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Vintage Things That Have Disappeared In Your Lifetime?

MikeBravo

One Too Many
Messages
1,301
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Here in the Southern California area one of the revenge of the girlfriend scemes is to take all of your BF / fiancce / husbands clothes in the car and go for a 100 mile drive dropping a piece of his clothes out here and there while on the freeway.

another for the BF revenge is to go to his place while he is away and call the number for time in Tokyo Japan or other places suitably extotic and far off and leave the phone off the hook until he returns. Back in the day the long distance overseas rates were also exotic. the phone bill could be in the thousands back when the dolar was worth something.

I beleive a lot of countries have cottoned on to that and now have a limited time the call will stay open
 

Stray Cat

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Let's revive this one...

I found something interesting:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lesle...d-to-st_b_779005.html#s175633&title=1_Hats_on
30 Things That Need to Stage a Comeback, Pronto!

Here goes:
1. Hats on men.
"A man in a hat just looks so cool. Not to mention polished and confident."
2. Record players.
"Preferably one in a leather case. There is something truly wonderful and evocative about a record popping on an old player."
3. Manners.
"A conspicuously missing entity these days. Suddenly it's perfectly acceptable to tap on a PDA throughout dinner or let the lobby door close on someone carrying heaps of grocery bags. Emily Post would be crying into her hanky over this sorry state of affairs."
4. And on that note ... discreet voices.
"Oh, how we love to shriek into our cellphones, and make sure that everyone in a restaurant knows every detail of our fevered little lives."
5. Handwritten thank-you notes.
"Thoughtfully written ones - and letter writing too. No matter how frequently you speak or email with someone, you'll know them differently if you spend time with them on paper."
6. Crudite platters.
"I'll admit that this is eccentric of me, but they're just so Jackie Kennedy, circa 1961. Excepting, of course, those bloated, gummy canned olives. Those can be left happily in crystal candy-dishes of the past."
7. Road trips.
"Cross-country, Kerouac-style. With unruly maps, and a dog in the backseat."
8. Old-fashioned hotel lobbies.
"These clinical, gimmicky Ian Schrager-affairs crawling with headset-donning staffers often make me long for a gin-and-tonic in a mahogany-walled hotel lobby from bygone eras. Check out the Baron Hotel in Aleppo, or the American Colony in Jerusalem: That's the way to do it. "
9. Fountain Pen
"And scented inks too - divine! I was particularly gratified to learn recently that lemon juice makes an excellent invisible ink, which 'appears' when the paper is held up to candlelight."
10. Red Lipstick.
"I'm bored to sobs of that ubiquitous sticky gloss. Let's bring back old guard glamour. Golden-Era Hollywood knew what it was doing. "
11. Libraries.
"Public ones and personal ones. Along with those lovely bookplates for the front covers, the ones that proclaim: This Book Belongs To ..."
12. Lunch ... as opposed to brunch.
The former is so much more dignified. Why would you want to see anyone before noon on a weekend anyway? Revive also: the word "luncheon." Lunch is something you grab. Luncheon, on the other hand, is something that you savor."
13. Good posture.
"Next time you walk past a manicure salon, peek in the window at the women getting their nails done. I'll bet you a million bucks that they're all sullenly slumped down in their chairs, as though they'd been shot."
14. World-tour honeymoons.
"Banish the sluggish, clichéd resort retreat."
15. Manual cameras.
"With black-and-white film. Particularly good on the above-mentioned Kerouac-style road trip. A Pentax K-1000 takes all of the wretched passivity out of taking pictures. And they won't just sit there blobbily on your hard drive afterward."
16. Sunday roasts.
"In which you invite your family and friends late in the afternoon. This is a particularly nice ritual if you happen to like your family and friends."
17. Bright white tennis clothes.
"These are best adorned with green grass courts."
18. Supper clubs.
"Think El Morocco and the Stork Club. With those discreet curved leather booths, palm trees, and a wonderful old-fashioned ebony telephone on each table."
19. And on that note, let's bring back dancing.
"Whatever happened to going out dancing for an evening?" a friend of mine recently lamented. "As in, it's Friday night. Let's go out dancing."
20. Lockets.
"With pictures inside, of course. They're just so endearing and personal. On a less endearing note: people used to store poison inside lockets too."
21. Discussion societies.
"Polite ones or impolite ones. It doesn't matter. Let's take a break from online chatter and move back into real rooms with three-dimensional people. Anonymous internet postings try to pass for discussion societies but they are absolutely not the same thing. Too often they breed animosity instead of constructive discourse. Talking is good. Real debate is a dying art."
22. Picnics.
"And picnic baskets. They're hard to carry but in the end they are worth it. Wear linen clothing, set up shop under a tree, bring (and read) books, take black and white pictures."
23. Train restaurants.
"Good ones, obviously, in wood-paneled cars, with white linen-covered tables. And crystal, china, etc., Agatha Christie-style."
24. Double-features.
"Perfect for long, rainy November afternoons, and for prolonging first-date make-out sessions. Let's also bring back pre-feature cartoon shorts."
25. Pocketwatches.
"It will make you look wonderfully old-world and curious. Plus, it removes the watch as a dull, ubiquitous status symbol."
26. Lovely, leisurely evening walks.
"After dinner, take a stroll around the neighborhood. A bonus: window-peeping is always better at night."
27. Game night.
"Scrabble, bridge, poker, whatever. A friend of mine points out that game nights used to serve as wonderful occasions to get soused and gossip and argue. And it does get so dreadfully boring to go to yet another couple-y restaurant dinner."
28. Hobbies.
"And collections. Book collecting. Butterfly collecting. Bee keeping. Whatever. Hobbies are quaint, and it's nice to do something in which the process is the pleasure."
29. Telegrams.
"A great friend of mine has quite an impressive collection of telegrams from Cole Porter. These divine missives become chic historical collages. Plus, upon arrival, telegrams are practically synonymous with anticipation, adventure, and mystery ... and who among us couldn't use more of these things in our lives? "
30. Dumbwaiters.
"Truly the stuff of creaking whimsy. Wonderful places to hide from irritating relatives. Equally cunning perches from which to spy on various unsuspecting members of the household: much chicer than a nanny-cam."

;)
 

TidiousTed

Practically Family
Messages
532
Location
Oslo, Norway
Of the things mentioned that has not disappeared where I'm concerned

1 I've got a lot of hats and wear them
2 I've got several recordplayers and use them
3 I've got manners (if not always a discreet voices)
5 I often send a handwritten even calligraphed thank you note
7 Have been known to take road trips (to many some say)
9 Always write with a fountain pen (Or a nib in a holder)
11 Have got a library and often visit public ones
15 Often use manual cameras
22 Often do picnics
25 Have used a pocket watch for the last 25 years (wrist watches don't agree with me)
26 Walk my dogs leisurely after dinner most days
27 Belong to a society that plays medieval dice games and arrrange game nights ever so often
28 Have too many hobbies
30 Have two dumbwaiters in the hall
:)
 

Steven180

One of the Regulars
Messages
269
Location
US
Ms. Blume did a fine job in her choices...and thanks to you, Stray cat, for filing it here.

My favorites:
Manners - just think how much better we'd feel about each other with a little respect, dignity, and selflessness
Discreet voices - privacy enriches your interest and respects others, whereas self broadcasting demeans
Hand written thank-you notes - there is hardly anything more simple, but more personal, than giving the gift of time in writing
Old-fashioned hotel lobbies - the living room of the vacation
Fountain pens - the noble tool of thought
Libraries - one of the very few public places you can be alone
Good posture = self respect
Sunday roasts - the opportunity to stop the world for the most important thing, family.

M.
 

Stray Cat

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Ms. Blume did a fine job in her choices...and thanks to you, Stray cat, for filing it here.

That is why I shared..

As for me
2. Record players.
..always wanted one.. as soon as I find it, I'll buy it.
3. Manners.
I was fortunate to be raised by my grandfather (born in 1920), so I have OLD manner implanted in my brain. :)
(same goes for posture, speaking quiet while speaking private and talking "up" to older people)
5. Handwritten thank-you notes.
I think of then as close and personal. They are much better way to address someone, well.. better that "thnx" on facebook wall (it's called "wall" right?)
7. Road trips.
I hike. :)
8. Old-fashioned hotel lobbies.
I'd LOVE to sit in one of those, and sip tea.
9. Fountain Pen
I have that. :)
10. Red Lipstick.
Need I to even mention this one?? ;)
11. Libraries.
I am proud to say: yes, that in my wallet is a library card.
12. Lunch ... as opposed to brunch.
(toghether with no 16.. I have an "old fashioned" mom: lunch is served at noon, we all eat together. And we have "Sunday lunch" every Sunday: soup, cooked meat with gravy, baked meat.. and desert.
15. Manual cameras.
..got from my dad (who, also, took his time and effort to teach me how to use it)
20. Lockets.
..got from my mom.
21. Discussion societies.
(leisurely evening walks and game night) I do.. as much as I can.. and when I manage to un-glue my friends from keyboard.
last:
28. Hobbies.
Writting. Reading.. mending old wooden furniture..

:)
 
Messages
13,469
Location
Orange County, CA
Stray Cat said:
19. And on that note, let's bring back dancing.
"Whatever happened to going out dancing for an evening?" a friend of mine recently lamented. "As in, it's Friday night. Let's go out dancing."

You might have to explain the concept of dancing to the boys and girls out there because I don't mean the "shake your booty" variety of contortions that sadly passes for "dancing" today. I remember disco when I was a kid and how we used to make all kinds of jokes about it. I think the reason a lot of people hated it back then was because unlike the previously mentioned style of "dancing", you had to actually take the trouble to learn the dance steps for disco.

Needless to say, I'd much rather have Disco instead of the excrement called "music" today.
 
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Messages
10,883
Location
Portage, Wis.
There was a sign when I was up north for a Barn Dance that evening, wish they'd do that around here.

I also noticed that the smaller Kleenex boxes are getting harder to find. The ones that fit into the old bathroom tissue dispensers or the under-dash ones in 50's and 60's cars. I looked all over for them and only one place had 'em.
 
Messages
13,469
Location
Orange County, CA
Let's revive this one...

I found something interesting:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lesle...d-to-st_b_779005.html#s175633&title=1_Hats_on
30 Things That Need to Stage a Comeback, Pronto!

As I was looking at it, I thought some of the comments were particularly poignant or relevant. Here's some of them.

"While [roadtrips are] still fun, over the years, it increasingly feels like one just drives from one Walmart to another. Towns are increasingly similar. You see lots of boarded up "main streets" and the same plastic soulless chain restaurants, stores, and hotel/motels everywhere with people dressing the same and going out to similar places and listening to the same songs. With a lot of effort and research you can still have fun, but its kinda sad how many places have lost their sense of individual character. I think people would be surprised to learn just how many towns don't even have non-chain restaurant*s these days. Its really sad to roll into a town and ask all the locals what the best restaurant is only to repeatedly be told its Applebees."

"The trend is toward utilitarianism, and there is no place for comfort, style, or refinement".'

"What happened to talking? Last week the thirteen year old explained to me, "My friends and I don't really talk (as in spoken words), we communicate (as in Tweeting or whatever).
All I know is talk is cheap. Communicating isn't"


"Can we bring back:
-not wearing pajamas in public
-being polite
-your please and thank yous
-leaving something to the imagination
-respectab*le influences for children
-not eating fast food for every meal
-and finally... walking on the side that you drive."


"YES what ever happened to dancing?! Real dancing, not dry humping to music! Yuck."

"I have my fedora, my pocketwatch, and fountain pen. Let's roll!" :thumb:

"Manners, as judged by HuffPosters, are in severe decline."

"What's the point of setting a table and making an elaborate dinner if you don't know when the guests will arrive or how many are coming? Even long before I quit having dinner parties, I gave up expecting my hospitality to be returned. I've actually had people, who never reciprocated any of the meals I invited them to, say to me, "I miss your dinner parties. When are you having another one?" You know, folks, it's perfectly acceptable to treat a hostess to a restaurant meal if you are, for any reason, unable to return her invitation with a similar invitation to your home. And if you don't reciprocate, at least offer proper thanks. Drinking all the booze and slobbering over the hostess upon leaving doesn't count"

"My husband and I attended a funeral at a church for a business acquaintance whom we didn't know well. I had made my husband dress up and I wore a black dress, since I had no idea what the custom might be amongst this person's friends. Imagine my shock when I encountered an older woman in a powder blue sweatsuit with fluffy slippers in my pew!"

"Lyrics. Bring back song lyrics that say something other than the F word or the B word when applied to women, and lyrics that are one repetitive line after another without much work ro imagination going into them. Ira Gershwin must be spinning in his grave and Stephen Sondheim too much of a gentleman to say anything about it."

"My husband went to work for the Southern Pacific Railroad when he was 27 years old and was required to wear a hat to work. This was in the late sixties, and there was a saying that the only men in San Francisco who wore hats were old men and Southern Pacific employees"
 
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Stray Cat

My Mail is Forwarded Here
I agree with you. But, than, some still do not:

"The world where these things came from no longer exists. We're in the 21st century now"

"Nostalgia is a lie."

(I chose to ignore them) ;)

Here's one I liked:
"Let's bring back civility. We have lost that in this world. Please, let us try being civil to one another.
I'd like that..
 
Messages
10,883
Location
Portage, Wis.
Oh, how I miss seeing people wear hats, not caps, real hats. My dad always says hat culture never died, the style of hat just changed. I agree, but the etiquette that went with hats died, too. You very seldom see real hats anymore.

We have a few good non-chain restaurants here. Whenever someone's in Pardeeville and wants somewhere good to eat, Pa and I send 'em down to the On the Way Cafe'. Best food in town!

"My husband went to work for the Southern Pacific Railroad when he was 27 years old and was required to wear a hat to work. This was in the late sixties, and there was a saying that the only men in San Francisco who wore hats were old men and Southern Pacific employees"
 

Kishtu

Practically Family
Messages
559
Location
Truro, UK
Drs making house calls - wish that still happened. Oh and milk delivered to the door!
X
BD

We have both in our village ;-)
Bit of a pest when the milkman calls clattering bottles in the early hours of the morning, mind...

Things I miss:
Our classic (not quite vintage at the point of departure) Volvo estate car. I loved that car - 40+ years old which makes her I believe "classic" rather than vintage.

.. serious things that I miss, petrol lawn mowers. The sound of the petrol lawnmower on a Sunday afternoon was part of my youth. The electric flymo doesn't work for me.
Table linen. I try my best but the Small Person does very bad things to clean napiery. Likewise appropriate cutlery and the knowledge of how to use it.
 

Steven180

One of the Regulars
Messages
269
Location
US
The party line.

I remember as a kid listening to my Grandmothers phone in small town, Indiana and hearing the many conversations! Funny.

And I remember those great Norman Rockwell pieces on the front of the old phone books.

M.
 

Kishtu

Practically Family
Messages
559
Location
Truro, UK
Speaking of telephones (and I suspect this is a UK thing as well) people answering the phone properly with the telephone number you'd dialled and not just "hello".... grrrrr.

We lived in one of the last areas in the country to have a 5-digit phone number. The exchange has now gone over to digital, and the whole town had to change numbers. Humph.
 

Philip A.

Familiar Face
Messages
60
Location
East Africa
As a six-seven years old I'd go and "help" the farmer to plow the fields behind the house... With oxen. The wheat harvester was horse-driven, and the wine fully home-made. We had a few olive trees in the garden, which we'd harvest between us kids and my dad, and the olives were taken to the oil mill to provide for a year-long supply of perfumed oil. That was Italy in the sixties.

But today where I live, oxen still plow, and my staff show up for work with a spear and fighting bangles (a circular blade worn around the wrist). And a cellphone, it's 2011 after all! :D
 

Nobert

Practically Family
Messages
832
Location
In the Maine Woods
Entry-level positions. That is, actual, entry-level, start at the bottom and work your way up towards the level of your own aptitude, not "get a college degree before we even consider you for a data-entry position." On-the-job training and promotion from within, rather than hiring someone with an M.B.A. to fill a position in a company whose businesss they know nothing about.
 

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