WARNING - Retro Alert...and loving it!

It's Sunday morning, and I'm way off track from photography, but not life. Over the last few days, a couple of different posts have brought back this wave of nostalgia. It started a few days ago talking about some old standards in business, then yesterday's Veteran's Day post took me back a little more. Last night I went to sleep thinking about things that have changed and products that disappeared.

This morning I'm going retro on you, but hopefully, you'll have as much fun as I do. And for those younger than 45 - you'll have to ask your parents for validity on things in my list, or click on any of the images below to link to the websites where I found this stuff.

• Whatever happened to Harvey Wallbangers? It was the drink in my twenties - Orange juice, vodka, and Galliano. And, every bar you were in had that long tall bottle of Galliano. In my own first liquor cabinet it was like the jewel in the crown!
• Where did Cold Duck go? If you're a connoisseur of fine wine, then you've already stopped reading this post! LOL Cold Duck was a cross between champagne and any flavor Boone's Farm, but it was the drink to have plenty on hand for New Years. I was shocked to find it's still made and available.
• Anybody remember the Seven Up candy bar? It was chocolate and in a brick of seven different fillings. Sort of like seven small Chunkies in different shapes, each with a different flavor.
• What made it so cool to put baseball cards in our bike spokes? Even more retro, how many of you have a huge bag of clothespins hanging somewhere near your washing machine?

• Who remembers party lines? Okay, this where my younger readers stare in disbelief. We didn't have our own private phone line. Often you'd have at least one other family on your line. You'd go to use your phone, and it was like picking up an extension. You'd hear somebody else talking, but they were in another house. (Note: I found the classic message above on a website called "Grant's Telephone Classics." Just click on the banner for a trip down Memory Lane.)

I started writing about this stuff in my sleep last night. I went to bed thinking about things from the past when I was a kid and later a young adult. But here's one more that will be a big shocker to the younger generation:

Sunday was a family day and nothing else. While I've written about this before it's too much fun not to share again. NOTHING was open on Sunday. Gas stations, drug stores, supermarkets were all closed. There were no ATM's, so if you didn't get the cash you needed for the weekend on Friday because banks weren't open on Saturday either, you changed your plans. While some restaurants, theaters, sports events and entertainment type establishments were active, there was nothing else.

Even the television didn't offer much until later in the day.  There were only three choices, ABC, NBC and CBS of which one, growing up in Cleveland, didn't broadcast until after 8:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings.

EVERY evening at midnight, the TV stations would shut down. They didn't have enough content to broadcast 24 hours a day. After 12:00 am you'd get the old RCA "Indian Head" test pattern, which had a practical purpose. The test pattern was designed to help you fine-tune the image on your TV. 

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But here's the best part of Sundays - we spent it as a family. My Dad never worked on Sunday, except for "tinkering" around the house, working on his Honey-do-list. We'd watch a little TV, listen to music, not even stereo yet. Most often we'd finish the day at my grandparents for dinner, and all watch the Ed Sullivan show. It ran for twenty-three years from 1948 - 1971!

I remember a night in 1964 when we saw the Beatles for the first time - but it wasn't just in our house - it was in EVERYBODY'S house! And, while I don't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday morning, I remember that night like it just happened. My grandparents were appalled. My parents were somewhat acceptable, but hated the haircuts, and I was hooked! 

I honestly could go on a lot longer, but here's the point - Use today as a time to cherish family values. Let's take the day off, spend it together and appreciate everything we have, especially the love and support of family and friends. This has nothing to do with your religious beliefs, but your priorities. You deserve a day off, and your family deserves time with you. (Obviously, if you're shooting a wedding today, it puts a little kink in the game plan, but I'm betting you've already figured out how to prioritize family time during the week.)

So make today a day of fun and relaxation. Make it a day where you share a few of those stories and reflect back to the good old days. There's nothing wrong with looking in the rearview mirror now and then, as long as you don't go off the road!
 
Happy Sunday!​

PS Feel free to join me in a trip down Memory Lane - leave me some of your favorite memories as a kid in the comment section and if we get enough I'll run them as another post.
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