I was talking with my wife at lunch and the subject of the old rotary phone came up and it reminded me how frustrating it would be to have to call people that had lots of 7, 8, and 9s in their number. Took forever.

I enjoy reminders of things that used to be a big deal that nobody thinks about anymore. Like me. Anybody got any others?

LIGHT 'EM UP!!

JEN JEN, GRAB ME THE LATEST INSIDE SPORTS!!

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You know me like that.

Rewinding/Fast-forwarding VHS tapes.

Flipping the cassette on your Walkman/stereo.

Logging on to AOL with a dial up modem.

We had a manual hand crank drill we used for some time. Good times.

Manual ice cream maker.

Finding a library book using the dewey decimal system.

Speaking of NSFW, good porn was difficult to come by as a youth. Times have changed.

(I just recently found my old box (hey buddy) of DeFord's The National ... spent many a day reading it at and on the way to HS ... and yes, I was driving while I read, thank you for noticing.)


Having to go to the TV to turn it on, change the channel, or give it the ol' Hulk smash routine to fix the picture.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

Leaving the house to go shopping for most everything except groceries.

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Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

How about trying to cancel AOL after a month with the asshole customer service reps.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Back in the early 80's, we had a TV that looked like this:



When the picture got fuzzy, we would smack it on the right side, near the bottom, and the picture would be fine, temporarily.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Washing dishes by hand.

Changing the radio station in the car with a non-digital stereo.

Memorizing peoples phone numbers/phone books, in general.

I apparently used to receive a swat on the ass when, as a youngling, I would give the ol' wheel of fortune business to the tv dial.


Having to use the card catalog.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

If you lie on your back in front of the TV, you could change the channel with your feet. It was just like having a remote control!

Chus, we had a TV just like that also. I think a good portion of America did. The size of a small car with a 27" screen.

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You know me like that.

Yep. YOU'RE GONNA BREAK IT!

Changing the rotor was the same deal. You could only go from N to NNE and stop 1/12 turns.

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You know me like that.

Speaking of taking forever, the daily newspaper was the source of news. It came each morning and would take say 30 minutes to read. There is the news. Sit tight for another 24 hours and there is that paper again. You want in depth reporting? Time and or Newsweek come once a week. Sports Illustrated weeklies also were prized possessions.

How many of you know how to read a map? Like an actual paper map, not a Google map.

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The Sporting News was really about the only way to really know what was going on around the leagues. They'd have all the box scores and stats and little blubs from local writers on each team. It was great.

If you popped that sucker open and read it as soon as it arrived you'd know exactly what was going on in the league....5 days ago.

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You know me like that.

delivering pizza before GPS. Or going anywhere you didn't know for that matter without GPS. Christ. I had like 4 maps of each town we went to and of course if some jackass from outside our area called in an order I'd have to stop and ask for directions somewhere.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Yeah. We had a big map on the wall that I would route myself out on first. I knew the main streets pretty well and fortunately there weren't many subdivisions, but still had to pretty much remember the residential route from looking at the map.

With that, trying to find a payphone even then wasn't always the easiest thing to do.

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Having to pick up the needle on a record player if you wanted to repeat a song.

Having to avoid being impaled by a jart in the back yard.

Brown weed.

Playing sports in godawful polyester uniforms with no breathable qualities.

Paying outrageous fees on long-distance calls, especially if you were in a long-distance relationship.

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Sex isn't dirty, sex isn't a crime. It's a loving act between two or more consenting adults.

-Hank Kingsley

Actually, the Aurora Beacon came out in the late afternoon/early evening .... which also is a thing long gone .... the evening paper, not the Beacon .... though it isn't really that great .... maybe it never was .... I miss the Bonni Buyer .... no I don't .... I need a nap.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

What was it like driving the toll road without I-Pass? I had a shit memory as a kid. I bet it sucked.

Rolling down a car window
Needing to stick a key in your car door to open it.
Warning up some food without a microwave
Paying to watch music videos
Limited porn options
Not being able to see who's calling

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Keep lots of change in the car.

Then there'd be logjams of traffic at the toll stop areas, man, I'm glad we don't have that anymore...don't have....oh...yeah....damn it...

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You know me like that.

Going to the bank to get some cash out of your bank book. Having them calculate your interest by hand and writing it in your book.

No wonder everyone spends more. It's so damn easy.

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You know me like that.

Not being able to locate a car trunk key
Delivering afternoon newspapers

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I believe passport savings account was another that annoyed me.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

YES!!! I was telling my kids about this useless skill I had. I drove to Florida once with nothing else but a map. Would have to stop at the local gas station and buy one to get around their streets.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

How many of you know how to fold a map?

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I used to love those travel guides you'd buy with ratings of every sleazy motel up to the Four Seasons and restaurants with local maps for various regions of the country.

What were those? Mobil? Rand McNally? Those don't sound right. It was something else.

I'd pour over those things.

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You know me like that.

The Sunday paper being as thick as an encyclopedia and having to spend an hour plus in the bathroom to read it all.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!