Why I’d like to be transported back to 1957
Nobody had to worry about smoking, cholesterol or trans-fats.
Fire-crackers and cherry bombs were perfectly legal to buy. If you blew off a finger, that was your problem.
You could bring a peanut butter sandwich to school without creating an international incident.
Peak oil? What peak oil?
The Middle-East didn’t hate us yet.
Coke was made with sugar, not high-fructose corn syrup.
Cars were made of metal, not plastic.
We allowed natural selection. You didnt’ have to wear bike helmets or seat belts if you didnt want to.
You could go to Vegas and see mushroom clouds from the nearby atom-bomb tests.
The only body parts that got pierced were womens’ ear lobes.
Having a degree (any degree) guaranteed a cushy well-paying Civil Service job for life.
Children weren’t required to sit in car baby-seats till they were twelve.
Women were actually allowed to have curves. Unlike today’s photo-shopped skeletor fashion models.
The country actually had a surplus, not a huge debt that our great-great-great grandkids will still be paying off.
National Parks let you do fun things back then, like feeding the wildlife or fishing with explosives.
Elvis wasn’t an Elvis impersonator, yet.
Most of the property up north hadn’t been developed yet, so anyone could afford a cottage on a lake.
I’d wait about 20 years, then invest my life savings in small company called Microsoft.
Regarding those smug old guys who say ”You shoulda seen how great the fishing was 50 years ago“. Well, now I’d be able to enjoy that first-hand.
Céline Dion did not exist yet.
Oprah did…but she was only two.
Playboy was around back then. But breasts were natural, not silicone.
In a few years, I’d get to see the Beatles at their peak, before Yoko came along and ruined everything.
No doom-and-gloom stories about Global Warming. Just honest-to-goodness threats of thermonuclear war.
You could come home from work, put your feet up and your wife would bring you a drink. And then serve you a home-cooked meal she spent 3 hours making.
(Not so great for the women, I realize. But you gotta admit, we guys had it made back then!)
Explore posts in the same categories: Uncategorized You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.
October 30, 2010 at 9:11 pm
Sounds like you should move to Cuba. Other than the politics, you’d probably like it there…
October 30, 2010 at 9:17 pm
Yeah, but Fidel recently cut back on the monthly cigarette rations…so it’s no longer the Working Class paradise it used to be.
October 30, 2010 at 9:51 pm
Back in 1957 all women had to worry about was keeping house and having tea with other women. We worried that our kids were healthy and happy and our husband’s only stress was at work.
NOW, we have to worry about all that stuff listed above PLUS, having our own career, keeping in shape and fit and managing our aging parents health & welfare from across the country.
I know there are feminists out there who will probably shoot me but why the hell are we all out working when we could be sitting home having tea & watching the soap operas and attending the occasional PTA meeting?
October 31, 2010 at 10:33 am
@Canadian Army Wife
Yeah…feminism is about freedom of choice. But God forbid if a woman’s “choice” is to stay home and be a full-time Mom. It seems that decision isn’t always popular with the feminists.
November 7, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Here here to all that!
I LOVE the freedom of choice and to do whatever I want with my life, AND I have to say, I also LOVE to serve my man a great dinner and drink at night when he gets home from the work… to see him relax and feel good. What is great is that he makes me breakfast and coffee in the morning while my ass is warm in bed still. Reciprocation!
When I was a teenager, I read some funny old magazine article from the 1950s about how to be a good wife, which included the cooking, house cleaning, and looking presentable… I thought: that is reasonable enough to make a nice atmosphere for when he comes home.
I think it is important for BOTH the man and the woman to put out that effort to be loving and appealing to the partner. It’s nice.
Anyhows… great post Friar!
- j ……Ooooh where oh where did the middle class go?
November 8, 2010 at 11:53 am
Your one funny dude, great post. Back then things were simpler. It escapes me sometime, how much we as people have grown apart. and no longer harbor simplicity but advocate complexity.
November 8, 2010 at 6:38 pm
@J
I’ve yet to meet someone who’d love to cook and serve me dinner. I think I must be hanging out the wrong crowd!
PS. Hey…long time no see! Good to know you’re still lurking around.
@Jonathan
Folks had a pretty good lifestyle 50 years ago…not too dissimilar to today’s.
And imagine…they managed to do that without Facebook or Twitter or I-phones!
November 11, 2010 at 12:35 am
Wait a second…you mean I’m NOT supposed to cook all day and then hand John a drink when he walks in the door? Sheesh! Why didn’t anyone tell me!!! No WONDER I’ve been married so many times!!!