Last week, I bought a can of sauerkraut to go with our St. Patties Day corned beef. As I opened the can, it reminded me that once upon a time I hated sauerkraut along with a number of other foods. I was a picky eater. But Daddy George, who came into my life when I was 4, had a strict rule. “You must eat everything on your plate.” I didn’t have to eat a lot of sauerkraut, but I had to try … [Read more...]

There was a time when Americans eagerly greeted a door-to-door salesman. He was welcomed into the home for a chat and maybe a cup of coffee – sometimes a bite of lunch. The well-respected visitor asked about the family and any news in the neighborhood, and then opened his case of wares. Most were brushes. He was, after all, The Fuller Brush Man The Fuller Brush Man was a consummate … [Read more...]

Boomers had numerous ways to entertain themselves and none involved cell phones or video games. We made the most of whatever was available. If there was a barn around, with hay, that was good for at least a week’s entertainment – hide and seek, springing from one loft to the next, using the stacked bales as a make-believe fortress and numerous other amusements. We rode bikes - everywhere. We … [Read more...]

It was television that triggered the explosion in sales of men’s fragrances. Before TV, there were a handful of scents on the market – Mennen, Pinaud Clubman, Williams After Shave and a couple of others. But in the late 50s and 60s people – especially men people – would buy most anything that was advertised. And we Boomers bought a pile of fragrances. Let’s go back and see. Old Spice had been … [Read more...]

Recently, I heard about the “Dos and Don’ts” of school lunches these days - especially lunches sent from home. Apparently, the modern Lunch Nazis now rifle through each Spiderman lunchbox or brown paper bag to approve or disapprove of what children can eat. Donuts are definite “no-no’s and so are Oreo cookies. When I was a kid, you only got an Oreo cookie if you’d behaved yourself the day before. … [Read more...]

Report to the principal’s office! For young Boomers, those words were the equivalent of “Uncle Sam really wants you!” Or “Is it contagious?” An invitation to the principal’s office in the 1950’s and 60’s was not for discussing world events or even for a chat about your future pursuit of higher education. It was not to find out your thoughts on the Homecoming Dance, … [Read more...]

Not many Boomers were able to avoid the scourge of hand-me-down’s, those clothes and shoes passed down from older brothers or sisters, or from one family to another. Most Boomer parents were children of the depression, and recycling was a way of life, not a fashion statement. Moms were even known to cut off buttons from old shirts and coats, so you know they were eager for gently used … [Read more...]

  The modest snow we had last week brought dozens of kids to the schoolyard behind our house where a gentle hill allows a long slide on sleds. Except, most kids didn’t have sleds, they had plastic toboggans. When we were kids, there was only one way to zip down a hill in the snow. A genuine Flexible Flyer. A Flexible Flyer was at the top of every kid’s wish list come Christmas time. … [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 … [Read more...]