Do You remember

Fender skirts
I haven't thought about "fender skirts" in years.  When I was a kid, I considered it such a funny term. Made me think of a car in a dress.

Thinking about "fender skirts" started me thinking about other words that quietly  disappear from our language with hardly a notice.

Like "curb feelers" and "steering knobs." Since I'd been thinking of cars, my mind naturally went that direction first.  Any kids will probably  have to find  some elderly person over 50 to explain some of these terms to you.

Remember  "Continental  kits?"  They  were  rear bumper extenders and spare tire covers that were supposed to make any car as cool as a Lincoln Continental.

When did we quit calling them "emergency brakes?"  At some point "parking brake" became the proper term.  But I miss the hint of drama that went with "emergency brake."

I'm sad, too, that almost all the old folks are gone who would call the accelerator the "foot feed".

Didn't you ever wait at the street for your daddy to come home, so you could ride the "running board" up to the house?

Here's a phrase I heard all the time in my youth but never anymore - "store-bought."  Of  course,  just about everything is store-bought these days. But once  it  was  bragging  material  to  have a store-bought dress or a store-bought bag of candy.

"Coast to coast" is a phrase that once held all sorts of excitement and now means almost nothing.  Now we take the term "worldwide" for granted.  This floors me.

On a smaller scale, "wall-to-wall"  was once a magical term in our homes.  In the '50s, everyone covered his or her hardwood floors with, wow, wall-to-wall carpeting!  Today, everyone replaces their wall-to-wall carpeting with hardwood floors.  Go figure.

When's the  last time you heard the quaint phrase "in a family way?"  It's hard to  imagine that the word "pregnant" was once considered a little too graphic, a  little  too  clinical for use in polite company.  So we had all that talk about stork visits and "being in a family way" or simply "expecting."

Apparently  "brassiere"  is a word no longer in usage. I said it the other day and my daughter cracked up. I guess it's just "bra" now. "Unmentionables" probably wouldn't be understood at all.

It's hard to recall that this word was once said in a whisper "divorce."  And, no one is called a "divorcee" anymore.  Certainly not a "gay divorcee."  Come to think of it, "confirmed bachelors" and "career girls" are long gone, too.

I  always  loved  going  to  the  "picture  show,"  but I considered "movie" an affectation.

Most  of  these  words go back to the '50s, but here's a pure-'60s word I came across the other day - "rat fink." Ooh, what a nasty put-down!

Here's a word I miss - "percolator." That was just a fun word to say. And what  was it replaced with? "Coffeemaker." How dull.  Mr. Coffee, I blame you for this.

I  miss those made-up marketing words that were meant to sound so modern and now  sound so  retro.  Words like  "DynaFlow"  and "ElectraLuxe." Introducing the 1963 Admiral TV, now with "SpectraVision!"

Food  for  thought - Was there a telethon that wiped out lumbago?  Nobody complains of that anymore.  Maybe that's what castor oil cured, because I never hear mothers threatening their kids with castor oil anymore.

Some  words  aren't gone,  but are definitely  on the endangered list. The one  that  grieves me most - "supper." Now everybody says "dinner."  Save a great word.  Invite  someone to supper.  Discuss fender skirts.

Wisdom from Grandpa .....

Whether a man winds up with a nest egg, or a goose egg, depends a lot on the kind of chick he marries.

Trouble in marriage often starts when a man gets so busy earnin' his salt that he forgets his sugar.

Too many couples marry for better, or for worse, but not for good.

When a man marries a woman, they become one; but the trouble starts when they try to decide which one.

If a man has enough horse sense to treat his wife like a thoroughbred, she will never turn into an old nag.

On anniversaries, the wise husband always forgets the past - but never the present.

A foolish husband says to his wife, "Honey, you stick to the washin', ironin', cookin' and scrubbin'. No wife of mine is gonna work."

Many girls like to marry a military man - he can cook, sew, and make beds and is in good health, and he's already used to taking orders.

Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.

Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know "why" I look this way. I've traveled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved.

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?

You know you are getting old, when everything either dries up or leaks.

Old age is when former classmates are so gray and wrinkled and bald, they don't recognize you.

Have a GREAT day.......and keep Laughing!