Random thoughts

When an aircraft would fly over the picture would go wobbly until it passed.

W.O.R. Radio out of New York would have a show at night called the pillow talk club where they woujld ask you to listen to their music through your pillow so your parents could not hear it.  In the morning the transister radio would be dead and you needed to find a new battery.

Ever hear the chicago radio program called The Breakfast Club?

Ever listen to Gene Sheppard's stories from N.Y.?  If you never heard of him, think A Christmas Story.  That's some of his stuff and he did the narration.

On the 'ol television front, playing with walkie-talkies and upsetting the parents and neighbors TV reception and hearing the ramblings of ten year olds....

ikar01

I remember having to head home every day when I was a kid when the daillly air raid siren went off.

Never (mercifully) had to do that...but, having grown up in the Midwest, I remember having to explain to distressed-looking 'new kids' at school that the local civil defense siren going off at noon on Mondays didn't mean the Ruskies were attacking...but instead that they just tested it regularly, mainly in case of tornados. (I did occasionally wonder, however, if the evil Ruskies might be clever enough to attack at noon on a Monday, just to catch us off-guard.... )

ikar01

Having to go out on the roof to adjust the antenna to get a better reception of one of our three T.V. stations on our black & white T.V.  Having the stations go off at a certain time at night and come back on in the morning, starting with the National Anthem.

I ran a line out the window to a little 'Radio Shack' antenna -- not much more than a glorified coat-hanger -- hanging in the low-hanging branch of a tree in the side yard. Easier (and faster) to adjust, no climbing required.

I don't think I was ever watching TV early enough to see the sign-on...but I vividly remember the National Anthem being played at sign-off...always right after 'Thought For The Day.' 

ikar01

When something went wrong, getting a test pattern or some cartoon picture of an ape tangled up in film with an appology from the station.

Ours was the cartoon 'station manager' literally tearing his hair out, with a janitor with mop and bucket smiling in the background. I always wondered what kind of technical glitch could be solved with a mop and bucket...unless the aforementioned SM was likely to pee himself. 

ikar01

A forgotten piece of old music, popping up like They're comming to take me away, or something from one of Tom Leher or Allan Sherman's albums. 

Napoleon XIV, 'Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah,' and...my favorite...'Poisoning Pigeons in the Park.' Sherman's My Son, the Folksinger and Vaughn Meader's First Family album were the only comedy records my parents ever owned. Everything else was Sinatra, Montovani, Burl Ives, and...my pre-adolescent favorite...Julie London. (Not that the music of that last was my favorite...but I used to stare longingly at Ms. London's sexy album covers, even before I quite knew why.)

A more innocent (i.e., clueless) time, for darn sure.

Is that like the warning signs of early dementia?  

Ah yes, Tom Lehrer - National Brotherhood Week!

For those who have never seen a TV station sign off at night, watch the beginning of the 1980s "Poltergeist".

Random thoughts do seem to enter my mind more often these days.

Why do models get dirtier when you apply a wash?

Why do Xacto knives always land point-down on your foot?

What did I have for lunch today?

Is it lunch time yet?

Is it past lunch time already?

What day is it?

Why do 1/700 ship models cost so much?

Why am I asking about the cost of 1/700 ship models when I don't buy them?  But dang, they sure do cost a lot on a $ per inch basis!