"Sheldon" wrote in news:1148660318.558927.252420@
38g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Phones were much more entertaining when I was as kid, we had party
lines.... the switchboard operator was a plum job if you were a
busybody.

Sheldon


I remember a party line on vacation at Lake Bomazine in VT, in 1969 the
week the first astronauts landed on the moon. You could pick up the phone
and you were on a party line. I'd hang up thinking there were crossed
lines. Never experienced that before or since!

Then there's the unforgettable...

"Hello, is this the party to whom I'm speaking"
--Ernastine ("Laugh In's" snooty telemarketer, Lily Tomlin)

Andy

"Sheldon" wrote

Phones were much more entertaining when I was as kid, we had party
lines.... the switchboard operator was a plum job if you were a
busybody.

I just thought that was *so* weird, being a city kid and all,
you didn't pick up the phone when it rang unless it had the right
number of rings ... ring ring ring was the family on the next farm,
etc.

I just know if I tried to listen in, my dog would bark or something and
I'd be snagged.

nancy

Tom Yost wrote:

Each day, my grandmother would walk to the butcher and select a meat
(whatever looked the freshest or best quality that day), then visit
the bakery, the produce stand and finally the grocery (where I could
choose a treat from the penny candy counter) to pick up all the fresh
items for that evening's meal.

Move to Europe... it'll be deja vu all over again.

Victor

"Andy" q wrote in message ...
"Sheldon" wrote in news:1148660318.558927.252420@
38g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

Phones were much more entertaining when I was as kid, we had party
lines.... the switchboard operator was a plum job if you were a
busybody.

Sheldon


I remember a party line on vacation at Lake Bomazine in VT, in 1969 the
week the first astronauts landed on the moon. You could pick up the phone
and you were on a party line. I'd hang up thinking there were crossed
lines. Never experienced that before or since!

Then there's the unforgettable...

"Hello, is this the party to whom I'm speaking"
--Ernastine ("Laugh In's" snooty telemarketer, Lily Tomlin)

LOL I remember that and I use it still when I am in a silly mood)

Tom Yost wrote:

projectile vomit chick wrote:


**** you.

Are you hot?

hahahahaaa

On 2006-05-26, Tom Yost wrote:
On 25 May 2006 16:11:36 -0700, "projectile vomit chick"

**** you.

Are you hot?

Her nick says it all.

nb

In article ,
says...
On Thu, 25 May 2006 18:54:43 -0500, Andy q wrote:

Tom Yost wrote in
:

On another thread there was discussion about how milk was once
delivered to your doorstep and bread was wrapped in waxed paper.

I remember the milk delivery, not the waxed paper bread.

We had a dog, a collie and a real sweet guy, but we had to send him to
my grandparents' place because he'd get out of the yard and slurp the
milk out of the top 1/3 of the bottles on our neighbors' doorsteps. I
was only 6 or so and it broke my heart.

Mom never shopped that way. She was a one stop shopper. Now I just shop
the Acme and get my produce at the produce market across the street oh,
and TJs once in awhile. Up until 5 years ago, there was a real butcher
shop, but they retired or something. There's still a seafood store in
town.

We lived in a town that was so small, you only had to dial 4 digits
(except for dialing out of town). I remember the day we had to actually
dial our prefix for local calls! Now I've got mandatory 10 digit dialing
(button pressing).

Me, too -- right now. But I get pastured-hen eggs delivered for a
buck fifty a dozen and I can buy pastured chickens and beef from the
people who raise the animals. My town is deeply boring except when
it's weird, and yet there are trade offs to be found.

Please do tell, what qualifies as weird?

That reminds me - I really have to get over to Antonelli's and pick up
some fresh eggs.

Victor Sack wrote:
Tom Yost wrote:


Each day, my grandmother would walk to the butcher and select a meat
(whatever looked the freshest or best quality that day), then visit
the bakery, the produce stand and finally the grocery (where I could
choose a treat from the penny candy counter) to pick up all the fresh
items for that evening's meal.


Move to Europe... it'll be deja vu all over again.

Victor

Bubba Vic, At this time of year, do you still have the Open Air
Markets either daily or once or twice a week (Tagesmarkt oder
Wochenmarkt) with all the farmers bringing their stuff and selling it
the same day they picked everything? We have our "Greenmarkets" in
Manhattan, especially the one on Union Square and some of the fruits
and vegetables are wonderful, but those markets cannot compare to the
markets I remember from my childhood. Do they still have the live
chickens and ducks and geese? Fresh eggs? The small mountains of
butter from which you can buy as much or as little as you need? I
suppose things are different now, almost seventy years later. (

On Fri, 26 May 2006 20:08:57 -0400, T
wrote:

In article ,
says...
On Thu, 25 May 2006 18:54:43 -0500, Andy q wrote:

Tom Yost wrote in
:

On another thread there was discussion about how milk was once
delivered to your doorstep and bread was wrapped in waxed paper.

I remember the milk delivery, not the waxed paper bread.

We had a dog, a collie and a real sweet guy, but we had to send him to
my grandparents' place because he'd get out of the yard and slurp the
milk out of the top 1/3 of the bottles on our neighbors' doorsteps. I
was only 6 or so and it broke my heart.

Mom never shopped that way. She was a one stop shopper. Now I just shop
the Acme and get my produce at the produce market across the street oh,
and TJs once in awhile. Up until 5 years ago, there was a real butcher
shop, but they retired or something. There's still a seafood store in
town.

We lived in a town that was so small, you only had to dial 4 digits
(except for dialing out of town). I remember the day we had to actually
dial our prefix for local calls! Now I've got mandatory 10 digit dialing
(button pressing).

Me, too -- right now. But I get pastured-hen eggs delivered for a
buck fifty a dozen and I can buy pastured chickens and beef from the
people who raise the animals. My town is deeply boring except when
it's weird, and yet there are trade offs to be found.

Please do tell, what qualifies as weird?

Weird is when a young woman my kid went to high school with is getting
married for the third time even though my kid is only 22 years old and
the bride is an Iraq veteran. Weird is the young woman's dad who
married a mail-order Russian bride after he divorced her mom. Weird
is the (Texan) bride's mother who affects a supid Brit accent, even
though she was raised on the prairies of east Texas. Weird is the
young man my kid went to high school with who is facing life (or
death) for shooting a local civil servant to death for no apparent
reason other than the man's race. Weird is the guy who sometimes
hauled trash, but had an obvious cognative disability and was clearly
addicted to alcohol and who died. Weird is the lunch joint with the
best onion rings in the county that closed because the owner was
fighting a badass divorce and didn't want to share the business with
her intractable soon to be ex. Weird is the many-times pregnant woman
with the mental handicaps who ritually walks my town loudly soliciting
conversations with strangers. Weird is the kid who delivers our eggs
and who is home schooled and who can't make change when I buy his eggs
which are sold for his college education fund.

Weird is a buncha shit around these parts. Flannery O'Connor wasn't
just making stuff up, you know.

Why do you ask?

That reminds me - I really have to get over to Antonelli's and pick up
some fresh eggs.

Are they free range at Artonelli's? Really? Do you know for sure?
Have you seen the chickens? I have seen mine.
--
modom

On Sat, 27 May 2006 00:22:20 -0500, modom wrote:

Weird is a buncha shit around these parts. Flannery O'Connor wasn't
just making stuff up, you know.

I don't have any idea who Flannery O'Connor is, but what you
mentioned could be true for a lot of places.
--

Ham and eggs.
A day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.

On Fri, 26 May 2006 22:33:13 -0700, sf
wrote:

On Sat, 27 May 2006 00:22:20 -0500, modom wrote:

Weird is a buncha shit around these parts. Flannery O'Connor wasn't
just making stuff up, you know.

I don't have any idea who Flannery O'Connor is, but what you
mentioned could be true for a lot of places.

http://library.gcsu.edu/~sc/foc.html

She was not me, but she was great.

We don't have a patent on weird here, but we savor it more than most
folks do.
--
modom

In article ,
says...
On Fri, 26 May 2006 20:08:57 -0400, T
wrote:

In article ,
says...
On Thu, 25 May 2006 18:54:43 -0500, Andy q wrote:

Tom Yost wrote in
:

On another thread there was discussion about how milk was once
delivered to your doorstep and bread was wrapped in waxed paper.

I remember the milk delivery, not the waxed paper bread.

We had a dog, a collie and a real sweet guy, but we had to send him to
my grandparents' place because he'd get out of the yard and slurp the
milk out of the top 1/3 of the bottles on our neighbors' doorsteps. I
was only 6 or so and it broke my heart.

Mom never shopped that way. She was a one stop shopper. Now I just shop
the Acme and get my produce at the produce market across the street oh,
and TJs once in awhile. Up until 5 years ago, there was a real butcher
shop, but they retired or something. There's still a seafood store in
town.

We lived in a town that was so small, you only had to dial 4 digits
(except for dialing out of town). I remember the day we had to actually
dial our prefix for local calls! Now I've got mandatory 10 digit dialing
(button pressing).

Me, too -- right now. But I get pastured-hen eggs delivered for a
buck fifty a dozen and I can buy pastured chickens and beef from the
people who raise the animals. My town is deeply boring except when
it's weird, and yet there are trade offs to be found.

Please do tell, what qualifies as weird?

Weird is when a young woman my kid went to high school with is getting
married for the third time even though my kid is only 22 years old and
the bride is an Iraq veteran. Weird is the young woman's dad who
married a mail-order Russian bride after he divorced her mom. Weird
is the (Texan) bride's mother who affects a supid Brit accent, even
though she was raised on the prairies of east Texas. Weird is the
young man my kid went to high school with who is facing life (or
death) for shooting a local civil servant to death for no apparent
reason other than the man's race. Weird is the guy who sometimes
hauled trash, but had an obvious cognative disability and was clearly
addicted to alcohol and who died. Weird is the lunch joint with the
best onion rings in the county that closed because the owner was
fighting a badass divorce and didn't want to share the business with
her intractable soon to be ex. Weird is the many-times pregnant woman
with the mental handicaps who ritually walks my town loudly soliciting
conversations with strangers. Weird is the kid who delivers our eggs
and who is home schooled and who can't make change when I buy his eggs
which are sold for his college education fund.

Weird is a buncha shit around these parts. Flannery O'Connor wasn't
just making stuff up, you know.

Why do you ask?

And here I was thinking I'd seen some weird shit living in a city all my
life.


That reminds me - I really have to get over to Antonelli's and pick up
some fresh eggs.

Are they free range at Artonelli's? Really? Do you know for sure?
Have you seen the chickens? I have seen mine.

If you head into western RI there are plenty of free range farms.
They get all their stock locally so yes, I'm pretty sure they are.

Margaret Suran wrote:

Bubba Vic, At this time of year, do you still have the Open Air
Markets either daily or once or twice a week (Tagesmarkt oder
Wochenmarkt) with all the farmers bringing their stuff and selling it
the same day they picked everything?

Yes, there is such a market here, open every day except Sunday, around
the year. It is not necessarily farmers themselves selling their own
stuff, though there some such, too.

We have our "Greenmarkets" in
Manhattan, especially the one on Union Square and some of the fruits
and vegetables are wonderful, but those markets cannot compare to the
markets I remember from my childhood. Do they still have the live
chickens and ducks and geese?

No live poultry here, nor in France to the best of my knowledge, but
I've seen live chicken and ducks at markets in Italy and I know there
are similar markets in Spain.

Fresh eggs?

Fresh, free-range chicken and goose eggs are there always. Fresh
free-range (that used to be the default in the Old Days) chicken eggs,
unpacked (you select and pack them yourself) are even available in some
supermarkets here.

The small mountains of
butter from which you can buy as much or as little as you need?

Yes, there are some stalls selling butter by weight. In France, it is
not at all unusual either, not just at the markets but also in many
cheese shops.

I
suppose things are different now, almost seventy years later. (

Not all that much different, really.

Bubba Vic

Dee Randall wrote:
I wonder how people 30 (and more) years from now will reminisce
about the good old days.

Remember when you used to go to the store to shop? Now you
just order online and they bring it ...

nancy
I'm doing my darndest to promote that. I'm getting so the thrill of
shopping is on-line shopping. I never watched the QVC-type programs.
Now I shop in stores and usually find nothing; but if I do, I rush
home to see if I can get it better and cheaper online. I have a few
things to order at Fantes? Has anyone ordered online from them?
Dee Dee

I've never heard of Fantes. But I can't recall the last time I went into a
store to shop for clothing. I hate shopping in stores, get me in and get me
outta there *fast*! But online I can browse, compare prices, find better
deals without driving all over creation. If you Google for online coupons
for the "store" you are shopping with you can often find extra discount
coupon codes and free shipping codes, which you enter when completing the
online order form. I love it!

Jill

Tom Yost wrote:
On another thread there was discussion about how milk was once
delivered to your doorstep and bread was wrapped in waxed paper.

I don't remember that but my mom talks about it. The butter was delivered,
as well. They had an ice-box, not a refrigerator, so the ice-man cometh,
too We're talking 1930's/1940's.

I remember visiting my grandparents in the early 60's. My grandmother
never learned to drive. But in the neighborhood within a few blocks,
was a butcher shop, a bakery, a produce stand and a small general
grocery. (may have been a candlestick maker as well, but I don't
remember that...)

My grandmothers never learned to drive, either. It was a short walk to the
shops down the street (very small town). No supermarkets there to this day,
as far as I know. In fact, I'm surprised the town is still there. It was a
steel mill town and the mills shut down in the 1970's.

40 years later, I look back at how old fashioned this seemed, but
realize that comparatively, it is similar to the way a chef shops
daily for ingredients for his restaurant.

Yep! But if you're talking restaurant chefs, around here I only know of one
restaurant chef who actually shops daily for ingredients. In most
restaurants they get deliveries from Hardins-Sysco and a local produce
company (around here it's Palazola Produce).

I think if I lived in a big city that had an ethnic district with
small specialty markets that were in fairly close proximity, I would
stop each day on my way home from work to shop and choose the freshest
ingredients for the evening meal. Not every day but perhaps a few
times a week.

Tom

Back in the early 1980's I lived in an apartment building that was built
around 1920. In the butler's pantry there was a small door, about 1 foot
tall, which opened onto the inner hallway in the building. This was where
the delivery guy would pass through the milk & butter deliveries. There was
a dairy just down the street that still did home delivery in 1983. Now that
it's 2006 I don't know if they still deliver, but I miss that apartment!

Jill