The '70s, from memory

[ZOO]

My boys received an Atari emulator yesterday. It has 120 games in 8 bit. The sounds brought me right back to the late 70s. And the games were pretty awful.

[flatbutt]

Some of the best rock concerts ever, Jethro Tull at the Coliseum, Rennaisance in the Felt Forum, Frank Zappa at the Capitol, Dave Mason with The Band and so much more.

[jorian]

The 70's. When sex was safe and racing was dangerous.

[rattlsnak]

Cheech and Chong - Up in Smoke
Smokey and the Bandit.
Close encounters of the third kind
Halloween
Carrie
Animal House
Dirty Harry
Grease.. yes I said it.. lol.

And many more... All have great memories

[oldE]

In the days of segregated (M - F) university residences, finding I could fit a bottle of wine and two glasses along with my 12 string guitar into the case when responding to an invite to a party in the women's residence.

Walking into the women's res in the aftermath of a water fight! Wet T shirts and underwear everywhere.

It's a good thing I settled down so I could graduate.

Best
Les

[sugarwood]

Originally Posted by jorian

The 70's. When sex was safe and racing was dangerous.

peak gonorrhea

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

peak gonorrhea

Yea, but a shot in the butt, and all was well. It was not a death sentence.

I was dating a chick that was hired to be the "house mother" of a women's dorm at a university just a short drive away. She had to appear the be the good upstanding lady, so she could not be seen buying booze or going to bars. So I would bring her several bottles of booze and sneak into her residence on the bottom floor at the dorm building. She was just what a young 20 something guy "needed" and wanted.

[Jeff Higgins]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned their paper routes yet. I started mine at about age 10 or 11. Delivering was great - I would get out on my bike before school, head up to the paper shack where we got all of our papers for our routes, and headed out to deliver from there. By the time I got home my mom had my lunch packed, I had a quick bowl of cereal, and off to school.

Collecting really sucked, though. We had to go door to door to collect everyone's subscription payments. Really taught me a lot about human nature, at that ripe young age. Lots of folks tipped pretty darn good, but lots of folks wouldn't pay at all. Every excuse in the book, if they even bothered to answer the door. Some pretty mean people, too, especially considering it was a kid they were dealing with.

Lots of my fellow paper boys rejoiced when the paper changed to mail-in subscription payments. In spite of the hard time I got from a few of my subscribers, though, I hated it. It made it a lot harder for the nice folks to give us tips. That's where the real money was.

And how about lawn mowing? Talk about another cash cow for a willing young man. I did that for about the same length of time, from about 10 or 11 until I was old enough to drive. Actually, I quit the route, but kept mowing, at least for a few folks, long after I was driving.

I wound up buying my first decent motorcycle, that I actually owned and paid for myself, with that paper route and lawn mowing money. It was my first 1976 Sportster. Unfortunately, not the one I still have today, darn it. The one I still have was purchased when I was 19, and it was my third by then.

But, um, yeah - paper routes and lawn mowing. My friends and I made some serious bank (for a kid) in these endeavors. Some of us saved every last damn penny, some squandered all of it on little b.s. crap along the way. Much like real life, I guess.

[GH85Carrera]

Oh yea, my brother and I had full on fist fights over whose turn it was to get to use mom & dad's mower. Especially is Hawaii, the mowing season was 12 months per year. We wore out two sets of wheels pushing that mower house to house. We had our own gas cans, and we had to bring the mower back full of gas. I could push it down to the gas station, get a gallon of gas and coke for 30 cents at the base gas station.

[jorian]

Good post Higgins. I remember delivering in all kinds of weather here in the PNW. Winter could be brutal but I always had to get there on my own steam. Saturdays were bad with the comics and coupon books thrown in, but the worst was the Saturday a month before Christmas when Sears would have their catalogue in there too. Each paper would weigh well over a pound. My route was about 75 houses...

[strupgolf]

I loved the 70's. At least now I can say it even though I didn't think so back then. Just starting out with a new wife, 1st child, corvette 's, some weed we thought was great but later found out it was nothing, concerts, earning so little but not knowing it, a Honda 175 that we rode around on the country roads, first house @$125 month mortgage, 69 Z/28 restored, on and on. It, for me, was a time to remember and I have some great memories to never forget.

[john70t]

I didn't like the 70s. The hippies had all turned mean everyone was poor and all the streets were dirty. Bell bottoms and afros and gold chains are made for scary clown hookers. I had repeat nightmares from Joe Walsh's "In the city". Dad ran over my green machine on purpose a few days after giving it to me (only new thing I remember getting) for leaving it in the driveway again by the garage but in his parking spot. My Stingray frame then rusted and cracked after a jump and then repaired wrong. My $65 Mongoose bought from Tony with money cleaning carpets got stolen after leaving it in front of an arcade for 5 minutes. Anyone without a Camero was out of the cool club. Mom and dad always fighting.

The 80's with big colorful fake everything was a relief. Plus MTV and Rubics Cube.
You knew who was an idiot instantly.

[71T Targa]

I was 10 in '78 and almost got washed down a storm drain delivering papers in this:



This Bridgmans turned out to be my HS job:


Not me, but it sure could have been, I was doing the same thing at the time:

[sammyg2]

I remember girls wearing dittos jeans and halter tops, and gas lines.

[Sooner or later]

Working nights at the only 24 hour store in town. I knew every cop, pimp, and prostitute in town. Most by name....

After a movie I took my date to IHOP for a late night breakfast. As we reached the front door out come my pimp "friend" and his "lady". One quick glance and you knew their profession.

John (his name) the pimp: "Hey, Phil, who is yo lady friend!"
Me "Joan"
John "Nice looking lady. Too good fo you!"
Me "Later"
Joan""Who was that!!!!"

Never went out with me again.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by Sooner or later

Working nights at the only 24 hour store in town. I knew every cop, pimp, and prostitute in town. Most by name....

After a movie I took my date to IHOP for a late night breakfast. As we reached the front door out come my pimp "friend" and his "lady". One quick glance and you knew their profession.

John (his name) the pimp: "Hey, Phil, who is yo lady friend!"
Me "Joan"
John "Nice looking lady. Too good fo you!"
Me "Later"
Joan""Who was that!!!!"

Never went out with me again.

Way back in the 1970s.........

Long before digital cameras. I was a photo geek, and used a lot of Tri-X (ASA 400) and push processed it to 32,000 with a developer called Rodinal as my foggy memory recalls. Anyway the local cops had seem some of my work at a Jr. High football game and wanted some help.
I loaded up some of their film, and my camera and they drove me to every place the hookers hung out, and we shot photos. I was teaching them about exposure, and they were teaching me were all the dive bars and hookers were.
The hookers that were so ugly I can't imagine why any male would every pay for sex.
The next day I showed them how to print the photos and helped the police department vice squad do a better job. I made some cop friends and I was a high school kid.

[Bob Kontak]

1972. Pal had a 70 SS 396 Chevelle with "Cowl Induction". He could drive like a boss. Maybe it was he could shift like a boss?

Four 16 year old boys in this beast of a car. Drove to Michigan from Toledo for 3.2 beer. First place we tried sold it to us. Maybe a case? of piss-water? Two years underage in Michigan and five years underage in Ohio. I do think Ohio sold 3.2 for youngsters but maybe somebody knew a place in Michigan? It was only 15 minutes to the border.

McDonalds was the hot spot in Ohio. We went there and spent two bucks thirty for fries, a burger and a pop.

When leaving McDonalds, lit those tires up on Woodville road and I was in heaven.

It was the sweetest sound coming out of that quadrajet a young semi "buzzed" fellow could hear.

[Evans, Marv]

Originally Posted by sugarwood

peak gonorrhea

Damn. 1972 was the year I got my only case of that. The ironic thing was it was from my H.S. girlfriend from 10++ years before. She came to visit me after we hadn't seen each other for almost ten years. Stayed a few days. Later wrote me a letter saying, "By the way - but not to worry." Turned out I did need to worry.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

And how about lawn mowing? Talk about another cash cow for a willing young man.

My son graduated to mowing lawns when he was about 13. He made way more money at it, but it was seasonal, so he kept his paper route to keep up his cash flow in the winter.

I grew up in the country, at that age I was on a tractor mowing hay or cultivating corn for $1 an hour. But that was in the ‘60s (sorry to stray off topic).