When I was a kid, lots of people smoked cigarettes, and they did it almost everywhere. People smoked in buses, on airplanes, and in the car during the winter months when all the windows were rolled up and children were sitting on their laps. Back in the 1960s and '70s, many women smoked, even... Continue Reading →

  We not only had landline telephones, but what were known as party lines. I'm old enough to remember sharing a phone line with not one, but two other families who lived on the same road. This was not uncommon forty-some years ago, especially in rural areas. Having a private line back then was kind... Continue Reading →

  The roller skating parties in junior high were the Oscar parties of the Midwest in our generation. Tickets went on sale about two weeks prior to the big event. Outfits were selected and the rumors started. Who would ask someone "to go with them" right before the skating party? Who would break up with... Continue Reading →

  Throughout much of the previous century, kids everywhere wanted to be doctors, teachers, fire fighters, and ballerinas. But most kids I grew up with in the 1970s just wanted to be bionic. Lindsey Wagner and Lee Majors were our heroes. Their alter egos, Jamie Sommers and Steve Austin, weren't only attractive, smart, and successful,... Continue Reading →

  Today playgrounds are colorful, soft, and lawsuit-resistant. But many of them don't look all that much fun. Back in the day, playgrounds, equipment, and the types of things we did on them were a bit different from today. If the sun had been out all day, by last recess, careening down the metal slide... Continue Reading →