What made you smile recently (2023)?

[rascal]

I’ll get back to something that just made me smile.

When I found that letter I just posted, right next to it, I had this:

View attachment 102347

In 1982, I bought a stack of used records, and there were several Buck Owens albums in there, from the 1960’s.

I loved ‘em. I only knew Buck Owens from Hee-Haw, where he was kind of a joke, but hearing this raw rockabilly-country Bakersfield stuff was awesome.

Even though they were nearly 20 year old records, I found an address to his fan club on one, wrote off, and got that autographed card. I love it!

My faves growing up were JJ and big brother and the holding company.
And kiss

Russ

 

[rascal]

I'd say we were middle class. Mother had a maid, a black lady, that came in a couple times a week to clean and do laundry. There was a huge combo console TV, radio, and record player. The kitchen table was formica with chairs covered in a geometric vinyl pattern, green and gold, and green fabric living room furniture and brown, orange, yellow family room furniture. I remember a Brownie camera early on. Don't remember anything much other than above.

In my world you were filthy rich. We too had a formica table with a hidden extension. And second hand furniture.

Russ

 

[caseydog]

My faves growing up were JJ and big brother and the holding company.
And kiss

Russ

Janis Joplin graduated from my high school in Port Arthur -- way before me.

CD

 

[medtran49]

In my world you were filthy rich. We too had a formica table with a hidden extension. And second hand furniture.

Russ

Not in America. My mom worked out of the house at a TV station, plus my dad worked overnight in printing at a newspaper. 2 bedroom home, medium size living room, 1 bathroom, small family room, eat in kitchen, small dining room, huge utility room with room for a workshop, laundry room and storage, plus a fairly decent sized yard that backed up to woods. 1 car carport.

 

[TastyReuben]

He was born in Sherman, Texas, near the Texas Oklahoma border.

Yup, I’m a big devotee. I know right where that is. He went from there to Arizona and on to Bakersfield.

Bob Costas is known for carrying a Mickey Mantle baseball card in his wallet…I’ve got a Buck Owens one in mine. I’ve had it since his late-80’s comeback.

 

[rascal]

Janis Joplin graduated from my high school in Port Arthur -- way before me.

CD

Those pipes could sing man

Russ

 

[rascal]

Not in America. My mom worked out of the house at a TV station, plus my dad worked overnight in printing at a newspaper. 2 bedroom home, medium size living room, 1 bathroom, small family room, eat in kitchen, small dining room, huge utility room with room for a workshop, laundry room and storage, plus a fairly decent sized yard that backed up to woods. 1 car carport.

Ours too was a 2 bdrm home. I remember mum boiling our copper to do the washing. Before the electric machine came along. My grandparents had a long drop which I couldn't work out why?

Russ

Russ

 

[caseydog]

I'd say we were middle class. Mother had a maid, a black lady, that came in a couple times a week to clean and do laundry. There was a huge combo console TV, radio, and record player. The kitchen table was formica with chairs covered in a geometric vinyl pattern, green and gold, and green fabric living room furniture and brown, orange, yellow family room furniture. I remember a Brownie camera early on. Don't remember anything much other than above.

We had a formica kitchen table. White with gold "glitter" and some kind of metal edging around it. Probably the same kind of chairs as yours, but don't recall what color/pattern they were. I remember that table well, since I had to sit there until I ate everything on my plate, whether I liked it or hated it.

Dad had a "HI-FI" system, which was basically a stereo record player.

Our living room and my parents bedroom had "Danish Modern" furniture. I had it in my first house. It wasn't top quality, so it started coming apart. The living room sofa and love seat were a gold color fabric.

My dad, being an engineer, was into gadgets. He had a Super-8 movie camera. I have the original film reels, and they have been converted to DVDs, which I also have.

CD

 

[caseydog]

Yup, I’m a big devotee. I know right where that is. He went from there to Arizona and on to Bakersfield.

Bob Costas is known for carrying a Mickey Mantle baseball card in his wallet…I’ve got a Buck Owens one in mine. I’ve had it since his late-80’s comeback.

The other Hee-Haw alum who made it big was Roy Clark. That guy was a master guitar player.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBKoJ7fMJJQ


CD

 

[Yorky]

We had a formica kitchen table. White with gold "glitter" and some kind of metal edging around it. Probably the same kind of chairs as yours, but don't recall what color/pattern they were. I remember that table well, since I had to sit there until I ate everything on my plate, whether I liked it or hated it.

Dad had a "HI-FI" system, which was basically a stereo record player.

Our living room and my parents bedroom had "Danish Modern" furniture. I had it in my first house. It wasn't top quality, so it started coming apart. The living room sofa and love seat were a gold color fabric.

My dad, being an engineer, was into gadgets. He had a Super-8 movie camera. I have the original film reels, and they have been converted to DVDs, which I also have.

CD

Our kitchen "table" was actually a board over the bath (in the kitchen). It had slots for the taps although why we had two taps I do not know.

We hadn't heard of Hi-Fi but had a wireless. I think we got the telly around '57/'58. Up until then a mate down the street at number 4 had one which his mum permitted us to watch occasionally - not that there was much on in those days. I didn't get Hi-Fi until after I started work around '65. It was a Leak 30 amplifier, Garard SP25 and I built the speakers myself. The first record I bought was Dylan's "John Wesley Harding" and the second was Simon and Garfunkel's "Bookends".

 

[caseydog]

Our kitchen "table" was actually a board over the bath (in the kitchen). It had slots for the taps although why we had two taps I do not know.

We hadn't heard of Hi-Fi but had a wireless. I think we got the telly around '57/'58. Up until then a mate down the street at number 4 had one which his mum permitted us to watch occasionally - not that there was much on in those days. I didn't get Hi-Fi until after I started work around '65. It was a Leak 30 amplifier, Garard SP25 and I built the speakers myself. The first record I bought was Dylan's "John Wesley Harding" and the second was Simon and Garfunkel's "Bookends".

Gerard turntable? Wow, I haven't heard that name in about four decades.

CD

 

[Yorky]

Gerard turntable? Wow, I haven't heard that name in about four decades.

CD

Well it was almost six decades ago.

I bought a Garrard 401 in the early 70s as a replacement and fitted it with a Goldring arm and cartridge later to be replaced with an SME 3009 arm and V15 III cartridge which subsequently was relocated to a Walker CJ55 deck. I still have that combination today (although it's stored in England).

 

[caseydog]

Well it was almost six decades ago.

I bought a Garrard 401 in the early 70s as a replacement and fitted it with a Goldring arm and cartridge later to be replaced with an SME 3009 arm and V15 III cartridge which subsequently was relocated to a Walker CJ55 deck. I still have that combination today (although it's stored in England).

View attachment 102354​

My last turntable was a Duel, out of Germany, with a Shure cartridge.

My amp was a Carver, and I still have my 30-year old Klipsch Forte speakers, and have added more to make a 5.1 surround home theater.

Forte IV Floorstanding Loudspeaker | Klipsch

CD

 

[Yorky]

I believe my 2 Wharfedale W3's are still stored in the loft in England. I swapped my father-in-law 4 Celestions for them. They were built in 1952 and he kept the newspaper cuttings of their launch.

Not my image.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I know your dad was a top executive and you prolly grew up with all that stuff.
We were at the opposite end of the spectrum to you. 3 boys in one room. TV didn't arrive until late 60s. Then it was black and white. Prolly supplied by my grandparents? I'm certain they contributed a lot. My parents split when I was 4. My best friend growing up was prolly like you. His father worked for himself ( sparky) and gary had everything.
I always saw the difference. I grew up wanting my kids to have stuff I never had.
We didnt have a car until 73? And then it was a sidevalve morris minor.
I wouldn't change anything.

Russ

We grew up in a council house as well but we were lucky, it was a rural council house on the edge of a small village, unheated, 2 bedrooms (so bunkbeds), toilet outside, though oddly it had a playroom which was the "conservatory" trig which you had to go to get to the toilet (out through the back door and 2nd identical for on the right. The 1st was the coal shed! ) The front room was only used when we had visitors and we'd always know when they were due because the open fire needed to be lit well before they arrived to get the room warm. The best bit was the garden which my mum kept well maintained including veg plot and a fabulous compost heap that we loved to play on because it was warm! And it gave us access to the high wall around the back edge of the garden which we'd walk along. The front garden was almost totally veg plot and did provide a lot.

We didn't get a TV until several years after my brother was born. So I'm guessing around '77/78 for the TV and that came from my grandparents without a shadow of a doubt. I've no memory of if it was colour or B&W, so I'm guessing B&W. I still had a B&W TV when I left university in '94. The first thing my then fiancé did was rent a colour TV when we moved in together with his first job.

As for a car, that didn't arrive until my now ex-step father did in '81 and my mother had to learn to drive first. I can still remember the registration of that vehicle! (Make and model colour etc go without saying).