Our Time in the Sun

by Jimmy Johnson


When I was of college age, all the coeds (They were called that back then.) had to worry about while sunbathing on the roof of their high-rise dorms were the helicopter pilots from nearby Fort Benning and Fort Rucker—and the occasional fighter jock from God knows where. Yep, the air space above Auburn University could get pretty lively this time of year. Back then, when a jet roared over at treetop level, there wasn’t much to do but wave. I can’t imagine what it must be like today, when every other male sophomore commands a drone. Maybe young people today are smarter; perhaps they’ve absorbed the lessons of previous generations and avoid overexposing themselves to the midday sun. Of course, I jest.

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39 responses to “Our Time in the Sun”

  1. emb Avatar
    emb

    Should have added: I somewhat remember NYC from the ’30s, which are closer to 1911 than to 2002, last year I visited Gotham. There were still horsedrawn produce carts, cobblestones around the streetcar tracks on 6th Ave., and icemen supplying ice to families with real iceboxes. We had a gas refrigerator. Lots of poor in NYC lived in cold-water flats. A shoeshine at a shoemaker’s shop was a dime; one from a shoeshine man in Washington Sq. Park was a nickel, as was a subway, trolley, ‘el’, or bus ride. 5th Ave. buses were a dime, and some had open upper decks.

    23 skidoo.

  2. emb Avatar
    emb

    That ferry is not coming in to NY harbor, but to the ferry slip at Battery Park, southern tip of Manhattan. All the water in sight = NY harbor, specifically Upper NY Bay.

  3. Charlotte in NH Avatar
    Charlotte in NH

    To c xp, serious thinking is required — I’ll get back to you. Fascinating subject!

    emb, I love to look at old photos and films! Will see this in a day or two and will enjoy it, I’m sure. Thanks for sending it.

  4. emb Avatar
    emb

    “Some enchanted evening, You will meet a . . ..”

    Peace,

  5. emb Avatar
    emb

    Sorry: “. . . you may see a . . .. “

  6. curmudgeonly ex-professor Avatar
    curmudgeonly ex-professor

    …And here’s the question:

    “What is the answer to
    ‘Knock, knock’
    ‘Who’s there?’
    ‘Sam and Janet’
    ‘Sam and Janet who?’ “

  7. Mark in TTown Avatar
    Mark in TTown

    evening!

  8. David from Austin Avatar
    David from Austin

    CXP,

    I’d think that family stories, of your generation and before would be great. Things beyond the official histories and facts. This weekend, my wife heard a few stories about here grandfather that passed about 30 years ago from his youth and early marriage from townsfolks at her mother’s 65th high school reunion. At the country church they attended on Sunday, she heard a couple of nonagenarians that knew him as a teenager. Stories about early family are always good. Otherwise, the history is little more than the paper records.

    Also, recording stories about your children or grandchildren when they were too small to remember would be great. One story that my father told was about a trip when I was about 2 1/2 years old. We were visiting northern Mexico and had stopped for some reason in a small town near a bar. I’m told that I walked into the bar (in my t-shirt and diaper pants), climbed up on a barstool, and asked for “drink please.” Apparently the patrons and my dad all laughed furiously. I don’t think my mother thought it was quite hilarious. Stories like that, that may not have been told, or other times that you just remember as having a great day– or even about something that was difficult, would be the type of thing I’d like to have recorded.

  9. Ghost Avatar
    Ghost

    On this date in 1803, the Louisiana Purchase Treaty was signed, thereby doubling the size of the United States. The next year, Louis and Clark set out to explore the area and, according to Dave Barry, were surprised to find a whole bunch of states in there, although some of them, like South Dakota, needed some work.

  10. emb Avatar
    emb

    Not to mention … .