer (behind Wal-Mart). Today, McDonald’s serves some 68 … [Read more...]

The Pent-ultimate Christmas present for every Boomer boy was a Lionel train. And so it was with me. I was seven and a Lionel train was at the top of my wish list to Santa Claus. I simply had to have one, even though they were fairly pricey and my dad earned only a modest salary as an FBI agent. By boyhood friend, Billy Richmond got a train for Christmas the year before. Billy was a year … [Read more...]

It was a typical main street in a small town in the 1950s. There were two drug stores, a hardware store, a sports shop, a record store, a jewelry shop, a men’s shop, a ladies shop, a shoe store, a small department store and a five and dime on Washington Street in Lewisburg, WV. On that one street, there was every venue necessary for a 12 year old boy to go Christmas shopping. I had waited until … [Read more...]

For many young Boomer males, becoming a “paper boy” was the first real job. There may have been a few “paper girls” out there, but not many. Today, automobiles – particularly those with 4-wheel drive – are the principal means of newspaper distribution. But in the years following the war and all the way through the 60’s and 70’s, paper boys on bicycles, or on foot, made the rounds in various … [Read more...]

I'm going to retire and live off of my savings. Not sure what I'll do the second week.   Old age is coming at a really bad time!   I don't have gray hair. I have "wisdom highlights".   My people skills are just fine. It's my tolerance of idiots that needs work.   Even duct tape can't fix stupid ... but it can muffle the sound!   The kids text … [Read more...]

Our icemaker went on the blink recently. Like an old hen on the nest, it just wasn’t producing. We’d get a few puny cubes per day, not nearly enough to sustain our “ice habit.” A call to the repairman - and one, new water valve later - and our icemaker was once again overflowing. It’s hard to imagine life today without ice. But it wasn’t always that way. Until about 200 hundred years ago, … [Read more...]