I know some of you are not old enough to remember.
But if you were a teenager in the 1950s, you’ll undoubtedly remember the first time you ever saw a 1957 Chevy, a classic automobile that has become a symbol for an era—a decade when life was simple and the drive-in movies were about the biggest thing you had to look forward to on weekends.
Girls wore bobbysocks, poodle skirts, saddle-oxfords, ponytails, and bangs. Curb service, hamburgers with “the works,” and car hops were the trend. Teens danced the “jitterbug” to jukebox records, and Elvis was on his way to becoming a legend.
Bologna, potted ham and crackers, peanut butter and bananas, Kool-Aid, hot dogs with chili, Moon Pies, and RC colas.
We got an e-mail from Wayne Fugate the other day that outlined some of his favorite observations from the memorable year. The ironic quotations are classic understatements nearly half a century later:
I’ll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it’s going to be impossible to buy a week’s groceries for $20.
Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won’t be long when $5,000 will only buy a used one.
If cigarettes keep going up in price, I’m going to quit. A quarter a pack is ridiculous.
Did you hear that post office officials are thinking about charging a dime for just to mail a letter?
If they raise the minimum wage to $1, nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store.
When I first started driving, who would have though gas would someday cost 29 cents a gallon? Guess we’d be better off leaving the car in the garage.
Kids today are impossible. Those ducktail haircuts make it impossible to stay groomed. Next thing you know, boys will be wearing their hair longer than the girls.
I’m afraid to send my kids to the movies anymore. Ever since they let Clark Gable get away with saying D— in Gone with the Wind, it seems every new movie has a four-letter word in it.
I’d read the other day where some scientist thinks it’s possible to put a man on the moon by the end of the century. They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down in Florida.
Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball? It wouldn’t surprise me if someday they will be making more than the President of the United States.
I never thought I’d see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric. They are even making electric typewriters now.
It’s too bad things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few married women must work to make ends meet.
It won’t be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone to watch their kids so they can both work.
I’m just afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business.
Thank goodness I won’t live to see the day when the Government takes half of our income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to Congress.
The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather, but I seriously doubt they will ever catch on.
I guess taking a vacation is out of the question now days. It costs nearly $15 a night to stay in a hotel.
No one can afford to be sick anymore — $35 a day in the hospital is just outrageous.
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Top of the morning!
