I graduated High School in 1959 in a little town in North Georgia. My first
truck was a 55 Chevy TF..and the fun we had in that old truck can't be
imagined, unless you're around my age. A lot of those memories are brought
back to life through the old 57 sitting out in the garage. This came to me
from an old friend and I'd like to share it with anyone that loves old
trucks, and the way things were back then.
Can you spare a few moments to take a stroll with me...close your eyes...and
go back...before the Internet...before SEGA or Super Nintendo...way
back...I'm talking about hide and go seek at dusk. Sittin' on the porch,
Simon Says, Kick the Can, Red light, Green light. Lunch boxes with a
thermos...chocolate milk, going home for lunch, penny candy from the store,
hopscotch, butterscotch, skates with keys, Jacks, Mother May I? Hula Hoops
and sunflower seeds, Old Maid and Crazy Eights, wax lips and mustaches, Mary
Janes, saddleshoes and Coke bottles with the names of cities on the bottom,
running through the sprinkler, circle pins, bobby pins, Mickey Mouse Club,
Rocky & Bullwinkle, Fran & Ollie, Spin & Marty...all in black & white.
When around the corner seemed far away, and going downtown seemed like going
somewhere. Bedtime, climbing trees, making forts...backyard shows, lemonade
stands, Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, sittin' on the curb, staring
at clouds, jumping on the bed, pillow fights, getting "company," ribbon
candy, angel hair on the Christmas tree, Jackie Gleason, white gloves,
walking to church, walking to the movie theater, being tickled to death,
running till you were out of breath, laughing so hard that your stomach
hurt, being tired from playin'. Remember that? Not steppin' on a crack or
you'll break your mother's back...paper chains at Christmas, silhouettes of
Lincoln and Washington...the smell of paste in school and Evening in Paris.
What about the girl that had the big bubbly handwriting, who dotted her i's"
with hearts?? The Stroll, popcorn balls, & sock hops...Remember when...when
there were two types of sneakers for girls and boys (Keds & PF Flyer) and
the only time you wore them at school was for "gym." And the girls had those
ugly uniforms. When it took five minutes for the TV to warm up. When nearly
everyone's Mom was at home when the kids got home from school. When nobody
owned a purebred dog. When a quarter was a decent allowance, and another
quarter, a huge bonus. When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.
When girls neither dated nor kissed until late high school, if then. When
your Mom wore nylons
that came in two pieces. When all of your male teachers wore neckties and
female teachers had their hair done, everyday and wore high heels. When you
got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking,
all for free, every time. And, you didn't pay for air. And, you got trading
stamps to boot! When laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels
hidden inside the box.
When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed him or use him to carry
groceries, and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it. When it was
considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant
with your parents. When they threatened to keep kids back a grade if they
failed...and did! When the worst thing you could do at school was smoke in
the bathrooms, flunk a test or chew gum. And the prom was in the auditorium
and we danced to an orchestra,
and all the girls wore pastel gowns and the boys wore suits for the first
time and we stayed out all night.
When a '57 Chevy was everyone's dream car...to cruise, peel out, lay rubber
or watch submarine races, and people went steady and girls wore a class ring
with an inch of wrapped dental floss or yarn coated with pastel frost nail
polish so it would fit her finger. And no one everasked where the car keys
were 'cause they were always in the car, in the ignition, and the doors were
never locked. And you got in big trouble if you accidentally locked the
doors at home, since no one ever
had a key.
Remember lying on your back on the grass with your friends and saying things
like "That cloud looks like a..." ". And playing baseball with no adults to
help kids with the rules of the game. Back then, baseball was not a
psychological group learning experience -- it was a game.
Remember when stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic
seals 'cause no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger. And with
all our progress...don't you just wish...just once...you could slip back in
time and savor the slower pace...and share it with the children of the 80's
and 90's.
So send this on to someone who can still remember Nancy Drew, The Hardy
Boys, Laurel & Hardy, Howdy Doody and The Peanut Gallery, The Lone Ranger,
The Shadow Knows, Nellie Belle, Roy and Dale, Trigger and Buttermilk...as
well
as the sound of a reel mower on Saturday morning, and summers filled with
bike rides, playing in cowboy land, baseball games, bowling and visits to
the pool...and eating Kool-aid powder with sugar.
When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate
that awaited a misbehaving student at home. Basically, we were in fear for
our lives, but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc.
Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! But we all survived
because their love was greater than the threat.
Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say, Yeah, I remember that!
Author unknown.
Trucknman@mmcable.com
57 3100 BW
Midwest City, OK
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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