Kilroy was here plus others
Kilroy and other treasures...
Yep, "Kilroy was here." Fact is, shortly after World War II, the little cartoonish character was nearly everywhere on just about everything. Troops say he cropped up on things and places shortly after they had won another battle.
As a kid, I remember proudly wearing a Kilroy likeness, gazing over my shirt pocket as if it were a fence.
Remembering him, this old retiree’s mind then went into overdrive, unearthing other tidbits from days past, as we codgers are prone to do anyhow.
Permit me to jog your memory, too, with a little test, as follows:
1. Where did Virginia once charge a toll for I-95 travel?2. Where did Northern Virginia have another " mixing bowl" before the Beltway ever opened?3. And personally, what did it mean to get a "frog"--and not in the throat?
I was reminded of such recollections by a piece on the Internet recently about dated things and sayings common to our golden, bygone days but rare now.
Who among us oldsters can forget the priceless glories of coping with pay toilets, typewriter ribbons and Ditto spirit duplicators (meaning schools' copy machines, not clairvoyants, for you younger readers)?
Or how about those penny peanut machines, running boards, cars' high-beam floor switches, and the naughty school-yard toy telescopes showing nekkid girls?
For sure, let us forgive our youngsters who have no fond memories of the Statler Brothers of Staunton, gloriously singing: "Do you remember these?"
Here’s a sample verse:
“Dancin' close, little moron jokes, and cooties in her hair;Captain Midnight, Ovaltine, and the Whip at the county fair;Charles Atlas course, Roy Rogers' horse, and Only the Shadow knows;Ah, do you remember those?”
That song was hugely popular for a time.
Earlier, before the microwave ovens and TV dinners, we remember drying the dishes, preparing fried chicken by first killing the chicken, and making "butter" by squeezing a package of oleomargarine until the yellow color permeated the white glop. And speaking of food, how about those dear old K rations of mess-kit days? Also who can forget milk bottles with the cream on top; and printed on the bottom of Coke bottles, which town produced them.
And before girls had tattoos and fancy nail jobs, it was fun to shake peanuts in Cokes to make them (the pops) fizz and run 78 rpm records backwards.
The piece on the Internet asked, "Did you ever set up a lemonade stand? Of course; we all did." Me too. But my dad made me take it down, after I had painted "Sorry, no beer" on it. My home town was dry and mighty proud of it. Dad was my first harsh editor, and one of several who taught me much.
To me, music has always been wonderful. From the symphonies to Spike Jones and gospel hymns (on Sunday nights in Abilene's First Baptist Church)-- they’ve all been just great. One exception: Those whining fiddles and lousy singers ruining Mexico's contemporary music. Except it's not really contemporary, sounding just as tinny now as it did back in the 1940s.
Speaking of music, a particular song came to mind the other day. It was Tony Bennett crooning, "I want to be around to pick up the pieces when somebody breaks your heart."
The tune surfaced as I read another piece on the Internet, a Reuters report warning that an asteroid may come uncomfortably close to Earth in 2036. So the United Nations should assume responsibility for a space mission to deflect it, urged a group of astronauts, engineers and scientists.
On second thought, I thought, forget it. By then I'll surely be experiencing either unimaginable paradise or really unstoppable global warming.
After all, I did smoke cigarettes for a long time. I still have a vintage Zippolighter, and until a few years ago a stash of coupons saved from the back of Raleigh cigarette packs. You remember them, of course.
By the way, I almost forgot to give you answers to my little quiz. Enjoy:
1. Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike, 1958-92, and it became part of Interstate-95 when it first opened.2. Shirley Highway, coming south past the Pentagon from Washington's 14th Street Bridge, had a merge (the Mixing Bowl) with Washington Blvd. near the Marine Corps Barracks. It featured frequent jams and wrecks.3. A "frog" appeared on a boy's arm after being struck by another's knotted-finger fist; it would swell for a few moments on the spot of impact. Fun, fun on many school grounds.
Oops, running long. Gotta blow this joint.
Yep, "Kilroy was here." Fact is, shortly after World War II, the little cartoonish character was nearly everywhere on just about everything. Troops say he cropped up on things and places shortly after they had won another battle.
As a kid, I remember proudly wearing a Kilroy likeness, gazing over my shirt pocket as if it were a fence.
Remembering him, this old retiree’s mind then went into overdrive, unearthing other tidbits from days past, as we codgers are prone to do anyhow.
Permit me to jog your memory, too, with a little test, as follows:
1. Where did Virginia once charge a toll for I-95 travel?2. Where did Northern Virginia have another " mixing bowl" before the Beltway ever opened?3. And personally, what did it mean to get a "frog"--and not in the throat?
I was reminded of such recollections by a piece on the Internet recently about dated things and sayings common to our golden, bygone days but rare now.
Who among us oldsters can forget the priceless glories of coping with pay toilets, typewriter ribbons and Ditto spirit duplicators (meaning schools' copy machines, not clairvoyants, for you younger readers)?
Or how about those penny peanut machines, running boards, cars' high-beam floor switches, and the naughty school-yard toy telescopes showing nekkid girls?
For sure, let us forgive our youngsters who have no fond memories of the Statler Brothers of Staunton, gloriously singing: "Do you remember these?"
Here’s a sample verse:
“Dancin' close, little moron jokes, and cooties in her hair;Captain Midnight, Ovaltine, and the Whip at the county fair;Charles Atlas course, Roy Rogers' horse, and Only the Shadow knows;Ah, do you remember those?”
That song was hugely popular for a time.
Earlier, before the microwave ovens and TV dinners, we remember drying the dishes, preparing fried chicken by first killing the chicken, and making "butter" by squeezing a package of oleomargarine until the yellow color permeated the white glop. And speaking of food, how about those dear old K rations of mess-kit days? Also who can forget milk bottles with the cream on top; and printed on the bottom of Coke bottles, which town produced them.
And before girls had tattoos and fancy nail jobs, it was fun to shake peanuts in Cokes to make them (the pops) fizz and run 78 rpm records backwards.
The piece on the Internet asked, "Did you ever set up a lemonade stand? Of course; we all did." Me too. But my dad made me take it down, after I had painted "Sorry, no beer" on it. My home town was dry and mighty proud of it. Dad was my first harsh editor, and one of several who taught me much.
To me, music has always been wonderful. From the symphonies to Spike Jones and gospel hymns (on Sunday nights in Abilene's First Baptist Church)-- they’ve all been just great. One exception: Those whining fiddles and lousy singers ruining Mexico's contemporary music. Except it's not really contemporary, sounding just as tinny now as it did back in the 1940s.
Speaking of music, a particular song came to mind the other day. It was Tony Bennett crooning, "I want to be around to pick up the pieces when somebody breaks your heart."
The tune surfaced as I read another piece on the Internet, a Reuters report warning that an asteroid may come uncomfortably close to Earth in 2036. So the United Nations should assume responsibility for a space mission to deflect it, urged a group of astronauts, engineers and scientists.
On second thought, I thought, forget it. By then I'll surely be experiencing either unimaginable paradise or really unstoppable global warming.
After all, I did smoke cigarettes for a long time. I still have a vintage Zippolighter, and until a few years ago a stash of coupons saved from the back of Raleigh cigarette packs. You remember them, of course.
By the way, I almost forgot to give you answers to my little quiz. Enjoy:
1. Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike, 1958-92, and it became part of Interstate-95 when it first opened.2. Shirley Highway, coming south past the Pentagon from Washington's 14th Street Bridge, had a merge (the Mixing Bowl) with Washington Blvd. near the Marine Corps Barracks. It featured frequent jams and wrecks.3. A "frog" appeared on a boy's arm after being struck by another's knotted-finger fist; it would swell for a few moments on the spot of impact. Fun, fun on many school grounds.
Oops, running long. Gotta blow this joint.
posted by Ben Blankenship at
8:52 PM
