I'm about 30 years older than you Sean but we miss the same things. America was pretty stable for a long time and then changes were rapid. Some I like, some I don't but I do miss America of the 50s, 60s, 70s, and even most of the 80s.
One thing you forgot to mention. Glass bottles were also a source of income for kids. We would find glass soda bottles on the side of the road and could take them pretty much anywhere and get money. Not a lot of money but enough to buy something you desperately needed, like Cracker Jacks, Three Musketeer bars and if you had enough bottles, you could get another Coke. We didn't live in the city, so we got our milk at the country store.
I remember when Cokes went to 6 cents. They put an honesty tube on the side of the machine to handle the penny. The people swore they would quit Cokes if they went to 10 cents.
I agree there are lots of things to miss from our childhood. I grew up in the 60s and there are lots of things that I’m nostalgic about.
BUT, I have a gaggle of neighborhood kids under the age of 12 who love to have conversations with me, and they are bilingual to boot!
Yesterday I had the door held open for me by a number of people.
I treated a homeless guy to hot chocolate and took soup to my neighbor. The world is still a lovely place and you are one of the people that makes it that way.
This column, like most of your columns, brought me great joy today. I love the sad stories, too, for the way they twang my heartstrings (I have a sweet, formerly abused, elderly blind dog too), but this column came through at the exact time I had just finished hand washing a jar and thinking about how much I love glass.
For weeks now I have been waiting in anticipation of finishing honey I had ordered online which actually to my delight came in a glass jar. The honey was delicious, but I was just so anxious to see this adorable jar in its cleaned up glory! I can’t wait to fill it with flowers and tie it with some twine! The jar has an impression of a bee skep and some little dots of bees hovering around the skep and the words ‘ONE POUND PURE HONEY’ at the bottom. So proud of its contents. You don’t see that on a plastic container of anything. The rim is slightly rolled. No plain twist cap here, but a nice, thick cork stopper which reminded me of a trip I took in 2022 to Portugal, the biggest supplier of cork in the world, but not the reason I flew to Portugal.
The reason I went to Portugal was to hike a portion of The Way of St. James, Camino de Santiago, after I lost my husband. It brought me such unexpected peace. What beautiful countries Portugal and Spain are and what an amazing encounter I had with God along the way to the Compostela de Santiago! I pray that you will have such an amazing journey. Be sure to get your Camino Passport stamps along the way, especially at the churches, and you will meet such great people at those stops as well. But I digress.
I just wanted to tell you that you are not alone in your love of glass. The colors, the shapes, the feel, the weight, the uses!! Have you ever seen the glass blowers in Corning, NY? Another beautiful place to visit near the Finger Lakes. I digress again. It’s how my mind works and I ‘blindly’ follow.
There is no plastic jar, cup, jug or even bear-shaped container full of semi-honey that evokes such beauty or feelings or memories. No milk jug has ever brought any thought at all to my mind other than, Wow, that milk shouldn’t have gone sour already!
That was going to be my last sentence, but just one or two more. I have forgotten where exactly you’ll be traveling along The Way, but, if possible, seize the opportunity to tour the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia to see an extraordinary use of glass and one of the most amazing structures you will likely ever see.
And I promise, if you even see or read this, here are my last words: pack at least one extra pair of GOOD clean, dry socks in your backpack daily and change them out halfway through your hike each day. whether you think you need to or not. You do. And your feet will thank you.
I don't like the thought of plastic contaIners shedding "microplastics" for my digestive enjoyment, but it's nice to be able to squeeze a plastic bottle (and hear that soft, satisfying "poot" that tells you that you got the last little bit of ketchup). Granted, it doesn't take much to make me happy some days!
I love glass. I drink my coffee and tea out of a clear footed cafe glass. I even buy Solgar vitamins because they come in glass. I try to be progressive and accept change but certain things I'm dug in on. Yep, call me Old School. I can take it. ❤️
In my town, they don’t accept glass for recycling. Let us not mention the amount of wine bottles that have no place to go. But I started saving glass jars. Like, a lot of glass jars. Like tumbling out my cupboards. Some are just so pretty. Even maple syrup bottles are charming. I reuse them for giving folks flowers from my garden. I leave them at the bottom my drive with a sign for passerbys to take one. In return they leave me herbs and their flowers in the jar. See, once you keep a jar, you keep it forever. It’s a law of physics, I’m sure. My friend made me vegetable soup last week and delivered them in reused large smuckers jelly jars. And she wants them back. Darn.
Thank you! I love glass containers for everything! I hate plastic. Which is kinda weird since my daddy is partially responsible for some of the things that exist: he was a rubber-and-plastics chemist for NASA. Invented styrofoam. Blame him for all those Starbucks coffee cups littering the highway. I remember when Coke came in small glass bottles. When they changed to plastic and got bigger, I quit drinking Coke. Didn't taste the same. Same with Dr.Pepper. Now we're being told that we all have about a teaspoon of microplastics in our brain! And that's contributing to early-onset dementia and Alzheimers! So my question is: if I give up my Teflon skillets, do they make stainless steel in turquoise? Because I'm color-coordinated if I'm anything. And don't EVEN get me started on the world as it was in the 50s and 60s! That's a whole 'nother rant!
Me, too! There was a time when i lived in Atlanta that I got raw milk (Mathis Dairy, the only one that had a license) delivered -- DELIVERED! -- to my door! That was not even 30-35 years ago. Now, I won't even buy milk anymore. Who knows what those cows are being fed?
Mathis came to our house outside of Duluth. we had a Kindergarten field trip to the dairy, and we got to milk Rosebud. I had to use both hands, and the milk went into Miss Puckett's shoe, but she was nice about it.
I miss movies where the acting carried you along in a parallel world, and not the special effects. I miss music and songs that you could understand the words to, and sing along. I miss a childhood kids today will never know. We are fortunate to have improvements in medical, technical, and other areas today. "You cannot have progress without change. But, not all change is progress."
I miss the times when everyone was Christian and actually loved each other and didn’t want to kidnap and traffic your kids. The Ten Commandments needs to be reinstated and govt shut down. God is all we need.🙌🏻✝️
In total agreement about the glass and most other things. Seatbelts? My brother used to ride on the car scrunched up on that little shelf behind the back seat. While I know that you don’t agree with me regarding our mayonnaise of choice, I swear my beloved Hellmans tasted much better coming from a glass jar.
Yes! There were three of us littles so when traveling overnight by car, the oldest laid in the seat. I was the middle child (age and size!) so I got the floor and the youngest of us was relegated to that little shelf in the very back! Memories!
Amen Brother Sean, a LOT of us are with you! I miss the days when the phone rang you knew it was for you and not a telemarketer like the one who woke me up at 7 this morning. Oh, I could list a lot more things I miss; the jukebox on each person's table in the restaurant, lids one could get off bottles without a master's degree and the strength of Hulk Hogan. We're with you Sean!
I am quite a bit older but I remember everyone of the things you mentioned. Except I was an adult in the early 70’s before I had my first plane trip. You are right, everyone was dressed like they were going to church. We collected discarded glass soda bottles from construction sites to turn in for the 2 cents until we had enough to go to the local swimming pool. We played outside unsupervised, I still remember the fun of old roller skates (with the key) if you were lucky enough to live on a street with sidewalks. I feel so blessed to have lived in the good old days.
There was a time when glass was recyclable here in River City. I liked that. Hurts me just to throw it away. But not as much as it hurt my palm to get that first dollop of ketchup out. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. (SIGH)
I got tired of beating those glass bottles until my palm was bruised. Then someone told me to stick a knife in the neck of the bottle, and bingo, the ketchup flowed freely.
I'm about 30 years older than you Sean but we miss the same things. America was pretty stable for a long time and then changes were rapid. Some I like, some I don't but I do miss America of the 50s, 60s, 70s, and even most of the 80s.
Right there with you Daniel. I was born and raised in Arkansas and on a farm but now I live south of Atlanta, and everyone seems to be in a hurry.
But they can't hurry because of the bumper to bumper traffic!
One thing you forgot to mention. Glass bottles were also a source of income for kids. We would find glass soda bottles on the side of the road and could take them pretty much anywhere and get money. Not a lot of money but enough to buy something you desperately needed, like Cracker Jacks, Three Musketeer bars and if you had enough bottles, you could get another Coke. We didn't live in the city, so we got our milk at the country store.
Soda was 10 cents. We got 2 cents if we returned the bottle.
I remember when Cokes went to 6 cents. They put an honesty tube on the side of the machine to handle the penny. The people swore they would quit Cokes if they went to 10 cents.
You're right, Matt - 2 cents a bottle. Last I heard, crushed aluminum drink cans were selling for recycling at 15 cents a pound.
What's more, we didn't have the garbage we do now with all the unrecyclible plastics.
Have you had your coffee yet, Sean?
You are kind of a Debbie downer today.
I agree there are lots of things to miss from our childhood. I grew up in the 60s and there are lots of things that I’m nostalgic about.
BUT, I have a gaggle of neighborhood kids under the age of 12 who love to have conversations with me, and they are bilingual to boot!
Yesterday I had the door held open for me by a number of people.
I treated a homeless guy to hot chocolate and took soup to my neighbor. The world is still a lovely place and you are one of the people that makes it that way.
Because you are a lovely person! Keep it up!
This column, like most of your columns, brought me great joy today. I love the sad stories, too, for the way they twang my heartstrings (I have a sweet, formerly abused, elderly blind dog too), but this column came through at the exact time I had just finished hand washing a jar and thinking about how much I love glass.
For weeks now I have been waiting in anticipation of finishing honey I had ordered online which actually to my delight came in a glass jar. The honey was delicious, but I was just so anxious to see this adorable jar in its cleaned up glory! I can’t wait to fill it with flowers and tie it with some twine! The jar has an impression of a bee skep and some little dots of bees hovering around the skep and the words ‘ONE POUND PURE HONEY’ at the bottom. So proud of its contents. You don’t see that on a plastic container of anything. The rim is slightly rolled. No plain twist cap here, but a nice, thick cork stopper which reminded me of a trip I took in 2022 to Portugal, the biggest supplier of cork in the world, but not the reason I flew to Portugal.
The reason I went to Portugal was to hike a portion of The Way of St. James, Camino de Santiago, after I lost my husband. It brought me such unexpected peace. What beautiful countries Portugal and Spain are and what an amazing encounter I had with God along the way to the Compostela de Santiago! I pray that you will have such an amazing journey. Be sure to get your Camino Passport stamps along the way, especially at the churches, and you will meet such great people at those stops as well. But I digress.
I just wanted to tell you that you are not alone in your love of glass. The colors, the shapes, the feel, the weight, the uses!! Have you ever seen the glass blowers in Corning, NY? Another beautiful place to visit near the Finger Lakes. I digress again. It’s how my mind works and I ‘blindly’ follow.
There is no plastic jar, cup, jug or even bear-shaped container full of semi-honey that evokes such beauty or feelings or memories. No milk jug has ever brought any thought at all to my mind other than, Wow, that milk shouldn’t have gone sour already!
That was going to be my last sentence, but just one or two more. I have forgotten where exactly you’ll be traveling along The Way, but, if possible, seize the opportunity to tour the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia to see an extraordinary use of glass and one of the most amazing structures you will likely ever see.
And I promise, if you even see or read this, here are my last words: pack at least one extra pair of GOOD clean, dry socks in your backpack daily and change them out halfway through your hike each day. whether you think you need to or not. You do. And your feet will thank you.
God Bless!!
I’d love to get a jar of that honey and keep the jar. I save and reuse glass jars. Better than just about anything plastic.
Sean follow the sock advice!!!
Debi, this is where I got the orange blossom honey in the beautiful glass jar. I hope you’re enjoying both the honey and the jar!
www.heritagebees.com
Thank you
I don't like the thought of plastic contaIners shedding "microplastics" for my digestive enjoyment, but it's nice to be able to squeeze a plastic bottle (and hear that soft, satisfying "poot" that tells you that you got the last little bit of ketchup). Granted, it doesn't take much to make me happy some days!
With a little practice, you could probably turn an empty ketchup bottle into a whistle. I'll bet that would be fun.
Life is full of little things.
I love glass. I drink my coffee and tea out of a clear footed cafe glass. I even buy Solgar vitamins because they come in glass. I try to be progressive and accept change but certain things I'm dug in on. Yep, call me Old School. I can take it. ❤️
In my town, they don’t accept glass for recycling. Let us not mention the amount of wine bottles that have no place to go. But I started saving glass jars. Like, a lot of glass jars. Like tumbling out my cupboards. Some are just so pretty. Even maple syrup bottles are charming. I reuse them for giving folks flowers from my garden. I leave them at the bottom my drive with a sign for passerbys to take one. In return they leave me herbs and their flowers in the jar. See, once you keep a jar, you keep it forever. It’s a law of physics, I’m sure. My friend made me vegetable soup last week and delivered them in reused large smuckers jelly jars. And she wants them back. Darn.
Thank you! I love glass containers for everything! I hate plastic. Which is kinda weird since my daddy is partially responsible for some of the things that exist: he was a rubber-and-plastics chemist for NASA. Invented styrofoam. Blame him for all those Starbucks coffee cups littering the highway. I remember when Coke came in small glass bottles. When they changed to plastic and got bigger, I quit drinking Coke. Didn't taste the same. Same with Dr.Pepper. Now we're being told that we all have about a teaspoon of microplastics in our brain! And that's contributing to early-onset dementia and Alzheimers! So my question is: if I give up my Teflon skillets, do they make stainless steel in turquoise? Because I'm color-coordinated if I'm anything. And don't EVEN get me started on the world as it was in the 50s and 60s! That's a whole 'nother rant!
Yup and I miss times when milk was delivered in glass bottles and mama let me lick the cap it was lovely
Me, too! There was a time when i lived in Atlanta that I got raw milk (Mathis Dairy, the only one that had a license) delivered -- DELIVERED! -- to my door! That was not even 30-35 years ago. Now, I won't even buy milk anymore. Who knows what those cows are being fed?
Mathis came to our house outside of Duluth. we had a Kindergarten field trip to the dairy, and we got to milk Rosebud. I had to use both hands, and the milk went into Miss Puckett's shoe, but she was nice about it.
Thank you good know somebody else remembers
I miss my grandparents and my parents.
I miss movies where the acting carried you along in a parallel world, and not the special effects. I miss music and songs that you could understand the words to, and sing along. I miss a childhood kids today will never know. We are fortunate to have improvements in medical, technical, and other areas today. "You cannot have progress without change. But, not all change is progress."
I miss the times when everyone was Christian and actually loved each other and didn’t want to kidnap and traffic your kids. The Ten Commandments needs to be reinstated and govt shut down. God is all we need.🙌🏻✝️
In total agreement about the glass and most other things. Seatbelts? My brother used to ride on the car scrunched up on that little shelf behind the back seat. While I know that you don’t agree with me regarding our mayonnaise of choice, I swear my beloved Hellmans tasted much better coming from a glass jar.
Yes! There were three of us littles so when traveling overnight by car, the oldest laid in the seat. I was the middle child (age and size!) so I got the floor and the youngest of us was relegated to that little shelf in the very back! Memories!
I thought that shelf behind the backsesat was only there for melting crayons.
😁
Amen Brother Sean, a LOT of us are with you! I miss the days when the phone rang you knew it was for you and not a telemarketer like the one who woke me up at 7 this morning. Oh, I could list a lot more things I miss; the jukebox on each person's table in the restaurant, lids one could get off bottles without a master's degree and the strength of Hulk Hogan. We're with you Sean!
I am quite a bit older but I remember everyone of the things you mentioned. Except I was an adult in the early 70’s before I had my first plane trip. You are right, everyone was dressed like they were going to church. We collected discarded glass soda bottles from construction sites to turn in for the 2 cents until we had enough to go to the local swimming pool. We played outside unsupervised, I still remember the fun of old roller skates (with the key) if you were lucky enough to live on a street with sidewalks. I feel so blessed to have lived in the good old days.
I'm an old coot in my 70s and I approve this message.
There was a time when glass was recyclable here in River City. I liked that. Hurts me just to throw it away. But not as much as it hurt my palm to get that first dollop of ketchup out. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. (SIGH)
I got tired of beating those glass bottles until my palm was bruised. Then someone told me to stick a knife in the neck of the bottle, and bingo, the ketchup flowed freely.