Lovin it. Steering Knob - NUCKLE BUSTER
How bout: 3/4 Cam or Stick Shift
On Sun, 2 Jan 2005 10:29:49 -0800 (PST), Bill Bradley
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>
>
> "Blast From The Past"
>
>
> What a great blast from the past! 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 their 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.
>
>
--
Rick Schaefer
