How would you feel, if every morning when you woke up, you didn't know where you were, or who that man was in the bed beside you? When you dared to sneak out of that bed to go into the bathroom and look in the mirror only to see you have aged decades from your last memory. How would you feel if you spent the day learning this man was your husband, Ben, and that every morning for years, he has told you these same facts of your lost life, over and over again, because every night when you go to sleep, you forget? Then one morning you find you have written inside the cover of your journal, "Don't trust Ben".
2. Did any of you have these Junior Classic books in your home when you were growing up? They were either bought with or came with Collier's Encyclopedias.
This is the main look of them. I found this with some Google hunting. They were numbered 1 - 10. My number 10 was an orange book of poetry. The red one was Fairy Tales. Those two must have been my favorites because I do remember the numbers and colors of those two. The others were of History, Adventure, and after that I go blank. I do know I used them a lot for school projects. My set was stored in a finished basement that flooded back in the 80's so I had to toss them. I do know my great plans of saving them for my children to use didn't go that way. They weren't that interested. I think it just shows how much more was available to them than was for us.
3. The other day of thought of a couple of jobs that have long disappeared and were ones that touched my life as a teen. The first is the gas station attendant. Remember that guy? The one that came out and pumped the gas for you and cleaned your window at the same time. It was great fun being a teenage girl, going to get gas at a station that employed that certain guy you thought was pretty cute. I'm sure I got $2 worth of gas often. I would think that it would have been a pretty good job for the guys too. They got to see all those teenage girls that were driving in.
The other job was a telephone operator. Growing up in a suburb of Flint, Michigan, we teens would drive around other "burbs" on Sundays, "cruising"... just hoping we would meet someone far more interesting than the girls or guys from home. I had a girlfriend that had met a cute guy in one of those towns on a Sunday cruise. She later went home and dialed "0" for the operator and asked for the phone number and address of his last name in the small town she had been cruising. That was in the mid 1960s when they would give you that information. The voice of the Operator asked "Dianne, are you chasing boys again?" She was shocked when she heard that familiar voice. It was her telephone operator sister who was at work in Flint. What are the chances of that?
4. I got a new MP3 player for Christmas. I've been going through music to put on it. I sometimes listen to it at night when I'm in bed and can't sleep so all the music I've been choosing has been slow songs and old songs, mostly. I used it once on a plane. I'm not a good flyer so I found it helped my flying jitters. I've had a great time listening to old music in my hunt though, so that is worth it right there.
Do any of you have a random thought to share?
10 comments:
The plot of the first book you discuss: it's common among patients with dementia.
And, yes, I sure do remember those gas station attendants. I miss them.
Well, waking up old and being the wife of a man named Ben would be a shock for me.
:)
Your telephone operator story is cute! Imagine the odds?
New Jersey still has gas station attendents - its illegal to pump your own "over there" (and its cheaper than here too!)
I had Childcraft books and loved them as a child. So I can relate to your books and how you love them. I read a web article the other day how many things today's children have never heard like a rotary phone, the television channel changing (remember BEFORE remote controls!) etc. It was pretty interesting. I can remember my mother singing to the radio while she washed dishes - Nat King Cole's Rambling Rose. I was three that year I think but maybe four.
I just read about the first book you mentioned in the weekend paper, it is on my to read list!
Ooh that book sounded scary!!! I love to read too. sandie
First of all let me say "Happy Anniversary", even though it's a little late. I loved your post about dancing together for 30 years!
Next, that book sounds riveting!
Third, the story about the phone operator is hilarious! Did you ever have a "party line"? That was always a hoot, especially if your neighbor was nosy!
We still have a gas station attendant here in "Gooseneck". They pump the gas, but don't check under the hood or clean the wind shield. They will put air in your tires if you ask, though.
I was remembering the other day how I used to have to add up a customer's total on an adding machine, then count back change to them---you know, in the days before electronic cash registers! I'll bet today's cashiers can't count back change without the machine giving them the total...
Extinct jobs? Elevator operator
BTW, all my thoughts are random. ;-)
That book sounds interesting. I might have to check it out.
They not only pumped gas, but they washed your windshield while it pumped!
Love the operator story. Only in small town USA and certainly not today!
I have so many memories of the 50's and 60's... To go along with your telephone operator is the telephone booths. And how about the photo boots? We had one in our local Kress' five and dime. I think I still have a picture Jim and I had taken in it when we were dating. And sock hops. And old 45's. And sleeping in front of a window because there was no AC. And helping grandma do laundry with the wringer washing machine. And the green screen/tube TV... actually I remember NO Tv. And of course 2 channels... if you were lucky. Dang woman, you've taken me down quite a memory lane. I could go on forever!
I don't remember ever seeing that collection of books as I grew up, which kind of surprises me, because books is one thing we had in plenty!
Have a wonderful day. It is snowing here - but only an inch or snow.
I love that you recall the old books you loved, and were fond enough of them to make it part of a blog post. I did similar, with my Golden Book Encyclopedia...
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com/2009/08/15-books.html
I had Little Golden Books when I was a kid, so did my brother and my son. Before I go to Sleep sounds interesting; I will put it on my to read list.
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