OT:A Rising Senior

[cohenzone]

The little discussion about the phrase "rising senior" got me to thinking (usually a terrifying event) that to me "rising senior" means being thrilled that I opened my eyes to greet another day. Beyond that, you know, among many other things, from having personally witnessed them that:

Ollie was a dragon, Kukla was a clown and Fran was a real person

John Cameron Swayze anchored a TV news show before Timex watches were inventef

Harry Truman had a daughter Margaret who played the piano

You rode in a Studebaker

You listened to Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll play Amos and Andy and had no idea what political correctness was

Not only had you never heard of a remote control, but you had a UHF/VHF converter box for your 4 channels and if you were lucky, a rotor antenna

You knew Our Gal Sunday was married to a rich English lord

Your roller skates had a key

You know the difference between Edger Bergen, Polly Bergen, Ingrid Bergman and Bergan Evans

Paul Winchell was a ventriloquist and Walter Winchell a newspaper columnist who narrated The Untouchables

You stupidly used your Mickey Mantle rookie card as a flapper in your bike spokes

You wouldn't go near a boneyard without holding your mother's hand for dear life, still a good idea

I could go on and on, but you're bored, some of you have older memories than I, and I need to take my Geritol, which as everyone knows is way better than Serutan even though it isn't "natures" spelled backwards

Good night and good luck

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

The little discussion about the phrase "rising senior" got me to thinking (usually a terrifying event) that to me "rising senior" means being thrilled that I opened my eyes to greet another day. Beyond that, you know, among many other things, from having personally witnessed them that:

Ollie was a dragon, Kukla was a clown and Fran was a real person

John Cameron Swayze anchored a TV news show before Timex watches were inventef

Harry Truman had a daughter Margaret who played the piano

You rode in a Studebaker

You listened to Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll play Amos and Andy and had no idea what political correctness was

Not only had you never heard of a remote control, but you had a UHF/VHF converter box for your 4 channels and if you were lucky, a rotor antenna

You knew Our Gal Sunday was married to a rich English lord

Your roller skates had a key

You know the difference between Edger Bergen, Polly Bergen, Ingrid Bergman and Bergan Evans

Paul Winchell was a ventriloquist and Walter Winchell a newspaper columnist who narrated The Untouchables

You stupidly used your Mickey Mantle rookie card as a flapper in your bike spokes

You wouldn't go near a boneyard without holding your mother's hand for dear life, still a good idea

I could go on and on, but you're bored, some of you have older memories than I, and I need to take my Geritol, which as everyone knows is way better than Serutan even though it isn't "natures" spelled backwards

Good night and good luck

Great post...not bored at all...yours truly, Charlie McCarthy

 

[meyers7]

Your roller skates had a key

Don't remember most of them, personally or first hand anyway, but I do remember this

 

[cohenzone]

Don't remember most of them, personally or first hand anyway, but I do remember this

Who the heck is Melanie?

 

[Zorro]

And also;
People waited with great anticipation to see what would be this week's #1 song on "Your Hit Parade", (as coverered by Snookie Lanson and the Hit Paraders).
Every Saturday morning Froggie would plunk his magic twanger and Midnight would say "Niiiiiiiiice".
You could buy whoopie cushions and lots of other neat stuff from the Johnson, Smith catalog.
Every week the Sporting News published the stats from about 100 baseball leagues, from the two eight-team Majors all the way down to the class d Appalachian league.
We could hear The Old Scotsman bring us thrilling "live" broadcasts of ML baseball games.
Bikes had one speed and coaster brakes and were damn near industructible (fortunately).
Roy Rogers was the King of the Cowboys.
Movietone News kept us apprised of world happenings, sort of.
Not only Studebaker, but Hudson, Packard, Nash, and (gulp) Kaiser-Frazer also made autos.

I too could go on and on but will refrain.

 

[Kibitzer]

I remember upstart Pepsi challenging entrenched Coca-Cola by stressing what a bargain their new soft drink was in their radio jingle "Twice as much for a nickle, too. Pepsi-Cola is the drink for you!"

I recall "Lucky Strike Green" going "off to war!"

And nobody ever complained about Eddie Anderson's subservient role ("Yes, Boss?") as "Rochester" on the Jack Benny Show.

Molly reminding hubby Fibber, "'Tain't funny, McGee!"

I never could figure out what evil lurked in the hearts of men but I was comforted by the frequent assurances that "The Shadow knows."

I also knew that all hell would break loose right after Billy Batson said "Shazam!" or Clark Kent came out of the phone booth.

And I thought that wrist radio that Dick Tracy relied on was really neat.

It wasn't until I became an adult and became an Army officer in Germany that I was able to "get" the significance of a popular comic strip I read as a youth: "The Katzenjammer Kids" (Hans and Fritz). That's when I learned that Katzenjammer is the German word for hangover.

Nobody cared if it was politically incorrect to enjoy the antics of Snuffy Smith, a lazy redneck whose sole means of support was making moonshine.

Enough for now.

 

[cohenzone]

I remember upstart Pepsi challenging entrenched Coca-Cola by stressing what a bargain their new soft drink was in their radio jingle "Twice as much for a nickle, too. Pepsi-Cola is the drink for you!"

I recall "Lucky Strike Green" going "off to war!"

And nobody ever complained about Eddie Anderson's subservient role ("Yes, Boss?") as "Rochester" on the Jack Benny Show.

Molly reminding hubby Fibber, "'Tain't funny, McGee!"

I never could figure out what evil lurked in the hearts of men but I was comforted by the frequent assurances that "The Shadow knows."

I also knew that all hell would break loose right after Billy Batson said "Shazam!" or Clark Kent came out of the phone booth.

And I thought that wrist radio that Tracy relied on was really neat.

It wasn't until I became an adult and became an Army officer in Germany that I was able to "get" the significance of a popular comic strip I read as a youth: "The Katzenjammer Kids" (Hans and Fritz). That's when I learned that Katzenjammer is the German word for hangover.

Nobody cared if it was politically incorrect to enjoy the antics of Snuffy Smith, a lazy redneck whose sole means of support was making moonshine.

Enough for now.

Rochester was an interesting character. The most intelligent character on the show. There was another African American actor from those days named Willie Best who almost always played sterotypical Stepnfetchit, "feet don't desert me now" type TV roles. Rochester was way ahead of his day to Jack Benny's credit. Amos n'Andy was also interesting. Post 1960s it was maligned for negative stereotypes. But also, there always African American professionals like MDs etc. around the conniving Kingfish and naive Andy. Part of the problem for that show was that the creators were Caucasian and did the radio voices.

When I was a kid, the other kids and I in the neighborhood would play 20 questions, like naming every model of Buick. That became a much harder game to play as the number of car manufacturers exploded. We knew every batting order on every big league team because there were only 8 teams in each league and the rosters were very stable from year to year. But most of all I Remember Mama.

 

[ed4ourgirls]

. . . You stupidly used your Mickey Mantle rookie card as a flapper in your bike spokes . . .

Did you really do this?

And you haven't committed suicide?

 

[msf22b]

The little discussion about the phrase "rising senior" got me to thinking (usually a terrifying event) that to me "rising senior" means being thrilled that I opened my eyes to greet another day. Beyond that, you know, among many other things, from having personally witnessed them that:



Harry Truman had a daughter Margaret who played the piano

Actually she fancied herself a singer and Dad played the piano

 

[Zorro]

And she wrote mystery novels.

 

[Kibitzer]

And when a Washington Post critic panned one of her recitals, her old man offered to whip his ass.

None of this tweet stuff back then. Harry wrote the guy a note and sent it.

Then he went back to such trivia as the Marshall Plan or Berlin Airlift.

 

[cohenzone]

And when a Washington Post critic panned one of her recitals, her old man offered to whip his ass.

None of this tweet stuff back then. Harry wrote the guy a note and sent it.

Then he went back to such trivia as the Marshall Plan or Berlin Airlift.

Never piss off a proud papa, especially if he's capable of dropping an A-Bomb.

 

[cohenzone]

Did you really do this?

And you haven't committed suicide?

I semi-redeemed myself. At an art show several years ago I bought a large mock-up of a Mantle card that shows all of his records. I'm looking at it as I write. So what if it's worth several thousands of dollars less than the damn rookie card that I can't believe I used in my Raleigh bike spokes. Arghhhh.

 

[RadyLady]

Funny - "Brand new key" was the song that popped into my head when I read the line about rollar skates having keys. Melanie is a folk singer of the early 70s who's "Brand New Key" is her American big hit. She still performs to this day, although out of the glaring mainstream music scene. Always liked her.

 

[Samanthabrown3]

Funny - "Brand new key" was the song that popped into my head when I read the line about rollar skates having keys. Melanie is a folk singer of the early 70s who's "Brand New Key" is her American big hit. She still performs to this day, although out of the glaring mainstream music scene. Always liked her.

I never liked her. Thought she had a squeaky voice. Changed the radio station every time she came on. But you're the music lover, Rady.

 

[VAMike23]

Molly reminding hubby Fibber, "'Tain't funny, McGee!"

Sometimes (often, in the summertime) when I read certain threads on the BY and I see the discussion veering off into dangerous and/or fruitless territory, I say to myself:

"No, McGee! Don't open that door..!!!"

 

[grizz36]

Enough, already!!! And remember ... Take a tip from Tom, go and tell your mom, Shredded Ralstons can't be beat. Made any trips through Allen's alley recently?

p.s. Watched many Boston Braves games from the RF pavillion ($1.00), which remains standing today as the only seats at BU's Nickerson Field. Reserved grandstand seats were $1.80, box seats $2.40.

 

[RadyLady]

I never liked her. Thought she had a squeaky voice. Changed the radio station every time she came on. But you're the music lover, Rady.

yea..."remember one man's ceiling is another man's floor"