The Stories you'll tell your grand children about the good old days

[Sylvanfan]

Well the world is changing pretty fast. In reading the other thread about 66CFR chaning to an all day news station it is becoming quite obvious that AM radio is going to be for talk shows exclusively. It got me thinking of how 35 years down the road when I'm the same age as Sample00 or Cheese that I'll be telling people about how I used to

Be able to hear music on AM radio, and that in some cases it wasn't even all oldies, there were stations that played that played new music on the ill fated AM dial.

I'll also be able to talk of the pay phone and how when I was in highschool and wanted a ride somewhere I would have to find a pay phone and have 25 cents or place a local collect call to my parents. Heck even as I got older and first went to bars no-one under the age of 35 had a cell phone, and if they did they certainly didn't take it to the bar. Nowadays they have rooms in the bar where people sit there and interact exclusively on their cell phones with text messanging and the like with people in that same room. Bizarre.

What else will the kids of the future hear from the old folks?

[RougeUnderoos]

No internet.

Back in my day we had to wait until the next day to read the hockey scores and you could only do your pool stats once a week and you needed a calculator.

Kids are going to find it hard to believe that nearly everyone didn't have a computer and the internet until around when, 2000? Even I find it kind of hard to believe.

[JiriHrdina]

Regarding checking for hockey scores, in the days before there was all sports radio, the Internet and when I didn't have TSN...I recall that sometimes that best way to get the hockey scores was from the "Talking Yellow Pages" where you would call a number and navigate through a bunch of menus via your touch tone phone. The Internet rendered it completely useless but it was weird anyways.

[Bobblehead]

Pay Phones were 10 cents. A (glass) bottle of pop was 25 cents. Cell phones? Well, in the TV show Vegas, Dan Tana has a phone in the car, but everyone knew no such thing existed. It was a big deal when we got an antenna and and could get 3 more tv channels for a grand total of 5.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Not only will I be able to tell my kids that we really didn't have the internet when I was a kid, but that once we did, it was only on computers

[TheyCallMeBruce]

Yup...and how we flew on these contraptions called "Aeroplanes" and rode on "Automobiles," instead of your fancy pancy trans-dimensional-inter-portation device.

[HalifaxDrunk]

When I was a kid I would turn the "dial" to channel 3 or 4 ("not too fast or you'll break it" - Quote from Dad) on our state of the art color TV. I used to put actual tapes of movies (video cassettes) in the top of a Sony Beta VCR. Then just sit down with some jiffy pop or hot air popped popcorn, grab the "remote" which was attached to the VCR by a cord and watch a movie. When finished don't forget - be kind, rewind!

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Regarding checking for hockey scores, in the days before there was all sports radio, the Internet and when I didn't have TSN...I recall that sometimes that best way to get the hockey scores was from the "Talking Yellow Pages" where you would call a number and navigate through a bunch of menus via your touch tone phone. The Internet rendered it completely useless but it was weird anyways.

Oh man the talking yellow pages I forgot all about those. I used those for hockey scores as well. And the "time and temperature" phone number.

One thing I think kids today really miss out on is the prank call. You can't make a prank call anymore what with the call display or *69. Also, unless they go to the oldies section they'll never see a movie that includes the line "you've got to keep him on the line for 1 minute"!

[Maritime Q-Scout]

- I remember having to pay cash at the corner store

- I remember being the first of my firends to have a computer, the amazingly fast 486

- I remember having to "dail-up" to the internet and you'd get that annoying screech

- I remember the days before Napster

- I remember Napster

- I remember downloading my very first song and it taking FOREVER

- I remember the days before high speed internet

- I remember no one having a cell phone

- I remember calling my dad's "beeper"

- I remember only having cable

- I remember it being beyond difficult to follow a Western based sports team

- I remember wanting a walkman for my birthday, and getting it thinking that it was beyond amazing

- I remember diskmen being too expensive to ever buy

- I remember mp3 players being too expensive to ever buy

- I remember iPods being too expensive to buy (still there for me, haha)

- I remember the only porn accessable was on the late night french channel from Quebec, and only on Saturday nights at 2 in the morning

- I remember when cameras took "film"

- I remember 5.25" floppy disks

- I remember the 3.5" floppy disks

- Hell I remember floppy disks!

- I remember not having a gaming system, then getting Nintendo (just NES)

- I remember when the kitchen telephone was the primary means of communication to the outside world

- I remember my school not having any computers, and then getting 2, amazingly fast 486s

- I remember getting a CD-Rom for Chirstmas and being amazed by it

- I remember VHS

- I remember the $2 bill

- I remember the $1 bill

- I remember paying for a WWF Action figure with both $1 bills, and loonies

- I remember the WWF, now WWE

- I remember the Meech Lake, and Charlottetown Accords

- I remember only being able to get music by buying a casette, or listening to the radio

People... I'm 23

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

- I remember 5.25" floppy disks

- I remember the 3.5" floppy disks

- Hell I remember floppy disks!

I remember 5.25" floppy disks in the old Tandy computers IIRC....

And my Radio Shack computer had a tape drive.

[Frank the Tank]

I remember records and 8 tracks. No remote for the TV. I remember when VCR's were new and cool. Same with microwaves.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

And the "time and temperature" phone number.

I miss that. Even now if I wake up on a weekend day and want to go out, to check the temp involves powering up the computer, or turning the TV to the weather channel.

One thing I used to do when travelling between Calgary and Winnipeg a lot; I would phone the other city's T&T line collect. (This was when AGT first brought in the automated operator for collect calls.) Through the operator saying there was a collect call I could hear what the temperature was in the other city.

[KGB33]

I remember buying my Dad a pack of smokes for 2 bucks...when I was six.

I remember going out when I was a kid and only being told "Be back before dark".

No one turned down cash as a form of payment.

No cable,video games,computer ... had to use our imagination and play outside all day!!

[FurnaceFace]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

- I remember being the first of my firends to have a computer, the amazingly fast 486

- I remember having to "dail-up" to the internet and you'd get that annoying screech

- I remember only having cable

- I remember not having a gaming system, then getting Nintendo (just NES)

People... I'm 23

I laughed as I read this, my first thought was "Damn he's young!" before I read your age. For us old 36 year olds that's some pretty new fangled stuff:

- I remember home computers as the TRS-80, Apple IIs, and the best off all Commodore 64s with a cassette drive which loaded up your stuff. We got a Mac Plus when I was 12ish and it probably cost more than some cars today.

- Remember not having the internet. I remember BBSs or just having to go to the University to send some email on a green screen PET terminal.

- I remember getting cable which was about 6-8 US channels. A step up from CTV on channel 2, CBC on 9, and Radio Canada on 13.

- I remember Pong and later Atari and Colecovision fighting it out for your TV.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by ken0042

I miss that. Even now if I wake up on a weekend day and want to go out, to check the temp involves powering up the computer, or turning the TV to the weather channel.

One thing I used to do when travelling between Calgary and Winnipeg a lot; I would phone the other city's T&T line collect. (This was when AGT first brought in the automated operator for collect calls.) Through the operator saying there was a collect call I could hear what the temperature was in the other city.

263-3333!!!

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

263-3333!!!

By you posting that you made me think it had been re-activated. Turns out the number has been assigned to somebody else. I just said "sorry, must have the wrong number."

I'd hate to be the person who got that number.

[Bill Bumface]

It was a dark day when 263-3333 shut down I was a chronic user of that service.

[MolsonInBothHands]

I remember my uncles cabinet model stereo, with state of the art 8-track.

My parents had reel-to-reel in their stereo.

I also remember saving up for a dual cassette ghetto blaster and three days after Christmas dubbing songs (that everyone got for Christmas) for each other.

I remember microwave ovens being a luxury item.

I remember when solar calculators were new-fangled.

I remember digital watches with LED displays you had to push the button to see.

I played computer games which had no pictures, only text. Adventure!

The gaming consoled I so badly coveted was the Colecovision.

I made $20 / week with my paper route, and that was spectacular money for a 12 year old.

For a dollar you could buy a bag of chips, a chocolate bar, and a pop.

... but I don't ever remember the Leafs winning a cup.

[Vulcan]

Speaking of phones, I remember when every call went through a telephone operator, no dials even, and we had party lines. Maybe 6 phone numbers on each line and you only answered when you got your special ring like two longs and a short. You could also listen in on your neighbors calls but you cauld usually tell by the hollow background noise.

Technology is multiplying so fast every new gadget will be outdated by the time you get it home.

[Bobblehead]

My highschool had 3 commodore pet computers.

Vic-20 had a chess game that would take 20 minutes to figure out a move.

Gas was sold in (imperial) gallons, and when it switched to litres it was 17-21 cents per litre.

New Years Eve was Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians from the Waldorf Astoria (its still not NYE for me unless I hear Auld Lang Syne and see a balloon drop)

Lloyd Robertson was the CBC national news anchor, Harvey Kirk on CTV

The olympics in Montreal, and Greg Joy's medal winning high jump shown on the national anthem at the start and end of the TV broadcast day

I remember being home sick from school and seeing the BlueJays first game.

Seeing Sittler score the Canada Cup '76 winner

Driving 40 minutes round trip to rent a VCR and a couple movie.

Getting the Christmas Wish book and circling all the toys I would like.

The first farewell tour of The Who

Watching King of Kensington
("As he walks down the streeeeet,
He smiles at everyone,...)