Remember When Brooklyn - Page 5Note that this is the last page.If it is too long, what can I say? Nostalgia just ain't what it used to be. ... Recommend this section to a friend. Remember what a "double dog dare" is? Well, I double dog dare you to remember these? How many do you remember? If you remember enough, then you are at the right age. Not the perfect age (I said the right age). The perfect age is somewhere between old enough to know better and too young to care. Again, how many of the following do you remember? 15 cent McDonald hamburgers & 10 cent fries If you can remember most or all of the above, then you have lived. Remembering these is a good break from your "grown-up life" These too you might Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from that "grown up" life ... I double dog dare ya. I conclude this page with a note Ron sent saying, "Remember when you were able to buy those chocolate jelly grahams from the appy (that's the appetizer) section of Waldbaum's. They would be in boxes behind the counter along with the jelly rings and marshmallow twists." Thank you, Ron. Yes, I remember it well; I think they were in a large carton up high along the back wall behind the counter. I preferred them without the jelly; just plain chocolate covered grahams with a glass of cold milk. I'll go back to the days when they used to be sold for a penny each in class during snack time, maybe from the same type carton that the teacher took out during from her coat closet. Btw, those marshmallow twists don't freeze the way they used to either. But "way back when" who had freezers? I add Jack Grisar's comments because he refers to both both Brighton Beach and Canarsie (both very close to me). He is more familiar with Brighton Beach details and writes: I was born in 1934, across the street from Lincoln High School. So many of the topics that you touched on really hit home and stirred up so many memories. As a child, Iworked in and on many of the concessions in Coney Island. My wife's cousin, Gerald Feingold taught school in Canarsie. Then he goes on to praise this website and my wife for putting up with my time on this site (another reason I include his comments). To answer Jack, I worked on the site while Joan was running around building the Republican Party here in this heavily Democratic Big Apple, always giving the underdog an even break. And yes, she is a wonderful person. The following little story told in the year 2000 should summarize this entire "Remember Brooklyn When: One evening a grandson was talking to his grandmother about current events. The grandson asked his grandmother what she thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general. The Grandma replied, "Well, let me think a minute. I was born before television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, contact lenses, Frisbees and the pill. There was no radar, credit cards, laser beams or ballpoint pens. Man had not invented pantyhose, air conditioners, dishwashers, clothes dryers, and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and man hadn't yet walked on the moon. Your Grandfather and I got married first-and then lived together. Every family had a father and a mother. Until I was 25, I called every man older than I, "Sir" and after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, "Sir". We were before gay-rights, computer dating, dual careers, daycare centers and group therapy. The Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense governed our lives. We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions. Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege. We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent. Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins. Draft dodgers were people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started. Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends-not purchasing condominiums. We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings. We listened to the Big Bands (Les Brown, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Guy Lombardo, Kay Kyser, Ina Ray Hutton, Gene Krupa, and Louis Prima), we listened to Jack Benny, the Inner Sanctum, Allen's Alley, Fibber McGee and Molly, and the President's speeches on our radios. And we heard the Lone Ranger with that familiar music (it was really written by Rossini and I had originally said Wagner, pronounced with a "V" who wrote long, never ending German operas; I stand corrected, thank you, Annie). And if you saw anything with 'Made in Japan' on it, it was junk. The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam. Pizza Hut, McDonald's and instant coffee were unheard of. We had five & dime stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents. Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar and a Pepsi were all a nickel. And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail one letter and two postcards; to anyplace in the country. An aside but maybe emailing today is a better bargain; it's a thought. But who in "those" days would write, "How are u?" and "What r u doing this weekend?" It's a problem. You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600 but who could afford one? And gas was around 16 cents a gallon (I remember 36 cents; maybe that was high octane). And in my day, "grass" was mowed, "coke" was a cold drink, "pot" was something your mother cooked in, and "rock music" was your grandmother's lullaby. "Aids" were helpers in the Principal's office, "chip" meant a piece of wood, "hardware" was found in a hardware store, and "software" wasn't even a word. And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby. No wonder people call us "old and confused" and say there is a generation gap. And what year do you think we're talking about? ... maybe 1950. I've heard that the perfect age was somewhere between old enough to know better and too young to care. If that's true, then those days were the perfect days. But I correct myself; truth is that every age is delightful; each offers us different experiences and different tests. Maybe it's a blessing but we also easily forget the hard times; time has a way of making everything look rosy. Except I remember we never locked our doors; today I've noticed that some people lock their front gates (that's sad). Wasn't "Brooklyn, Remember When" was kinda special? Didn't it feel good, just to go back and say, "Yeah, I remember that"? Life for kids was simple. Like Charlie Brown and Lucy, we would be lying on our backs in the grass or on the beach with friends and say things like, "That cloud looks like a ..." and we'd play baseball with no adults to help us with the rules of the game. Stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seals because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger? I think that was a good way to grow up. War was a card game, baseball cards were put in the spokes transforming any bike into a motorcycle, and taking drugs meant orange-flavored chewable aspirin. Water balloons and those wooden guns shooting those square cardboard missiles were the ultimate weapons. If you can remember most or all of these, then you have lived. Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from his or her "grown-up" life ... I double-dog-dare-ya; yeah, I double-dog-dare-ya ... huh? huh? so there. Confession ... someone wrote to me asking why most of my reminiscing concentrates on the southern part of Brooklyn. The answer is that I grew up in the southern part of Brooklyn, had my friendships there, dated girls there, and with an eight year stint in Nassau County, moved back and continue to live in the southern part. The conglomeration of neighborhoods that make up Brooklyn are (in alphabetical order): Bath Beach, Bed Stuy (Bedford Stuyvesant), Bensonhurst, Bergen Beach, Boerum Hill, Borough Park, Brighton Beach, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn Navy Yard (that's becoming residential too), Bushwick, Canarsie, Carroll Gardens, Ciy Line, Clinton Hill, Cobble Hill, Coney Island, Cypress Hills, Ditmas Village, Dyker Heights, East Flatbush, East Gravesend, East New York, Erasmus, Farragut, Flatlands, Fort Greene, Fort Hamilton, Fulton Ferry, Fulton Mall, Georgetown, Gerritsen Beach, Gowanus, Gravesend, Greenpoint, Highland Park, Homecrest, Kensington, Kings Bay, Kings Highway, Lefferts Gardens, Madison, Mapleton, Marine Park, Midwood, Mill Island, New Lots, New Utrecht, Ocean Hill, Park Slope, Parksville, Plum Beach, Prospect Park South, Red Hook, Remsen Village, Rugby, Starrett City (now called Spring Creek), South Brooklyn (which is not the "south shore"), Sunset Park, West Brighton Beach (really part of Coney Island), Williamsburg, Windsor Terrace, and Wingate. Now Howard Gelman lived on the Bay streets; an easy walk to the very commercial 86th Street. I left the Bay streets out too (though I did mention a little about the big 86). Therefore, I'll let Howard speak for himself ... here's his total email to me ... he's currently living in Australia but written in excellent American English; proves he was educated in Brooklyn Tech (when Brooklyn Tech was one of the best schools around). And if I left out few other residential sections: I know I did ... for that I apologize. No question about it (and it's confirmed by the email I get from this page), growing up in Brooklyn was a kid's paradise. Someone once wrote (don't ask me who; I don't recall): "The flat morning light shines in as stores are slowly waking up for another day. Light filled with laughter, and sadness, hope and resignation. It floods through windows and doorways and through the very core of our being. To live in Brooklyn is to know this light. This light is only found in Brooklyn." Maybe that sums it up; thank you for reminiscing with me. If I repeated myself at times, forgive me; chalk it up to enthusiasm. After all, I'm talking about my home.  ... you be my guest.All right, here's the way ... Old Brooklyn Used To Look ... some years ago, 1920? |