"Life is lived forward, but understood backward. It is not until we are down the road and we stand on the mountain looking back through the valley that we can appreciate the terrain God has allowed us to scale.” Jill Savage

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Thursdays Treat . . .

DID YOU GROW UP IN THE FIFTIES? I was born in 1953 and I identify with this. Such a wonderful and safe time. What the heck happened?

I have no idea who put this together, but it is wonderful!!

Long ago and far away, in a land that time forgot,
Before the days of Dylan , or the dawn of Camelot.
There lived a race of innocents, and they were you and me,

For Ike was in the White House in that land where we were born,
Where navels were for oranges, and Peyton Place was porn.

We learned to gut a muffler, we washed our hair at dawn,
We spread our crinolines to dry in circles on the lawn..

We longed for love and romance, and waited for our Prince,
And Eddie Fisher married Liz , and no one's seen him since.

We danced to 'Little Darlin,' and sang to 'Stagger Lee'
And cried for Buddy Holly in the Land That Made Me, Me.

Only girls wore earrings then, and 3 was one too many,
And only boys wore flat-top cuts, except for Jean McKinney.

And only in our wildest dreams did we expect to see
A boy named George with Lipstick, in the Land That Made Me, Me.

We fell for Frankie Avalon , Annette was oh, so nice,
And when they made a movie, they never made it twice..

We didn't have a Star Trek Five, or Psycho Two and Three,
Or Rocky-Rambo Twenty in the Land That Made Me, Me.

Miss Kitty had a heart of gold, and Chester had a limp,
And Reagan was a Democrat whose co-star was a chimp.

We had a Mr. Wizard, but not a Mr. T,
And Oprah couldn't talk yet, in the Land That Made Me, Me.

We had our share of heroes, we never thought they'd go,
At least not Bobby Darin, or Marilyn Monroe.

For youth was still eternal, and life was yet to be,
And Elvis ;was forever in the Land That Made Me, Me.

We'd never seen the rock band that was Grateful to be Dead,
And Airplanes weren't named Jefferson , and Zeppelins were not Led.

And Beatles lived in gardens then, and Monkees lived in trees,
Madonna was Mary in the Land That Made Me, Me.

We'd never heard of microwaves, or telephones in cars,
And babies might be bottle-fed, but they were not grown in jars.

And pumping iron got wrinkles out, and 'gay' meant fancy-free,
And dorms were never co-ed in the Land That Made Me, Me.

We hadn't seen enough of jets to talk about the lag,
And microchips were what was left at the bottom of the bag.

And hardware was a box of nails, and bytes came from a flea,
And rocket ships were fiction in the Land That Made Me, Me.

Buicks came with portholes, and side shows came with freaks,
And bathing suits came big enough to cover both your cheeks.

And Coke came just in bottles, and skirts below the knee,
And Castro came to power near the Land That Made Me, Me.

We had no Crest with Fluoride, we had no Hill Street Blues,
We had no patterned pantyhose or Lipton herbal tea
Or prime-time ads for those dysfunctions in the Land That Made Me, Me.

There were no golden arches, no Perrier to chill,
And fish were not called Wanda , and cats were not called Bill.

And middle-aged was 35 and old was forty-three,
And ancient were our parents in the Land That Made Me, Me.

But all things have a season, or so we've heard them say,
And now instead of Maybelline we swear by Retin-A.
They send us invitations to join AARP,
We've come a long way, baby, from the Land That Made Me, Me.

So now we face a brave new world in slightly larger jeans,
And wonder why they're using smaller print in magazines.
And we tell our children's children of the way it used to be,
Long ago and far away in the Land That Made Me, Me.

If you didn't grow up in the fiftys,
you missed the greatest time in history.


And the thought for the day -
"Life is like walking through snow:
every step shows."

~ Jess Lair

What happened in the years that made you you?

Love,
Chatty

22 comments:

The Quintessential Magpie said...

I wish that we could return to that innocence, but some things weren't so good (like people being forced to struggle for their civil rights). Hence, I wish we could erase those parts like prejudice and then add the others like innocence. But that sounds like Heaven, doesn't it? I guess the trick is to remember those things we cherish most, carry them with us in our hearts, and move on down the road with our reading glasses, our Depends, and what's left of our hair. LOL! ;-)

XO,

Sheila

Dogmom Diva said...

Hi Sandie, you and I were born in the same year..what great memories. Who ever thought WE would have memories, that was just for our folks generation...thanks for posting..Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!

hugs
Barb

Unknown said...

well i was was born in 58 and the 60's were a pretty good time to grow up also. darling poem, true poem. i think growing up now would be scary and i hope my granchildren survive the 2010's and beyond! have a great day sandie!

Pat MacKenzie said...

I was born in 1948 so the 50's were my growing up years. I can remember getting our first black and white tv in 1955, putting empty milk bottles on the doorstep at night and bringing in bottles of fresh milk in the morning and collecting the cardboard milk tops. And winning a hula hoop contest, playing jump rope and paper dolls. And roller skating with the 'key' on a string around my neck. Mum did the weekly wash in a wringer washing machine and hung the clothes to dry every Monday, rain or shine. I remember getting our first rotary dial telephone too when I was in first grade. We kids went to the movie theatre every Saturday...15 cents admission and 10 cents for popcorn. Lots of fun memories.

Granny Annie said...

Born in 1946 the 50's were my growing up years and I too believe they were the best. However my grandchildren seem awfully happy in their lives so I believe they will reflect on the beginning of the 21st century as treasured.

Annesphamily said...

I was born in 1953 too! It was a magically time. We are too politically correct today and where did that come from anyway???? I enjoyed reading that Sandie! Thanks for the sweet meories. The number one song when I was born : "How Much is that Doggy in the Window".

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

No 50s for me - all 70s. But I loved the poem :-)

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Born in 1950 so these were my young years but oh so many memories!

Ginny Hartzler said...

This is all true! These were my years, I grew up in the 50's! We played outside all day and no one had to watch us, we roller skated and rode scooters and bikes. We did hula hoops, played jacks and pick-up-sticks. Tainted food and food poisoning and recalls were just unheard of. In school, you got sent to the office for wearing a skirt above your knees, chewing gum, and talking. Times have changed

Just Be Real said...

Thank you for the reminiscing down memory lane. I was also born in the 50's, but a bit on the later side. Blessings to you Sandie.

Linda O'Connell said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Linda O'Connell said...

Sandie,
Hi, sorry about that last post. I wrote that I was bornin 194, but taht should have been 1949. Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane.
http://lindaoconnell.blogspot.com

MadSnapper said...

i remember all of this, i was born in 1944 so this was my time and i loved it. the world started to change in 1960 and has gotten steadily worse since then

Susan said...

Oh man, Sandie. What happened in the years that made me? So, so much. I remember simpler times...playing "Statue" and "Red Light" on my parents' front lawn; eating fudgesickles and popsicles purchased with quarters from the clanging ice cream truck; watching "Howdy Doody" and "The Lone Ranger" and cartoons on Saturday mornings; going to church every Sunday and wearing new hats, outfits, and shoes on Easter; and on and on.

But today, despite its difficult moments, is wonderful too. Life, all of it, is quite a journey. It's great to be alive!

Take care. Susan

jp@A Green Ridge said...

Well, Kiddo that was great and I guess I could consider myself growing up in the fifties...born in '47...:)JP

House and Garden Boutique said...

Really enjoyed your post......I was just thinking today that it would be nice to have a simpler life. I remember my sister and her friends watching the TV Show Bandstand after school, and dancing in the living room doing the STROLL. The movie Peggy Sue Got Married.....gets me nostalgic everytime I see it too. Sure would be nice to be able to just go for a Sunday drive again!

Debbie said...

I'm ...ahem... cough... a bit younger than the 50s since I was born in 61. Still I thought this was terrific.

You always have the best stuff on your blog.

Sharon said...

Born in 1954, I share the same stuff, my friend. And they were good years, I agree.

A few more?

Mick Jagger was the only one with "Mick Jagger" lips.

Wearing pants to school was scandalous - now, showing panties is the style.

Crack was something that happened to the sidewalk.

We loved the game PONG because it was so realistic!

Lucy loved Ricky and they slept in separate beds - now Ricky loves Ricky...

Miss those days - just wish I could remember them better!!

xoxo

^..^Corgidogmama said...

Oh this was a cool post today!
Jim and I were both born in '51, three weeks apart. What fun to relive those times reading your post! Life was cool then, that's for sure, and I miss those days a great deal. Who knew that cancer gals could have their house cleaned, that is an awesome gift for somebody getting chemo! A real treasure!

Velvet Over Steel said...

Wow, Great post! Thanks for sharing those! I was born in 62 and some of those really brought back some memories for me!

Love your quotes, esp. in your header. & that cleaning service program is wonderful. I hadn't heard about it before. Great share!!!

Stay warm, Sandie
Hugs,
Coreen

Donna B. said...

I love this one too. I posted it a while back on one of my blogs. Those were the days...

LADY JANE said...

Although I was born in 58 your post today really hits home! What happened to the "good ol' days" life seemed so much more carefree! Love the post Girlfriend!