You know you are getting old when:

[Edward]

You are exactly right.
The skate key tightened the clamp-on steel skates (old-style) to the bottom of your regular shoes. The skates were oversize so you used the key to make them fit each person's shoes (adjust inward).
Maybe the ones in England worked better, but here they were a major-scale nuisance since you could tighten things up to the best of your ability and the flexing and vibration of the skate and shoe combination led to one skate soon and suddenly falling off.

One skate on one foot rolling and one skate being dragged along by the ankle strap was a formula for near-disaster. I do not have fond memories of those type roller skates.

The boot-skates were a different matter and worked well. Going skating was a great early-teen-age dating opportunity.

(Skate keys were sorta/maybe phallic in shape.)

The ones I had in Ireland were adjustable for length, but what he;d them on was the ankle strap at one end, and a lace-up leather band over the toe. I well remember the sensation of one of them coming loose like that!

 

[LizzieMaine]

Roller skates were a pointless exercise here, and I gave up on mine when I was six. Our roads and sidewalks were even worse fifty years ago than they are now, and they're third-world quality now. Rolling along such pavement on steel ball-bearing wheels was a recipe for gashed knees and elbows at best, and knocked-out teeth at worst. I still have a deep scar on my right knee from a roller-skate incident.

I see the kids today riding longboards down what's left of the streets, and I expect their scars are even worse than mine.

 

[Fading Fast]

Roller skates were a pointless exercise here, and I gave up on mine when I was six. Our roads and sidewalks were even worse fifty years ago than they are now, and they're third-world quality now. Rolling along such pavement on steel ball-bearing wheels was a recipe for gashed knees and elbows at best, and knocked-out teeth at worst. I still have a deep scar on my right knee from a roller-skate incident.

I see the kids today riding longboards down what's left of the streets, and I expect their scars are even worse than mine.

Are you saying this is not what you and your town looked like:

 

[tonyb]

It was a fairly common practice among my childhood friends and acquaintances to fashion skateboards from steel skate wheels and scrap wooden planks.

 

[tonyb]

I am currently wrestling with a similar issue.

In the basement we have my in-laws' old bedroom set - high quality stuff, no flake or particle board, tongue-in-groove construction, etc. You would think that it would be a perfectly normal thing to keep and use it, especially for someone such as myself who values 'old' stuff that is well made. The issue, at least for me, is that it's French Provincial style, and I really dislike French Provincial.

Of course, my wife will ultimately make the final decision on whether it stays or goes, as it was her parents' stuff. But I don't want to look at it in a living space, that's for sure.

Recently I had a chat with a fellow in the movie poster biz, from whom I bought a relatively inexpensive poster dating from 1962.

I told him I was much less concerned with the market value or potential appreciation of a poster than its design and how well it works in its context here. If I don’t like it, I won’t have it on my walls, no matter how valuable it might be. He essentially concurred, saying that some of the more valuable items in his inventory aren’t what he would care to have in his field of vision every day.

 

[scottyrocks]

Recently I had a chat with a fellow in the movie poster biz, from whom I bought a relatively inexpensive poster dating from 1962.

I told him I was much less concerned with the market value or potential appreciation of a poster than its design and how well it works in its context here. If I don’t like it, I won’t have it on my walls, no matter how valuable it might be. He essentially concurred, saying that some of the more valuable items in his inventory aren’t what he would care to have in his field of vision every day.

I agree, but at the same time, have you ever tried to find someone to take, for free, French Provincial furniture? I'd hate to trash it, both its quality, and its history in the family. But no one wants this stuff.

We also have a Hardman & Peck upright piano from which has been in the family since purchased new in 1925. Even if it was in good shape, I haven't been able to give it away, never mind its fair market value ($500-800). But it needs a bit of an overhaul which costs $$. These days people buy lightweight portable keyboards that do everything and more than a traditional piano does (our H&P weighs a ton), especially for the casual home player. And they don't go out of tune, and they don't break. It's something else that will end up at the curb when we move in about a year.

 

[scottyrocks]

Roller skates were a pointless exercise here, and I gave up on mine when I was six. Our roads and sidewalks were even worse fifty years ago than they are now, and they're third-world quality now. Rolling along such pavement on steel ball-bearing wheels was a recipe for gashed knees and elbows at best, and knocked-out teeth at worst. I still have a deep scar on my right knee from a roller-skate incident.

I see the kids today riding longboards down what's left of the streets, and I expect their scars are even worse than mine.

That might be one of the reasons we took up hockey - gloves and knee pads. And a stick to help stop the fall in the first place. haha

 

[Haversack]

A couple of examples of stage-to-movie censorship, (or not), that comes to mind are: First, the final scene in Arsenic and Old Lace where Mortimer Brewster is ecstatic to find out he is in fact Not A Brewster. As performed on stage, he yells, "I'm a ba***rd! I'm a ba***rd!" In the movie its "I'm the son-of-a-seacook!" Both were in the early 1940s.

The instance of oblivious non-censorship also in the early 1940s is in Olivier's version of Henry V. It is the scene where the French princess is getting an English lesson from her maid. Both are speaking French. After learning the English names for various body parts, ( "de nailes, de arm, de ilbow."), The princess asks for the English words for the 'foot' and the 'gown'. Perfectly innocent words in English, decidedly not to French-speakers. It sailed right by the Hayes office and the Lord Chamberlain. But as noted, High Culture, (which by the 1940s Shakespeare was), gets a lot more lee-way. I've not a copy of The Family Shakespeare so I don't know what Thomas Bowdler did with this scene in his 1807 family-friendly version of Shakespeare.

I'm also reminded of Hamish Imlach's introduction to a Victorian-era song called The Oyster Girl. On how the Victorians used symbolism to write dirty songs whereas now, (circa 1970), symbolism was used to write clean songs which was a bloody waste of time.

 

[tonyb]

I agree, but at the same time, have you ever tried to find someone to take, for free, French Provincial furniture? I'd hate to trash it, both its quality, and its history in the family. But no one wants this stuff.

We also have a Hardman & Peck upright piano from which has been in the family since purchased new in 1925. Even if it was in good shape, I haven't been able to give it away, never mind its fair market value ($500-800). But it needs a bit of an overhaul which costs $$. These days people buy lightweight portable keyboards that do everything and more than a traditional piano does (our H&P weighs a ton), especially for the casual home player. And they don't go out of tune, and they don't break. It's something else that will end up at the curb when we move in about a year.

It occurs to me that among the reasons so many people are carrying so much debt is because they’d rather buy new (and lesser quality) furniture and the like on credit than make do with what is often better stuff they can get for free.

Somebody has to be new stuff, God bless ’em, or there wouldn’t be used stuff for people like me.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I think one of the reasons why so much stuff gets set to the curb nowadays is that the average young person stuck living with six roommates because they can't afford any better just doesn't have the space for Grandma's Waterfall Armoire or a Victorian pump organ or whatever. Most of the kids I know have little more for furniture than a couple of old kitchen chairs, a flea-bitten couch, and a bunch of milk crates.

I really feel bad about pianos. My mother has one that's been in the family since she was five years old -- her father got it for her second-hand, and it was the best present she ever received. But when she goes, I have no place to put it, my sister has no use for it, my brother is essentially homeless, and my niece couldn't fit it into her apartment. I dread having to deal with this problem, because I don't want to see it chopped up for firewood -- but you really can't give a piano away these days. People try to donate them to the theatre and we have to turn them away.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^
As I understand it, pianos stored in unheated garages, say, or the tool shed, may well be reduced to firewood before long anyway. It’s a shame, really, to know that so many have already been ruined by poor storage conditions, and that so many more aren’t far behind.

 

[tonyb]

...

Wonderfully comfy, solid, and somehow they take up so little visual space in a room, making it seem less cluttered and somehow 'bigger'.

Similar vibe. Dates from early- to mid-’60s, I’d guess. Bought it from a guy in Tacoma who had a spare house packed with used furniture. (That’s a curious tale in itself.) Paid something like 50 bucks for it, if memory serves. Real sturdy, still in its original cushions and upholstery. The paying guests frequently comment on it.

As contrasted with this dining table-and-chairs set, which is worth about what I paid for it (got it free; guy owed me a favor).

It had two matching arm chairs. One arm broke off as I was pushing myself up and out of the chair. The finish scratches if you say bad things about it. The style is okay, though, I like the seat upholstery, and it works (for now) in its present context. But it’ll be firewood before the kid across the street takes a full-time job.

(That big drum shade is genuine IKEA, by the way. Couldn’t beat it for twice the price.)

 

[Edward]

(That big drum shade is genuine IKEA, by the way. Couldn’t beat it for twice the price.)

View attachment 170033

I love that hanging map. I'm considering getting myself something similar in order to hide a flat screen TV when it's not in use. I miss the days when you could buy TV untis that actually let you close a door over the TV when you didn't want it on. I guess having a big screen on show is still just a little too much of a status symbol for that sort of discrete furniture to become mass-market again just yet.

 

[tonyb]

I love that hanging map. I'm considering getting myself something similar in order to hide a flat screen TV when it's not in use. I miss the days when you could buy TV untis that actually let you close a door over the TV when you didn't want it on. I guess having a big screen on show is still just a little too much of a status symbol for that sort of discrete furniture to become mass-market again just yet.

I got that map for 10 bucks from a junk peddler with whom I had done a fair amount of business. The map dates from 1945; an index card securely affixed to it says it was a gift to some local bigwig from the then-secretary of the interior. It’s not in great shape, but it’s mounted on linen and it should last indefinitely where it is now, out of direct sunlight and in a temperature and humidity controlled environment. It’s fun to peruse, as it tells of when territory in the US (and its possessions, insular and otherwise) was acquired and from whom. There’s no mention of the indigenous populations, though, which speaks volumes.

I, too, would prefer TVs to disappear when not in use. Some kinda do already. I’m holding out for the roll-up flat screen. I hear they’re working on it.

In the meantime, you might look into getting one of those old pull-down school maps. There are also school pull-downs showing matters such as the human circulatory system, etc. An old friend frequently attends school surplus auctions (he’s in the used book business); he snaps up pull-downs if they can be had at a good price. They sell real easily these days. Gotta think that’s driven in no small part by people wishing to cover their flat screen TVs when not in use.

 

[Edward]

In the meantime, you might look into getting one of those old pull-down school maps. There are also school pull-downs showing matters such as the human circulatory system, etc. An old friend frequently attends school surplus auctions (he’s in the used book business); he snaps up pull-downs if they can be had at a good price. They sell real easily these days. Gotta think that’s driven in no small part by people wishing to cover their flat screen TVs when not in use.

Yes, that's exactly what I'm thinking of getting - they seem to be widely available. Was going to work that into the flat, but now we've decided to move (and thus the redecoration is focussed on selling rather than our own ideals), I'm holding off on a lot of things like a new TV until we get to the other end. Little point buying into new tech before it's necessary when the price is forever coming down.

Roll-up TV would be fantastic; Even a fold-out version (where the back of the fold-out panels helps disguise the TV) woyld be good. I've seen one recent model that is designed to look like a painting or display whatever picture you want when not in use - but then it has to be switched on all the time, which I'd find expensive and wasteful. I did look into a projector and roll-up screen, but they're apparently expensive to maintain, and don't work in daylight.

 

[tonyb]

... Little point buying into new tech before it's necessary when the price is forever coming down. ...

Yeah, no foolin’. TVs in particular cost a small fraction of what they once did.

I lived without TV for well more than a decade. Now I have four of the damn things, with a combined 162 inches of screen, if I’m doing the arithmetic right.

The tech changes so rapidly that the cutting edge becomes a dull blade before long. The largest of my four is a 60-inch screen in the short-term rental unit. (I got that big boy free, sort of. Another curious tale, that one.) When I got into the short-term hustle the guests frequently commented on what a great TV it was. Now, all of two-and-a-half years later, it never gets so much as a mention.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I've seen one recent model that is designed to look like a painting or display whatever picture you want when not in use.

Just like the one Mister Rogers had.

"Picture Picture on the wall, will you kindly show us all..."

 

[Edward]

Yeah, no foolin’. TVs in particular cost a small fraction of what they once did.

I lived without TV for well more than a decade. Now I have four of the damn things, with a combined 162 inches of screen, if I’m doing the arithmetic right.

The tech changes so rapidly that the cutting edge becomes a dull blade before long. The largest of my four is a 60-inch screen in the short-term rental unit. (I got that big boy free, sort of. Another curious tale, that one.) When I got into the short-term hustle the guests frequently commented on what a great TV it was. Now, all of two-and-a-half years later, it never gets so much as a mention.

When I first started travelling for work, especially the China trips, a TV with an English-language film channel in the hotel was a big plus. I also had a large laptop with a built-in DVD player and I took disks with me. These days, I have a tablet and my phone full of downloads from the BBC / Netflix / Amazon Prime, and the TV in the room is rarely switched on at all. Funny how things go, isn't it?

 

[Edward]

Just like the one Mister Rogers had.

View attachment 170160

"Picture Picture on the wall, will you kindly show us all..."

Plus ca change, plus la meme chose.

 

[Trenchfriend]

You know, you are 30+, when you try hard to remember "What Was The Last Movie You Watched?"