These kids today...

Being around the young-uns this holiday got me thinking about how different everyday things were when I was their age. Here's a random list, I'm sure it won't be the last:
- When we turned on the TV, we had to wait for it to warm up.
- The channels were 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11 and 13 - that's it.
- Everybody subscribed to TV Guide, and I remember next to each show was either a C if it was in color or BW if it was black & white.
- Every house had a milk box in front where the milkman left milk and picked up the empty GLASS milk bottles. It made a good seat when waiting for our friends to come out and play.
- Actually, almost everything in the supermarket came in either glass or cans, there was very little plastic. And your groceries were packed in brown paper bags which often embarassingly broke.
- Photos were taken with cameras using film, which had to be dropped off or mailed out to be developed.
- No ATMs, cell phones, Ipods, home computers, email, GPS, CDs, VCRs or DVDs.
- Car doors were actually heavy.
- Most phones hung on a wall or sat on a desk and had a cord (that often got tangled).
- Very few people had answering machines.
- If you called and someone wasnt home, you had to call back in order to reach them.
- We typed reports on a typewriter (electric if lucky) - remember Wite-Out?
- Letters were hand written (or typed) and mailed.
- Most movie theatres consisted of 1 theatre showing 1 movie (and a kiddie matinee). Remember ads in the paper "Held Over 40th Week!"
- No videos, Netflix, pay per view, DVR, Tivo or movies on demand.
- You never heard "damn" or "hell" on TV til Archie Bunker came along.
- Every house had a TV antenna on the roof and many sets had rabbit ears.
- At the beach everyone listened to WABC on their portable radio.
- We were a Walter Cronkite household. News came from him, the local news and the newspaper - 24 hr news like CNN came much later. If something BIG happened, and it had to be really big, shows were interrupted with an ominous "We interrupt out regularly scheduled program with this SPECIAL REPORT!"
- If we got caught writing on the desk in school we had to come after and wash all of them with that nasty scrubbing powder and brown paper towels.
- We never went trick or treating with our parents.

I could go on and probably will again, but feel free to add to the list!