Was ANYTHING better 'back then' than now?

[Plutonic Panda]

I'm not sure about the housewives of the 40's-60's . . .
Yet I know, for sure, that The Cartoons o' The Past were definitely better.

I love old cartoons. MGM, Hanna Barbra, and the Disney Shorts. Very cool! Watch Boomerang every night.

[Plutonic Panda]

That youngster was a-talkin' 'bout my mom fer cryin' out loud. n that just ain't right!
'course all o' them Mrs. Paul's Fishsticks n Chef Boy-ar-dee spaghetti dinners n
that "Banquet TV Dinner Chicken" might-a skewed my perspective. =)

Yet, all things considered, the women of her age did a magnificent job of parenting.
At least in my opinion.

(sheee-it . . . i was such a picky little tyke back then that i turned up my nose at fresh-caught, mountain lake, trout on account of it was too much trouble to pick around the bones. =)

I say, well I say. . . I'm just givn yo momma a compliment on behalf(bee-have) of all the other beautiful women of the 40s, 50s, and per(haps) the 60s.

[RadicalModerate]

Donna Reed certainly was a hottie but I never met anyone like that in my childhood. LOL

My mom (a housewife of the '50s) used to laugh and poke fun at the likes of Barbara Billingsley (leave it to beaver) for wearing pearls to vacuum the rug and make dinner. She had little to say about Donna Reed. From my perspective, Donna was OK but her daughter was somehow better . . .

. . . much like the music. =)

So I suppose the answer to the OP's question is Yes?

[Plutonic Panda]

I remember those housewives during the 40's - 60's. Don't believe the hype. LOL

Are you sure? I'll just have to invent a time machine or perhaps a machine that will transport me to explore other alternate realties. Surely there are alternate realities out there where something happened that contribute to the uni(multi)verses creation and therefore will have allowed me to explore the 40s-60s.

Here is a possible scenario "God stubs his toe when walking past a wooden walking chair that his wife inherited and he thought was an eyesore and out-of-place item and become very upset and screamed ''Nancy, I don tol ya, fer the millionth time, I don't want this damn chair in this damn house no I don't". She refused to move the chair which then God replied "oooohhhh I'm so mad, I'm a leavin and I ain't a commin back neither till this chair makes like your father-in-law's hair and disappears".

Well, that's what I'll do. I'll just invent a machine that will allow me to jump from one universe to the other; I mean, how hard can it be?

[ljbab728]

My mom (a housewife of the '50s) used to laugh and poke fun at the likes of Barbara Billingsley (leave it to beaver) for wearing pearls to vacuum the rug and make dinner. She had little to say about Donna Reed. From my perspective, Donna was OK but her daughter was somehow better . . .

. . . much like the music. =)

Well, of course Shelly wasn't a mom then, was she?

[RadicalModerate]

=Plutonic Panda;709798]Are you sure? I'll just have to invent a time machine or perhaps a machine that will transport me to explore other alternate realties. Surely there are alternate realities out there where something happened that contribute to the uni(multi)verses creation and therefore will have allowed me to explore the 40s-60s.

Here is a possible scenario "God stubs his toe when walking past a wooden walking chair that his wife inherited and he thought was an eyesore and out-of-place item and become very upset and screamed ''Nancy, I don tol ya, fer the millionth time, I don't want this damn chair in this damn house no I don't". She refused to move the chair which then God replied "oooohhhh I'm so mad, I'm leaving and I ain't a commin back neither till this chair makes like your father in laws hair and disappears".

Well, that's what I'll do. I'll just invent a machine that will allow me to jump from one universe to the other; I mean, how hard can it be?

Here's an easier--and more cost effective, realistic--path to follow: Locate the book written by Timothy Leary's co-hort, Richard Alpert before he became Baba Ram Dass. Ignore the crapola between the covers of the book and focus on the title printed on the front: Be Here Now. This volume of wisdom used to sell for 3.33, which, at the time, was touted to be The Cosmic Perfect Price (for the book). Then, Just Do It.

[Plutonic Panda]

Yeah, that was always a major problem with that is the funding. I'll definitely check that book out though. More than likely I won't be reading all of it on the account of my ADHD.

[MWCGuy]

I thought of two more:

People rested more and enjoyed their time off. I don't really think we have gained all that much with everything being available 24/7. With a little planning we can go overnight or 24 hours without buying something. All it has really done for us is make us more irritable as people and more careless with our money.


Hollywood was much better than it is today. You can't get lost in a good story anymore without being bombarded with political messages. Not to mention some of today's actors are just terrible.

[trousers]

Hollywood was better? Music was better? Don't know about that. Each time period has its hits and misses. For every good song or movie from any period you can come up with four real duds. The best music ever is whatever you were listening to when you were 16-23. Everything else is just "meh".

[RadicalModerate]

Hollywood was better? Music was better? Don't know about that. Each time period has its hits and misses. For every good song or movie from any period you can come up with four real duds. The best music ever is whatever you were listening to when you were 16-23. Everything else is just "meh".

I think you nailed it in the area of "music appreciation" (or the lack thereof).
(except for notable exceptions like Enya, Diana Krall, Trout Fishing in America and Miley Cyrus)

[boscorama]

Yep, the drugs were better back then!

Are you sure? I'll just have to invent a time machine or perhaps a machine that will transport me to explore other alternate realties. Surely there are alternate realities out there where something happened that contribute to the uni(multi)verses creation and therefore will have allowed me to explore the 40s-60s.

Here is a possible scenario "God stubs his toe when walking past a wooden walking chair that his wife inherited and he thought was an eyesore and out-of-place item and become very upset and screamed ''Nancy, I don tol ya, fer the millionth time, I don't want this damn chair in this damn house no I don't". She refused to move the chair which then God replied "oooohhhh I'm so mad, I'm a leavin and I ain't a commin back neither till this chair makes like your father-in-law's hair and disappears".

Well, that's what I'll do. I'll just invent a machine that will allow me to jump from one universe to the other; I mean, how hard can it be?

[RadicalModerate]

Yep, the drugs were better back then!

Were the drugs better?
Or were the people better?
Or is that another one of those chicken and the egg conundrums? =)

Hmmmm . . . Sorta Zen-like . . . if'n ya' think about it . . . =)

Of course, the Yaqui Shamen couldn't compare nor compete with the Yankee Shamen.
no? =)



which leads, naturally, to the Wisdom contained herein:



Of course NOTHING was "better" back then . . .
and that wasn't the original question . . . was it? =)

[boscorama]

. . and everybody's getting fat except Mama Cass . . .

[RadicalModerate]

. . and everybody's getting fat except Mama Cass . . .

Too deep for words to Xpress ... =)

[Plutonic Panda]

Yep, the drugs were better back then!

[Prunepicker]

I'm not sure about the housewives of the 40's-60's . . .Yet I know, for
sure, that The Cartoons o' The Past were definitely better.

Keep that mouth flappin' and no thinkin'!

Love it.

[Prunepicker]

Teachers taught reading, writing and arithmetic. It was supplemented
with geography, science and unadulterated history. Electives included
Latin, Shop and Home Economics. Speech, Music & Art was a
combined elective. Orchestra and Band were the others.

If we were caught with a rubber (condom) we were sent home and
punished. Today we'd be rewarded.

I honestly had a shotgun in the trunk of my car. The principal didn't worry
about it. Today it's a crime.

The cafeteria would serve beans and cornbread once a week and we
always had fish on Friday. ALWAYS! Nobody complained. Nobody.

We'd go fishing for crawdads (crayfish) after school. Everybody would
share their bait. Nobody would leave without a mess of crawdads in
their bucket.

We rode our bikes in the sewers. Sometimes it'd take all day and our
parents didn't worry. They knew we were safe.

5th graders had papers routes. Yeah, some of the managers were A-holes,
but we got to earn some money and most of us gave it to our parents to
pay bills. Some of the house payments were almost $100. We thought
nothing of waking up at 4:30am, throwing our route and going to the
donut shop before they opened. Yeah, the owner would let us in and
we'd spend as much as 25 cents apiece. Hey, not even the cops had
that privilege.

Today a dear black friend of mine said that the USA was the best place
for a kid to grow up and even with his background. Yes, he grew up
in an era of racism.

Try that now.

[RadicalModerate]

Keep that mouth flappin' and no thinkin'!
=)
Love it.

Would it be okay to accept that with a qualified perhaps? =)

[Prunepicker]

Would it be okay to accept that with a qualified perhaps? =)

Hey *FHLH said it. That should be enough.

*FHLH - Foghorn Leghorn

[RadicalModerate]

Hey FHLH said it. That should be enough.

Please be advised to consult Post [hashtag] 68, above, for clarification on historical perspectives regarding timelines, etc. and so forth.

Olde Tymee Radio was definitely better than NooMillenial Radio.
(at least in my humble opinion. why . . . it even spawned new-fangled cartoons)

[Richard at Remax]

Ill take my 1936 tudor in Edgemere Park over a lot of the newer construction.

[bchris02]

Hollywood was better? Music was better? Don't know about that. Each time period has its hits and misses. For every good song or movie from any period you can come up with four real duds. The best music ever is whatever you were listening to when you were 16-23. Everything else is just "meh".

That is so true about music. I would expand the age range from 13ish to 25ish give or take a few years each way. I wonder why Top 40 just sounds awful to people once they get to their mid twenties. I loved it and listened to it for hours as a teenager and in my early twenties but now I can turn it to KJ and there is nothing really catchy other than a select few songs.

[Pete]

^

That's true about just about everything.

Read this once and always loved the observation: What is beautiful to a boy of 16 is beautiful forever.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Hence the draw of the Fast & Furious movies to flatbill teens.


...too soon?

[whorton]

Revisiting an old thread here. I can't say for sure, and granted, nostalgia does work in mysterious ways on older minds such as ours. But, I'll take a stab at this 7 year old thread.

1 Television signoffs -At least, somewhere around midnight, you had confirmation that the day was over and it was time to go to bed. But then, even the art of the sign off is missed for me. I always enjoyed the signoffs, The short statement about the height of the antenna, the broadcast power, who owned the station etc. a rendition of High Flight and then national anthem, the a moment of silence as the transmitter powered down. It was as though a link was being severed and you were truly alone again. Finally, the shrill alarm of static.

2. The State Fair. At least it meant something to a generation of baby boomers such as us. Free tickets from school, and a spectacular evening awaited. Everything from the chance to win something, to look at new cars, or ride the new space age monorail and or space needle. Maybe you could catch the disney on ice show, a car race. . None of those things can you do today. Nor does the fair today have any sort of theme or plan other than to convert it into a high dollar stock yards.

3. Neon signs. . without comment.

4. Cain's coffee, which you could smell being roasted in the right part of town

5. Rainbo Bread, which you could smell being baked.

6. Local terrestrial radio First off, the news seemed more local and the programming certainly so. The slide of AM radio over the years and the loss of local programming have not helped community cohesion. Nor has the massive conglomeration of FM radio over the years improved commercial radio's lot. I would still take commercial radio from the 60's to the early 80's compared to what is on the air today.

7. Neighborhoods Without a doubt, the internet, social media, smart phones and technology have all conspired to ensure we know little about our neighbors, who could often be trusted to look out for our benefit. Consider, watching our houses when we were gone, keeping an eye on the local kids and keeping parents informed if their kids got out of line. . Today, even though I make a effort to introduce myself to neighbors, and speak to them often, there is no real relationship there. The relationship does not seem to be recuperated. Not to mention most of the houses are now on their 4th or 5th generation occupant families.



There was no 24 hour cycle, and I would submit that in many ways