Does anyone remember wooden radios powered by glass batteries? Money in the meter for gas or electricity...mail delivery three times a day...doctor house-calls...the BBC Nine o'clock news before lights out, electric devices unplugged, doors bolted and so to bed.
In today's 24/7 world of several hundred television and cable stations available via cable or satellite dish, it's difficult to recall the era when BBC or Networks ruled the waves. Most everyone in the land knew the catch-phrase of the day or season, most could discuss an episode of a favorite show broadcast the night before, and most knew the current stars on the tiny Black & White screen.
For the life of me, if called upon today, I could not name one song in the top ten. For a million dollars, if asked to name Hip-Hop Royalty, it would have to be Eminem – the only one I know.
Its my personal belief the remote-control is a major cause of obesity, followed by addiction to FaceBook and its ilk which keeps lard-ass's glued to the couch or seat for days on end.
For the most part, neighborhood streets remain deserted of kids playing stick ball, kick the can, hop-scotch, rope-skip, tennis-ball-tag, hide-and-seek and a dozen other activities designed to blow off steam before the call to come home echoed from house to house.
All the above sparked by a comment in the supermarket checkout lane to the bag-boy stuffing 16 items into 16 plastic bags.
“What a waste. Why don't you combine some of this into fewer bags,” I ask, deftly tucking the counter-load into two handfuls instead of arms-full.
“In my day” (harrumph added) “we all had our own shopping bags. Walked or rode bicycles everywhere and were lucky to get one or two stations on our steam radio!”
“Steam radio? Wow! For real?”
Behind me a geezer using a shopping cart as a walker, turns a laugh into a cough and gives me a knowing look.
I'd like to be there when the kid asks his mom about that one..
ends...
Showing posts with label History. Show all posts
Showing posts with label History. Show all posts
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Shuttle's Last Launch Sparks Many Memories
Sometime soon the last shuttle launch into space will fire off from Cape Canaveral, a couple of hundred miles south of here.
I'll wave as it goes my backyard just before the separation of booster tanks from rocket in a sequence we all, now, think of as being routine.
An earlier daytime launch seen from my backyard
But back in the days building up to its first launch of Columbia more than a quarter of a century ago, (April 12, 1981) the World was still excited about the race into space. A decade earlier (1969) Neil Armstrong became the first man in (known) history to step onto the moon's surface. I'm willing to bet, very few Floridians will forget where they were when THAT happened. One of the better “I remember when...” memory moments.
Due to its proximity and frequency of flights over the years, we became blase about launches from the Cape, until that dreadful crisp October morning in 1986 when Challenger exploded killing all seven astronauts aboard..
I was at a West Palm Beach marina helping a good friend (now departed) and skipper of a 54-foot corporate yacht top up his tanks when there was a commotion on a nearby boat.
“The goddamn shuttle just blew up!”
A guy hurled himself from the cabin of the sleek Rybovich sports fishing boat on the next dock, scrabbling for his binoculars.
He didn't need them.
Seemingly just north of overhead the bright clear blue sky was marred by a cluster of white vapor trails expanding outward from a dark central cloud. Miniscule black objects rained down, leaving faint trails behind, like the world's largest Fourth of July rocket exploding in daylight.
It was the world's largest rocket – to carry human beings on its back into space.
Disasters before and after that date have marred the unbelievable 20th Century exploration of outer space during my lifetime. No doubt further progress will leave more memorable milestones behind.
Hopefully the final launch of Discovery and recovery will merely be a sigh of relief at safely marking its date in history.
http://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/schedule.html
Ends...
I'll wave as it goes my backyard just before the separation of booster tanks from rocket in a sequence we all, now, think of as being routine.
An earlier daytime launch seen from my backyard
But back in the days building up to its first launch of Columbia more than a quarter of a century ago, (April 12, 1981) the World was still excited about the race into space. A decade earlier (1969) Neil Armstrong became the first man in (known) history to step onto the moon's surface. I'm willing to bet, very few Floridians will forget where they were when THAT happened. One of the better “I remember when...” memory moments.
Due to its proximity and frequency of flights over the years, we became blase about launches from the Cape, until that dreadful crisp October morning in 1986 when Challenger exploded killing all seven astronauts aboard..
I was at a West Palm Beach marina helping a good friend (now departed) and skipper of a 54-foot corporate yacht top up his tanks when there was a commotion on a nearby boat.
“The goddamn shuttle just blew up!”
A guy hurled himself from the cabin of the sleek Rybovich sports fishing boat on the next dock, scrabbling for his binoculars.
He didn't need them.
Seemingly just north of overhead the bright clear blue sky was marred by a cluster of white vapor trails expanding outward from a dark central cloud. Miniscule black objects rained down, leaving faint trails behind, like the world's largest Fourth of July rocket exploding in daylight.
It was the world's largest rocket – to carry human beings on its back into space.
Disasters before and after that date have marred the unbelievable 20th Century exploration of outer space during my lifetime. No doubt further progress will leave more memorable milestones behind.
Hopefully the final launch of Discovery and recovery will merely be a sigh of relief at safely marking its date in history.
http://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/schedule.html
Ends...
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