Things from your past that you wish could be brought back

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The old Sports Aroma. It had that certain sweaty hockey gear mixed with stale smoke smell. We'd go there in HS and they'd sell 32 oz. beers. As many fights in the stands as were on the ice.
 
Mr. Slippery said:
I got Tonka's mighty loader for Xmas when I was in 2nd grade. I'm pretty sure it would survive a nuclear event.

Add anything that's built to last to this list. Too many items today are built to be thrown away after a few years of use whether it be some brands of power tools, appliances, furniture, etc. In mid-spring, I went to my local bike shop to see if they sold a specific tool to remove the lock ring on a bike pedal in order to overhaul the inner parts of the pedal (regrease the spindle, replace the bearings, etc). They didn't sell the tool, and they said nobody had ever asked them to overhaul pedals before. They just buy news ones and discard the old ones when a couple bucks worth of ball bearings and a dollop of grease is likely all they would need to make the old pedals turn like new.
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Back in the early 40s, while Dad was in the Pacific, Mom and I lived with her mother. I don't know when Mom and Dad bought the GE fridge, but I put a sticker of a mallard duck, which I had gotten from a Post cereal I think, just above the GE symbol on the door. Dad came home from the war, we moved a couple of times, and finally the fridge wound up in the basement of their last house. Fifty plus years later they still used it for excess sodas and odds and ends. I imagine it was expensive electricity wise and the mallard duck was still where I had stuck it all those years before.
 
USA70PP said:
Back in the early 40s, while Dad was in the Pacific, Mom and I lived with her mother. I don't know when Mom and Dad bought the GE fridge, but I put a sticker of a mallard duck, which I had gotten from a Post cereal I think, just above the GE symbol on the door. Dad came home from the war, we moved a couple of times, and finally the fridge wound up in the basement of their last house. Fifty plus years later they still used it for excess sodas and odds and ends. I imagine it was expensive electricity wise and the mallard duck was still where I had stuck it all those years before.
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There ain't a good enough emoji for that story.
 
USA70PP said:
Back in the early 40s, while Dad was in the Pacific, Mom and I lived with her mother. I don't know when Mom and Dad bought the GE fridge, but I put a sticker of a mallard duck, which I had gotten from a Post cereal I think, just above the GE symbol on the door. Dad came home from the war, we moved a couple of times, and finally the fridge wound up in the basement of their last house. Fifty plus years later they still used it for excess sodas and odds and ends. I imagine it was expensive electricity wise and the mallard duck was still where I had stuck it all those years before.
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You must be even older than me.
 
Irwin20 said:
As a side note there was a mom and pop store right beside Earls called Guthries, wooden floors looks like something from a 1940s movie. They had all kids of penny candy and some grocery items. Anyhow mom and dad, when they were low on cash I guess ,would occasionally send one of us kids to pick something up and “put it on the tab” or in other words pay you later. Anyone else have a store like that growing up?
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We had plenty of stores like that on the westside of Cincinnati. Small grocery stores like Schrage's IGA, deli's like Karl's on Greenwell (great penny candy case) and more "pony kegs" then I could name. My favorite pony keg was Hank and Eve's on Delhi Pike. I just watched their grandson, Tommy Kramer, help ND beat Clemson last night. Hank and Eve's was one of several bookmaking operations in the township. In addition to buying a 15 cent "pop" and a nickle candy bar, you could buy illegal fireworks and place a bet on the Preakness. Our local police chief was cooperative as he would not raid the place for selling fireworks until July 2nd or 3rd, in order to make sure that most of his friends had already picked up their 4th of July fireworks and to make sure old Hank had made enough to cover the fine and still make a decent profit.
 
Purplemojo said:
We had plenty of stores like that on the westside of Cincinnati. Small grocery stores like Schrage's IGA, deli's like Karl's on Greenwell (great penny candy case) and more "pony kegs" then I could name. My favorite pony keg was Hank and Eve's on Delhi Pike. I just watched their grandson, Tommy Kramer, help ND beat Clemson last night. Hank and Eve's was one of several bookmaking operations in the township. In addition to buying a 15 cent "pop" and a nickle candy bar, you could buy illegal fireworks and place a bet on the Preakness. Our local police chief was cooperative as he would not raid the place for selling fireworks until July 2nd or 3rd, in order to make sure that most of his friends had already picked up their 4th of July fireworks and to make sure old Hank had made enough to cover the fine and still make a decent profit.
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Growing up in East Toledo we had small neighborhood markets every other block or so. Each had their own little deli, 2nd and 3rd generation white owners who knew your name, and you could buy things on a credit without interest. Mom would even send some of us kids to purchase cigarettes.
 
I'll be honest, right now I'd settle for going back to where we were, pre-COVID. I find that while most of the things I do and places I go are pretty much open 100%, going into stores isn't as much fun when wearing a mask. Eating at restaurants isn't as entertaining as it used to be. I'm one of those people who actually likes going into stores and looking around and find pretty much universally that it isn't as much fun as it was before. Maybe it's just me.
 
oldline70 said:
I'll be honest, right now I'd settle for going back to where we were, pre-COVID. I find that while most of the things I do and places I go are pretty much open 100%, going into stores isn't as much fun when wearing a mask. Eating at restaurants isn't as entertaining as it used to be. I'm one of those people who actually likes going into stores and looking around and find pretty much universally that it isn't as much fun as it was before. Maybe it's just me.
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No, it's not just you. I used to enjoy going to Kroger. I'd liken it to Saturday morning at the barber shop. I'd meet people, we'd chit-chat, solve world problems, that kind of trip. Now there's almost an eyes straight ahead, no eye contact, in and out quickly mentality.
 
USA70PP said:
No, it's not just you. I used to enjoy going to Kroger. I'd liken it to Saturday morning at the barber shop. I'd meet people, we'd chit-chat, solve world problems, that kind of trip. Now there's almost an eyes straight ahead, no eye contact, in and out quickly mentality.
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Exactly. I'd equate my weekly, Sunday morning trip to Aldi as being along those lines as well.
It's been a combination of factors, one of them being that the popularity of Aldi's in my area has skyrocketed, making the place way busier these days, that has led to the whole process not being as enjoyable as it was just a few years back. Now it's get-in, get-out, then try not to get run over by all the cars in the parking lot.
 
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clarkgriswold said:
Political moderates

Common sense

Kids playing in neighborhoods
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Agreed, especially with the kids playing in neighborhoods thing. When's the last time you saw an empty ballfield being used for a pickup baseball game? It doesn't happen much anymore, at least not in my neck of the woods.
 
I live across the street from a park. Due to covid-19, kids played pickup baseball all summer long. It was awesome to watch. Angry parents coming at dusk to yell at their kids for not getting home for dinner and all. Awesome.
 
oldline70 said:
I'll be honest, right now I'd settle for going back to where we were, pre-COVID. I find that while most of the things I do and places I go are pretty much open 100%, going into stores isn't as much fun when wearing a mask. Eating at restaurants isn't as entertaining as it used to be. I'm one of those people who actually likes going into stores and looking around and find pretty much universally that it isn't as much fun as it was before. Maybe it's just me.
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I kind of miss the beginning of this whole thing and they had mornings for old people only. That's the only time I ever had a conversation in one of these mega groceries.
 
oldline70 said:
Agreed, especially with the kids playing in neighborhoods thing. When's the last time you saw an empty ballfield being used for a pickup baseball game? It doesn't happen much anymore, at least not in my neck of the woods.
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That's all we did as kids. It seemed like every night, depending on the season, we were playing baseball/softball, football or basketball in the neighborhood. Never see that any more.
 
oldline70 said:
I'll be honest, right now I'd settle for going back to where we were, pre-COVID. I find that while most of the things I do and places I go are pretty much open 100%, going into stores isn't as much fun when wearing a mask. Eating at restaurants isn't as entertaining as it used to be. I'm one of those people who actually likes going into stores and looking around and find pretty much universally that it isn't as much fun as it was before. Maybe it's just me.
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Amen, my wife is immune compromised so we've essentially been in lockdown other than me going to work. I miss the simple old days of going to the store or stopping somewhere to look at golf stuff...
 
Best of health to you and your wife clark.

In Michigan, you leave your name and contact number before they will even seat you. My most radical adjustment is all this computer work. My vision bad enough but this, this is going to be the end of it.

I'm pretty sure, I don't even exist. Just an AI, the remnants of some brain that died last March.
 
My parents house, as it was when we first moved in, before they started painting and carpeting.
 
irish_buffalo said:
I live across the street from a park. Due to covid-19, kids played pickup baseball all summer long. It was awesome to watch. Angry parents coming at dusk to yell at their kids for not getting home for dinner and all. Awesome.
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I, too, live across the street from a park. There used to be two baseball fields and over the hill a basketball court and playground with swings/etc. The city stopped playing baseball games there some years ago and, later, removed the backstops. And, the city removed the basketball goals. I can only imagine complaints were the reason why, especially with the basketball goals. (Rumored bad behavior).

Recently, the city installed small, colorful playgrounds in some of the city parks, including one across the street. About once a day, kids either bike or hoof it to that playground and have a ball. Surprisingly - or not so surprisingly these days - an adult will drive their kids to the playground. I hope the playground is not just a novelty and remains at least somewhat popular. Great to hear their voices!
 
60s: that Tonka Road Grader though truth be told, I'd rather have a dump truck or an excavator or a front loader but Mom's don't understand, a truck's not a truck. There are different kinds of trucks and you cant dig to China with a road grader.
70s: Hair, had massive amounts of hair. And lunch cafeteria pizza burgers (just kidding).
80s: 83 grey, yamaha seka 750 and the upstate hills to ride it in.
90s: mud hens cap, somewhere in a jungle in SE Asia. might be very late 80s so I'll plan B that bit of health I lost.
2000s: Can't really think of anything I lost that didn't get replaced by something better.
2010s: Waite wrestling cap given to me by the great Carmen Armenta, lost in a jungle in Indiana.
2020s: sanity
 
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