Opal Reflections
Perspectives through Prose, Poetry and Photography
I Remember When
I remember when:
- telephones were on walls, desktops or in phone booths.
- ‘Super 8’ was the hi-tech way to capture home movies; and when mini-computers were 10 feet by three by five, and were moved with hand trucks.
- homes were heated by coal furnaces, and someone had to ‘shovel the coal’ or ‘bank the fire’ every few hours; and coal was replenished through a basement window, landing in a mountainous pile in the dusty dark coal bin.
- milk was delivered a few times a week and left in the milk box on my front porch; and when the ice-man would visit our neighborhood to deliver huge chunks of ice to ice boxes.
- our street was the playground for neighborhood kids, who regardless of age, played together in pickup games of baseball, played hide and go seek, or flipped cards against a stoop; and you could leave your forgotten bike out all night would still be there in the morning.
- we would pile into Daddy’s station wagon every Sunday afternoon to escape the sweltering heat, and ride-windows opened wide, to Grunnings for ice cream;
- when admirers came ‘a-courting’ and young couples had curfews; and ‘going steady’ was a secret… until Mom and Dad found out (and they always did)!
- We’d visit the convent on the way to the Prom, to introduce our dates to our beloved teachers; and our Dads took turns driving us to dances and after-dance pizza parlors, and safely home again.
- a bride-to-be proudly wore her blushing color; and the innocent newlyweds cherished dearly their first night together as man and wife.
Yes, I remember all these things. Our lives have been enhanced in so many ways. And yet we recall nostalgically the simpler times, peering through the curtains of our history to remember, with context and perspective, the people we used to be and to understand the people we’ve become.
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This is written in response to Trifecta Challenge to use the third definition of the word:
color (noun)
1a : a phenomenon of light (as red, brown, pink, or gray) or visual perception that enables one to differentiate otherwise identical objects
b (1) : the aspect of the appearance of objects and light sources that may be described in terms of hue, lightness, and saturation for objects and hue, brightness, and saturation for light sources
(2) : a color other than and as contrasted with black, white, or gray
2a : an outward often deceptive show : appearance
b : a legal claim to or appearance of a right, authority, or office
c : a pretense offered as justification : pretext <she could have drawn from the Versailles treaty the color of legality for any action she chose — Yale Review>
d : an appearance of authenticity : plausibility colorto this notion>
3: complexion tint:
a : the tint characteristic of good health
b : blush
14 Comments on “I Remember When”
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Lighthouse in the Mist, Cape May, NJ
Bandit
Festive View from the Pub, Peddler’s Village – Lahaska, PA.
Home Sweet Home
Opal Reflections 
Nostalgic touch there..opens reader#s minds..
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I enjoyed all these memories. Thoughtful take on the prompt.
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We all love to look back & relish some of the things that were a part of our lives then :-)Lovely read & I specially enjoyed the “epilogue”.
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I’m sure we could all generate a long list of fond memories! Thanks.
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So very true:-)
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I enjoyed this glimpse of nostalgia. There were some of these things (like the milk and the ice for the ice box) that I didn’t have as a child. Things change so fast. My kids still can’t believe there weren’t even cell phones when I was in high school 🙂
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I know, my grand kids thought that my old record player was a “Toy Story” toy. Thanks Janna.
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I guess I’m too young for this level of nostalgia (:
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Ouch…that’s ok, my grown children know about some of my remembrances, but the ice man? They don’t have a clue. I was five or six, but remember vividly.
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My grandfather delivered ice!! Great piece. Thanks for linking up!
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Thanks…I can remember the huge pick /tongs that our iceman used. Thank you for your comment.
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Nothing warmer than a coal furnace. I remember sitting in front of the hot air register as a kid. How toasty!
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Very good piece! Nice look at nostalgia!
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Thanks…I had a list of remembrances a mile long, but ad to edit to get down to less tan 333 words.
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