Stories from older folks....

[JollySipper]

I've always gotten along really well with people who were/are much older than me. I guess that's because I'm an old soul, myself. I used to talk to the guy that lived next to me all the time. He's passed on now..... He always had stories to tell, you know how that goes. One that he enjoyed telling a lot was how his parents got married. His Dad was courting his Mom, but her parents didn't agree with it. They wanted to get married any way...... He told her to tie a string around her toe so he could pull on it to wake her up, then they ran off together and "eloped". I used to think of that, 'times were very much different then'.......

Another he told me once was that his Dad said to him, "I'll never understand this younger generation. Y'all do your cooking outside and use the bathroom in your house!"

Anyone have some stories from the "good ol' days" that you remember hearing from someone older?

 

[MrMiles]

in 50 years the stories will be...one time i ate this thing called a tide pod. it was awesome, i got 2700 clicks

 

 

im joking of course

Edited October 26, 2021 by MrMiles

[JollySipper]

and people will be restoring Prius'     

[MrMiles]

19 minutes ago, JollySipper said:

and people will be restoring Prius'     

can you imagine....

[Mike C.]

 

I love to sit and listen to the old war stories from the veterans. Especially the WWII ones. It was just a different time back then. They have a local cable station where I live that runs a show that does just that from time to time. My grandfather served with the Marines then. I believe he was stationed on Guam. He was one of the lucky ones who made it back home. I was too young to understand when he died but my Dad will sometimes tell stories of my grandfathers time in the war.

[TonyK]

That reminds me of The Bomber restaurant (B-17 sat above the gas station pumps) where some veterans would gather for breakfast and it was fun sitting at the table near them to hear war stories or just random stories of that time. You'd hear them refer to the enemy with names not accepted these days but I get it. That's how they referred to them during those times and they continue to do so. Not right but I get it.

My first apartment was on the 2nd floor and I had to pass by the old guy living below. Big window right there at the parking lot so he could see me come home. He lived alone and I would be a nice guy sometimes when he'd invite me in and tell stories about the railroad as he was now retired. They were actually interesting.

[espo]

I have found that if you listen and pay attention to the wisdom of elders there is a lot to be learned from them. I have found that since I'm pretty gray of beard no one seems to care since I'm just an "old man" so what do I know ? Mike C. makes a good point about listening to old war stories. For myself I always had a different vision of my father and both of my grandfathers. My father was in the Army during WWII. He never said much about the war or anything else about his service until much later in life. My parents were divorced when I was about eight or nine and growing up I spent time mostly living with my mother  but with short 1 or 2 year stays with my grandparents and my father and step mother about the time I started high school.  When I was in my twenties my mother opened up about what I would call my fathers adventures as a young man. I had always known him as a very conservative and strict person as I was growing up. My parents still respected one another and never said anything bad about the other that I could ever remember. My mother did start to tell me some about their courtship and early married life and I learned a side of my father I would never think of had she not shared with me. My father was a Supply Sargent when they meet and started dating. I think the best way to describe what she told me was that he was like "Radar" in the MASH TV series. Some of these stories were later confirmed by my father as we became more comfortable with each other. So think about it. You get drafted in a world wide war. You have a brand new '41 Chevrolet that you can't afford any longer so you sell it to your head Sargent with the understanding you can still borrow it for leaves. You would return it with a bottle of the Sargent's favorite Scotch under the font seat and a full tank of gas, which you did another trade with the guys at the Motor Pool who wanted some stamps for cigs. Trust me this is so out of the way I had always viewed him it was hard the believe. Many other stories I could tell about that time and that of my grand fathers. The point is I grew up thinking of them in one way and later finding out these guys were really resourceful and  cooler than I ever hoped to be. 

[stitchdup]

I've always prefered talking to older folks than younger ones. Its led me to meet some some pretty interesting characters from the most decorated lifeboatman in the uk, a guy that worked on whaling shipd when that was still acceptable and of course when I was a kid I spent all my holidays with my grandparents so because of this I also spent a lot of time with my great grandfather and heard his tales of sea monsters and rescues. The one difference from the usa I notice from the above posts is the britsh guys just dont talk about the war unless they have dementia/alzheimers. My grandfather would only tell us he was there but he never once said where or when or what he did. There would be a look of real sadness if we asked him but he's one of the only people i never saw angry, his quote was anger is not something I want again so I suspect he may have seen a lot of action as my grandmother once said when he came home he destroyed everything to do with the war including some medals as there was nothing about it that he wanted to remember. I dont think the war broke him though, just changed him.

[JollySipper]

They're called the Greatest Generation for a reason, man...... The main ones who don't talk about their time in the Service are the Vietnam Vets. I guess because they were treated so poorly when they returned home.....

[Ace-Garageguy]

I have a story...

Wait...what was the question?

[SfanGoch]

You runnin' for office?

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

2 hours ago, stitchdup said:

I've always preferred talking to older folks than younger ones...

Yeah, some geezers actually know a few things.

Lotsa young folks seem to think they know everything though.

I have been young and dumb and sure I knew everything.

Now, as a geezer, I recognize that I really know very little relative to all there is to know.

[SfanGoch]

8 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Now, as a geezer, I recognize that I really know very little relative to all there is to know.

Hindsight is 20/20. You've had the opportunity to to reflect on and obtain knowledge about things you might have missed. You be ahead of the game, Broski.

[slusher]

I always listened to my father talk about the old days. My father was 48 or 49 when I was born. My dad was born in 1917 in Leslie county KY. So when ever he talked about the old days I listened and ask questions. My dad never rode in a car until he was a young teen and it was a model T.  He didn’t get to play much because hi grand mother would give him something to do.  I enjoyed hearing. His stories of hauling coal. My dad died when I was 18 I miss him every day. 
my mom was born in 1935 and I listen to her stories about her dad.  I always enjoy stories of older people but I enjoy talking with just about anyone. I really enjoy people…

[Scott8950]

On 10/26/2021 at 4:03 PM, Ace-Garageguy said:

Yeah, some geezers actually know a few things.

Lotsa young folks seem to think they know everything though.

I have been young and dumb and sure I knew everything.

Now, as a geezer, I recognize that I really know very little relative to all there is to know.

That could not be said any better! I remember my father telling me things when I was a teenager and I thought he was wrong and about 100% of the time he was always right! Now I'm in the same situation with my two teenage boys and find myself saying the exact things my father said and taught to me.

[Classicgas]

On 10/26/2021 at 3:03 PM, Ace-Garageguy said:

Yeah, some geezers actually know a few things.

Lotsa young folks seem to think they know everything though.

I have been young and dumb and sure I knew everything.

Now, as a geezer, I recognize that I really know very little relative to all there is to know.

Well said sir.

[SCRWDRVR]

I learned at a very young age about life being precious and learning from my elders. My father passed at 43 and I was 17 at the time and it really changed my out look on a lot of things in life and one being you learn as you age and you don't know it all at 18. I have always liked when I was at work when they would but me with the older guys, you always worked twice as hard but I always learned twice as much. I remember working on a job with a guy who was probably mid 60's at the time I was 22 or 23 and I was bustin my butt but not using the proper tools for the job I was doing and his comment has always stuck with me as simple as it was he said "boy work smart not hard use the proper tools" I've since shortened it to just "work smart not hard" but its just as effective. I learned a lot from him...

[espo]

I think SCRWDRVR's story says it best. All of us that benefited from working and learning from someone older and more experienced than our selves should be thankful for their taking the time to show us how to do things in a better and quicker fashion. 

[Rodent]

Don't want to make this sound political, but....

I worked for an auto parts company from the time I was 19 to 26. There was a Vietnamese guy about my father's age who worked in the warehouse and shipping that most everyone really didn't like. He really could be obnoxious, like starting revving the forklift when you were on the phone, etc. If he didn't like you, he went out of his way to make it known.

For some reason, he took a liking to me. I took lunch earlier than he did, and I used to eat at his desk and watch his little TV with his blessing. I always cleaned up after myself (cleaner than when I started) and put the TV back on whatever channel it was on when I started.

Over the years, we chatted a bit and he opened up. He was from the North, but was never sympathetic to the Communists. He went to university in the South in the late 40s and wound up as an officer in the South Vietnamese Army. He was a Colonel in 1975 when Saigon fell and was one of the people evacuated by the U.S. He threw his uniform overboard because he knew it was dangerous to be caught wearing it. Someone gave him some other clothes. It was over a year after reaching San Diego alone before he saw his wife and two kids again. He didn't know if they were dead or alive. His son "Mike" was my age and was always very nice to me when he stopped by the warehouse.

I know that some of you guys served in Vietnam, and I don't want to make this story about the war. Only that this humble little man had been through so much in his life opened up to me and taught me a lot about being grateful for whatever little bit you have. I learned far more from him that I did from my own parents.

[Ace-Garageguy]

                                                       

[SCRWDRVR]

Nice!! I'm a fan of the fix it yourself generations...

[Classicgas]

4 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

                                                       

Now that's funny and very true. 

[Scott8950]

6 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

                                                       

This reminded me of something I saw about 2 weeks ago. One afternoon I was pulling into a Mapco for gas and I saw a kid maybe 17 to 20 years old with the store waterhose drowning his engine, my first thought was a fire but a man across from me asked the kid if the car had caught on fire. The kid replied no it's overheating and continued to flood his engine compartment. 

[DRIPTROIT 71]

7 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

                                                       

 Very true indeed!!!

[Ace-Garageguy]

4 hours ago, Scott8950 said:

This reminded me of something I saw about 2 weeks ago. One afternoon I was pulling into a Mapco for gas and I saw a kid maybe 17 to 20 years old with the store waterhose drowning his engine, my first thought was a fire but a man across from me asked the kid if the car had caught on fire. The kid replied no it's overheating and continued to flood his engine compartment. 

Must notta had the fix-overheating app on his phone.