Blast from the Past...

Quicken Anja · June 3

To kick off June’s icebreaker, we’re taking a stroll down memory lane and asking:

What’s something from your childhood or younger years that you wish would make a comeback?
It could be a favorite snack, a TV show, a toy, a trend—or even just the way things used to be. Share your nostalgic favorites and let’s reminisce together!

For me—honestly, the neighborhood ice cream truck! Playing outside without technology created memories in and of itself, but hearing that ice cream truck tune start to play and get closer, it was a race to get inside, ask for money, and run and catch him in time! Half the fun was the chase—yelling for friends to hurry, then trying to decide between what kind or flavor I wanted while barely catching my breath, and having to stand on my tippy toes to get a good look. Simpler times, sweeter treats!

That’s one of my favorite little snapshots from growing up—now let’s hear yours!

Quicken Jasmine · June 3

Ahh, love this thread—it’s seriously hitting me right in the nostalgia. For me, one thing I’d love to see make a comeback is early 2000s computer games and websites. I’m talking about stuff like Neopets, Club Penguin, Webkinz, and even the days of designing your own layout on MySpace (okay, barely caught the tail end of that one 😂). There was something magical about logging on after school, feeding your digital pets, and customizing your little pixel world like it really mattered.

I also kind of miss when texting wasn’t instant—like, when it took five minutes to type out a message on a flip phone and we used things like “brb” and “ttyl” unironically because we couldn’t stay online forever. It made everything feel more intentional.

And let’s be real: Heelys deserve a second golden age. The amount of joy and chaos those little wheel shoes brought? Unmatched.

Simpler times, bright colors, and just enough internet to feel cool—but not so much that it ruled our lives. 💿✨

[Deleted User] · June 3

I remember being able to go out an play street games with my friends - Simon Says, Green Light, Red Light, Four Square, Jump Rope, Hop Scotch, Kick the Can, etc. To have fun, we went outside. The kids in the neighborhood would congregate on my street. It was so much fun. There were never any adults around, we felt free to go any where we wanted without fear. We would leave the house early in the morning and not return sometimes until the late afternoon. We rode our bikes everywhere. We explored. We got into mischief. With our small allowance, I remember it was a tough choice to decide what we could buy for a dollar or two. It was a different world back then.

NotACPA · June 3

For me, it would be the YMCA-sponsored, whitewater canoeing survival camp that I attended after 8th thru 11th grades. I'd go thru the main camp's counselor training . two-week session, and then spend 8 weeks in "Outpost".

So, that summer after 11th grade, when I normally would have been a Junior Counselor, I was instead the Deputy Director of Outpost … at age 17. Which meant, among other things, that I was the stern in the lead canoe down the river with class 3 & 4 rapids.

OR, maybe, the semi-pro dance troupe, also sponsored by the Y, where I performed and taught for 8th thru 12th grades. GREAT PLACE TO GET DATES!!!

BK · June 3

Walking to school, to friends, playing on the streets, skateboards, riding our bikes for miles to the beach, the ice cream truck, all without any worry. It was so safe. The soccer-parent mentality didn't really exist and we always ate dinner together.

I just opened my drawer and found the piece of paper, folded twice to the size of a card, having about 200 phone numbers hand written very small - cool! Also remembering my dad's two favorite albums, Barry White and Rare Earth, which he'd always play in the car going skiing. One car had an 8-track player in the glove box!

Rotary phones and Long distance calls, 411 and the giant Yellow Pages book.

Quicken Jasmine · June 3

https://community.quicken.com/discussion/comment/20493367#Comment_20493367

I wonder if it would be disappointing to hear that I mistakenly referred to a "Rotisserie" phone the other day. 😕

Palace · June 3

Well, guess I can make a go of this. Nothing ever makes a comeback in my book. But do remember the way things were. USE TO BE: Around 1 or 2 years old, during church, would stretch out on the wooden bench with my head on Mom's lap. Then, while preacher did his thing; she would scratch my head and I'd fall asleep 🤣 USE TO BE: Dad would take me fishing. We did catch a few fish of course; but what I miss most is the 'conversations we would have' ☺️ Learned more about this Ole World, and the games people play, than all the folks I've meet since put together. USE TO BE: Played some songs on the radio that had substance; guess you call that 'gravitas' today? The Last Farewell-Roger Whittaker. Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)-Looking Glass. To name just a few 😉

Jeff76 · June 4

Watching the Ed Sullivan Show….does anyone even know how to spin plates now a days?

VT3 · June 4

Ten cent ice cream cones and ten cent local phone calls…and public phone booths. As a youngster, I would walk to town and always took two dimes; one for the ice cream cone and one "just in case" I needed to phone home. And of course we only had one, corded rotary phone. The world was so much BIGGER then!

The morning news on the radio - both local and national. The broadcasts I still remember was the assassination of both JFK and RFK, and the death of the first nurse in Vietnam. Paul Harvey news on the radio. Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow, and David Brinkley news on B&W TV. And they smoked while giving the news. Big Band and early rock and roll music. Good to know Rock and Roll has not been the death of us.

Our family doctor who was available 24/7. His office was in his home. Sometimes he smoked while talking to us.

Most of all, common decency.

Thanks for the trip!

Jeff76 · June 4

Funny you said say that, our family doctor would smoke as he gave me a shot during his house call……

Palace · June 5

This talk about Doctors brings up contrast between 'Then & Know', doesn't it. My folks, going back generations, worked on & off for textile companies, when not on the farm. In the Mill Village they lived in (talking 1900 - 1940 era) the company hired their own Doctor's. They would make house calls as needed, sometimes late at night for emergencies. Of course, almost everyone had a dog then. Not these lap dogs like today, but mostly BIG dog's. Doctor always told his patient's to 'control their dog' if he had to make a house call. say, at 2 o'clock in the morning. Heard even a few doctor's carried a water pistol (with water, ammonia mix, just in case) 🐕️ BTW, in Early 1900's Mill Village, you could rent a 4 room house for 50 cents a room; plus the Mill had their own carpenters, painters, plumbers, etc. Even had copper roofing shingles, a few are still around even today 😲

Palace · June 23

And speaking of 'Talking Heads" on the news networks pontificating their version of 'the way things are' (as they spin it) 😉 Here's an Ole Saying I remember as a kid Way Back in my day. "If an Irish Potato is Irish and a Sweet Potato is Sweet… What were Huntley & Brinkley? Wait for it… "Common Taters" 🤣

Quicken Kristina · June 23

I'm not sure how much is things changing (being reformulated to make it cheaper) and how much is my memory remembering things as better than they really were, but every time I buy candy that I used to love as a kid, it tastes nowhere near as good as I remember.

@Quicken Anja - There's still an ice cream truck that sometimes drives through my neighborhood. It's unpredictable and infrequent, but I see and hear it a few times every summer.

jacobs · June 24

There's still an ice cream truck that sometimes drives through my neighborhood. It's unpredictable and infrequent, but I see and hear it a few times every summer.

@Quicken Kristina In my neighborhood, in addition to appearing irregularly and at different times, it's usually moving so quickly that any kid who hears it and runs to get Mom or Dad, or to get money, is likely to see the truck well down the street by the time they get outside. It's as if the driver is thinking "no one is going to buy from me, so let me just get through the route as quickly as possible" — which of course is self-defeating. 🤦‍♂️

Quicken Kristina · June 24

@jacobs,

That happens in my Dad's neighborhood also. What makes it somewhat humorous is the music plays faster/slower depending on the ice cream truck's speed, so when they go racing through the neighborhood, Little Brown Jug plays about 7x faster than the normal tempo.

Quicken Anja · June 24

@jacobs Yesss! We had one of those speedy ice cream trucks roll through our neighborhood last year too. My twins actually chased him all the way to the other side of the neighborhood until he finally looked in his mirrors and saw them—out of breath, still running after him. They were too tired to walk back, so they called me to come pick them up. 😂

Funny thing is, we never saw or heard that ice cream truck again. In the 6 years we’ve lived here, that was the only time. I guess he went off in search of a neighborhood with less determined kids. 😅

Rocket J Squirrel · June 24

One college summer I could not find a job. I went to an ice cream truck driver recruitment meeting, where I learned

I would have to buy the truckload of ice cream wholesale and sell it retail.
I would have to plug in the truck to electric power overnight to keep the treats frozen.

Well,

I didn't have that kind of money, I was a college student.
I lived in an apartment with no garage and no way to plug in the truck from the street.

Didn't take that job.

Palace · June 24

Thanks @Rocket J Squirrel I always wondered how that 'Ice Cream Truck Driver' deal worked. Makes sense now why they drive through some neighborhoods fast (not many customers here, not worthwhile stopping). Got to sell that ice cream fast as possible, run up a big power bill keeping that truck plugged in at night all the time 😉 Plus, an Ice Cream Truck would be very tempting to steal and drive off with late at night; especially in my neighborhood 🤣

irasend1 · June 25

I chuckled when I read about the spinning plates on Ed Sullivan. Before I retired I was an ER physician in a very busy city ER. The older guys (like me) always described our work as being like spinning plates. The younger docs just looked at us quizically.😯

Darran_AUS · June 30

[Removed - Off Topic]

James Tuttle · July 4

[Removed - Off Topic]

Palace · July 7

A 'sense of humor' seems missing today. The ability to take a joke, and give one without being offended all the time. For example: Old photo taken in 1958 I saw on internet recently. It show a newlywed couple sitting on the back bumper of their car. Large sign on back windshield reads: "She got me this morning. But I'll get her tonight"! 🤣

Palace · July 21

Wow, thought this topic would get more responses. Guess not many history nuts like me out there anymore. One more thought before this thread melts away like ice cream. Just heard (then saw) an Ice Cream Truck ease slowly through neighborhood. Only 2nd time this summer. Wasn't playing 'Little Brown Jug', but 'Turkey In The Straw'; maybe that's a Southern Thing 🤔 Not one child stopped the truck for ice cream! I'm guessing that driver won't be back since this area either hate's ice cream; or can't afford it off the truck so stock up on cheaper stuff at the store, like me 🤣

Blast from the Past...

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