Responses - A New Year's Look Back To 1955

Upon receipt of several messages in response to the original subject message like "And I recall that when my dad was hospitalized at Barnes, a leading hospital in St Louis, we were appalled that his private room cost $30 per day!" Carol reminded me "what about the days when your mother gave you $6 to give the dentist to have your teeth cleaned & that was the end of it?" In this regard I also remember my mother was upset when the dentist raised his price from $5 to $6 for a cleaning.

I had some fun with "whoever sent you this information, certainly has a very, very good memory. I don't remember things that only happened 1-2 years ago. This person has a very sharp memory. It shows growing older does not hamper your memory." Seems this writer's memory is not 1-2 years but 1-2 sentences.


Lastly thanks to a great new friend who I met during the NJ congressional campaign & now is a subscriber to ReturnToExcellence.net - "Happy New Year Doug! I enjoyed reading about 1955....gives me hope that we'll survive today's non-sense!"

Attorney Addendum - The Many & Militant Dangers Of Public Sector Unions

Thanks to the attorney who prompted the original subject posting re law professionals employed by the state of NJ being represented by an electricians' union for adding the comment below.

With regard to the neighbor against neighbor militant ending I mentioned in the posting please check out today's front page story in the WSJ entitled Housing Pain Pits Neighbor Against Neighbor In Florida.

Whether housing or public sector unions the end may not be pretty - we have some of the housing problems on HHI. Our regime posts the unit numbers, names of those falling behind, amounts in arrears, & whether or not they are in foreclosure. It just may take a little longer for the union problem to materialize in this same way as described on the blog & in this housing report.

---Attorney Addendum---

I am the attorney who wrote the two letters quoted in this posting. As a 62-year-old New Jersey State employee who will be lucky if he can retire in ten years, I was struck by the comment about the state or city worker who retired 30 years ago at age 50.

The comment takes me back to a PG-13-rated scene from the movie "When Harry Met Sally." There Meg Ryan sits with Billy Crystal in a restaurant. Those of you who saw the movie recall what Meg Ryan does next.

The character with whom I identify is the older woman two tables away who calls the waiter over and says, "I'll have what she's having!"

A New Year's Look Back To 1955

Thanks to a subscriber to ReturnToExcellence.net for sending us this reminiscence from 55 years ago from 1955.  I also refer you to the blog to click on "Classics" on the left hand side & check out A Hundred Year Look Back that was originally presented by the Historian & posted on 1/9/07.  It provides a similar look @ 1906.  We'll have to wait until 2065 to see what someone posts for this year.  Happy 2011.

 

 

"1955 CHEVROLET And The Conversations That Went With It"       Comments made in the year 1955! (That's 55 years ago!)  'I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it's going to be impossible  To buy a week's groceries for $20.00. 'Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won't be long before $2,000.00 will only buy a used one. 'If cigarettes keep going up in price, I'm going to quit. A quarter a pack is ridiculous. 'Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging a dime just to mail a letter?  'If they raise the minimum wage to $1.00, Nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store. ' 'When I first started driving, Who would have thought gas would someday cost 29cents a gallon.. Guess we'd be better off leaving the car in the garage. 'I'm afraid to send my kids to the movies any more.. Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying DAMN in GONE WITH THE WIND, It seems every new movie has either HELL or DAMN in it. 'I read the other day where some scientist thinks it's possible to put a man on the moon by the end of the century. They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down in Texas . 'Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball? It wouldn't surprise me if someday they'll be making more than the President. 'I never thought I'd see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric. They are even making electric typewriters now. 'It's too bad things are so tough nowadays.. I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet. 'It won't be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone To watch their kids so they can both work. 'I'm afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business. 'Thank goodness I won't live to see the day when the Government takes half our income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to congress. 'The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather, But I seriously doubt they will ever catch on. 'There is no sense going to Lincoln or Omaha anymore for a weekend, It costs nearly $15.00 a night to stay in a hotel. 'No one can afford to be sick anymore, At $35.00 a day in the hospital it's too rich for my blood.' 'If they think I'll pay 50 cents for a haircut, forget it.'