Lawn Mowers

Do you remember the old lawn mowers? How simple they were. Just push and cut. Well they cut slowly but made no noise. Then the first gasoline mowers. They were push with power.

As the lawns grew larger, the mower improved. I remember the first mower that was similar to the ones used today. The spark plug did not always work. Pulling the cord to start the mower was slow. Some times the mower would not start. I recall tears of anger on my face when I wanted to cut grass and could not start the mower.

Now my mower has eletronic start. Now one pull of the cord and I'm off and running. Of course my mower is self propelled, so there is little pushing to be done. And noisy all weekend all I hear are power mowers, edgers and blowers.

My acre now needs a riding mower. The tire is flat. It had no tube. When putting in the tube, it was pinched. My Charlie is off getting spare tire to fix it.

The weekend is a never ending battle to do the yard. I want to sell this house and downsize to a postage stamp yard.

Colts Commercial

My family have had Colts tickets since the middle of the night move to Indianapolis. We filmed the commercial for the ESPN game last year. The commercial time was sold out so it was not on the show.

That's my family and I was the one who made everyone do the deed.

My dad is in the golf cart on the last shot. He was 86 and died Dec. 11. I find that I smile when I look at the scene. He loved doing it.

The thing about the new stadium that hurts is that he did not get to go to a game there. He was against building that new building when so many people have no place to live and no food.

He worked for the poor and needy through the Saint Vincent de Paul Society of Indianapolis.

We miss Dad.

Opera Singer

This is off the topic. My cousin Ryland Pope is an opera student. I set him up on a blog yesterday. He is off to Austria to study voice.

He will be a senior at Georgetown College, Kentucky in the fall. He applies to Julliard College in August.

I hope to help him raise money for his studies. Follow his career go to: http://www.rylandpopeoperastudent.blogspot.com

He will be a star.

Saturday Movies

When it was Saturday, we had to clean our room. The reward was to go to the movies at the 11:00 am show.

Remember? The double header for a quarter with the cartoons, the serial and the news reel. The features were cowboy or scary movies. Most of these were in black and white with color a treat. The 3-D movies were special. Broken Arrow was my favorite.

The movie The War of the Worlds, gave me nightmares for weeks. I would fall asleep and wake up screaming. My parents said that I could no longer go to scary movies. I still have not seen The Blob, Creature from the Black Lagoon etc.

How about the candy. For a nickel, we had a candy bar. What was your favorite?

Another Race

I met a man at this race who hopes to go next year and that would make 50 in a row. Now that makes him my age since he said he was born in 1944. I am hoping for 20 more but you never know.

The race is fun. I always call it a party with my closest 300,000 friends.

Decoration Day

All you WWII babies out there, remember when Memorial Day was called Decoration Day?

As I was getting ready to leave town for the race, I remembered the old name. Also remember when the date was always May 30? I must admit 3 day weekends are more fun.

Let's not change the 4th of July or the 25th of December.

Peace and happy holiday to all!!

Go to all 3 ladies in the 500. Years ago women were not even allowed in the pits let alone driving a race car. 2008 a banner year.

The Indy 500

Have you been to the Indy 500 Race? My first race was 1959. A church group went every year and I was asked to go. I was in freshman in high school.

In order to get a place along the fence, we left for the race at 5:00 am. We paid $2.00 to enter the infield. If you look up pictures from this era, you will see that fans were allowed to build towers from just about any thing. The higher the tower, the more people it would hold and the view was better. In later years, after several collapses and other incidents, the towers were banned. Of course we had no tower.

The cars were so much slower, more dangerous and maybe more fun.

Standing at the fence on turn one, I could see only a flash of a car. The race was longer in time and after the race, it took hours to clear the infield.

I am going to the race Sunday for the lost count time. Since 1964 when on the opening lap a horrific accident occur ed, I dread the start. At that time the cars used gasoline. They planned on no pit stops. The cars had 500 miles of gasoline in them. The opening lap crash is still in my mind. It was amazing that I ever went back to the race.

Every year the officials learn more safety issues and correct them. Cars going much faster are much safer.

So tell me your 500 experiences.

Happy Memorial Day!

My First Car

When the kids today get their first car often at 16, they frequently get a family hand-me-down.

My family had one car a 1957 Ford 9 passenger station wagon ( we were a family of 8).
There was no hand me down.

So since I had $200.00, my dad (a car clueless man), helped me find a car.

We did not go any further than the gas station around the block. Sitting there for sale was a 1952 baby blue Ford Crown Victoria for $200.00.

The car was 10 years old and a top of the line car so it still ran.

Of course I bought it. For reasons unknown to me today, I called it Herman.

The car had an issue (how could you not guess this)?

Every thousand or two miles, the fuel pump wore out. The armature (or such) was too short and wore out.

Now, today that would have been fixed on a recall. Then, you had to get a new fuel pump.

I loved that car. I drove it for two years, when my dad was tired of the breakdowns.

He helped me pick my next car (when would I learn)? This car was a 1958 VW Beetle with a rag top sunroof. This car had no heater, no gas gague and the transmission gave out.

Dad had a series of cars that he bought for himself. One had push buttons to drive it, one had windows that would not roll down, one had oh well I could go on for hours.

I always loved my father and the cars he drove.

Math

Do you remember learning the multiplication tables? I still have issues with 8 times whatever. Do they even teach this in school now? I wish we had hand held calculators back in 7th and 8th grades.

What is amazing to me is the math children learn today. I feel out of touch.

Of course the computer puts me at such a disadvantage from my grandchildren. I am happy for them but wish I could make it work for me.

Any suggestions? Help! Bye, Gail

Blue Jeans

I still remember my first pair of blue jeans. In the early 50's girls wore dresses or skirts to school all of the time. In the summer, we wore shorts. In the winter we wore pants but not jeans. I went to high school and college without wearing pants to class.

Could you see the girls of today doing that?

I was 10 when mom brought home jeans for me. That was 1954. She bought them because her friends said that they did not wear out and could be passed down to the other children.

I felt that I was the cat's meow when wearing the jeans.

Ladies of my age, do you remember girdles? I was 12, 5' 6" tall and 100 lbs. when mom had me in a girdle in order to wear stockings for the first time.

I want my granddaughters to try it. Ha Ha Ha!

Saint Rose of Lima, Miami FL.

For one year fourth grade, I went to school at St. Rose of Lima in the Miami area. The classroom had 63 students. I was tall and sat in the last row. I could not even hear the teacher.

Is there anyone who remembers this school back in the early 50's?

Sometimes I am not clear about details. I believe the classroom was on the second floor. All I know is that I did not learn much.

Before Air Conditioning

Before air conditioning, we played outside all day and into the night during the summer. Games were the most fun. I loved "Piggy want a Signal". It was a game of tag and fun.

Do you have a favorite summer game? Pick up sticks? Marbles? Jacks? I do not think my grandchildren have ever played these games.

Disasters

Remember when we would bring dimes to school for the March of Dimes, school supplies for children in other lands and of course fill a shoe box for holiday presents for orphans.

Today's disasters are so huge a dime, a tooth brush or crayons and coloring book, seem like such a drop in the bucket.

Holy Name of Mary Grade School Algiers, La.

When I moved from the New Orleans area in May of 1957, I left behind the grade school Holy Name of Mary.
I am the oldest child in our family and there was no grade school for me where we lived. I took a bus and trasnfered to another bus and then walked 3 blocks to school. Can you even dream of allowing a 10 year old to do that today?
Holy Name of Mary was a school K-12. They had a Mardi Gras Pagent every year. I hated it. I remember being a flying monkey in the Wizzard of Oz.
I remember Howard, Ambrose Hines, Tanya and Margaret Evans. These students would have been in the high school class of 1962.
Anyone out there remember Gail Dunlevy?

Free Rice

Go to: www.freerice.com to donate rice to needy folks and increase your vocabulary.

Levittown, Long Island, New York

My parents bought one of the first Levitt houses. 16 Tallow Lane was a very small house but it was ours.

I was in the first kindergarden class at Abby Lane Elementary School.

I'm looking for some of my classmates. Are you one?

Gail

The Fuller Brush Man

Do you remember the Fuller Brush Man? If you do you are likely to remember the first Tupperware party you attended when plastic was new. My 86 year old mother has some of the first bowls made and she still has a hairbrush from Fuller.

How times have changed. Can you even remember the last time a door to door sales person knocked on the door? Even Avon rarely knocks any more.

Now Internet sales rule. I opened an e-commerce web site this year. I am trying so hard to earn some income without becoming a Wal-Mart greeter.

Howdy Doody Show in the Peanut Gallery

My dad was being sent to Korea for the conflict. A fellow Marine worked on the Howdy Doody Show and offered to put my sister and me in the peanut gallery.

Now that was 1950 but I remember it like today. It was the show where Princess Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring received her bracelet. The show was live every late afternoon. Television was new. Since there was no vhs or such then, I never got to see the bracelet up close.

Buffalo Bill was going on about meatballs and spaghetti. Flubberdub said it grew on trees. My sister said no it was on the stove. She was four. I was six.

The best part after the show was we were given gifts packs-products from the show.

Anyone else out there on the show?

Working on the Internet

Born in 1944, I am a war baby. I remember white out and carbon copies. I remember a room full of machines that were called a computer.

I remember when we had to c-prompt each thing we wanted to do on the computer. I even took a programing class thanks to New Jersey Bell. I could program one game tic-tac-toe and cried the whole time.

I love Bill Gates brain and the fact that now things are easier. However in March, I took a class to have an online e-commerce business. I am smart enough to know it could be great. Now after 2 months, I wonder what in the world I'm doing.

I need help. If you have any ideas, please go to my site and let me know. Go to: www.gotogails.com

Thank you for your help,
Gail