Memories of Brooklyn

I just received this e-mail with pictures. Unfortunately the pictures didn't come through but I think you'll get the gest of this.

Subject: Memories of Brooklyn.
IF NOT FROM BKLYN, SHOW IT SOMEONE WHO IS

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BROOKLYN

1. The subway,

bus and the trolley were only a thin dime to ride, and if you are really old, you'll remember a nickel a ride.

2. Schools were the showcase for the whole country.

3. Tuesday night was fireworks night in Coney Island put on by Schaefer Brewing.

4. There was very little pornography.

5. There were the bath houses: Stauches, Bushman Baths, Steeplechase Baths, Washington Baths, Ravenhall, and Brighton Beach Baths.

6. There was respect for teachers and older people in general.

7. There was almost no violence.

8. The theme of the music of the times, even when it became rock and roll, was love not anger.

9. A great day was going to the beach at Coney Island,





or Brighton.

10. People made a living and, rich or poor, people all knew how to have a good time no matter of status.

11. There was no better hot dog than the original at Nathan's in Coney Island. And no better French fries than the Nathan's thick ripple cuts.
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12. There were no divorces and few "one parent" families.

13. There were no drugs or drug problems in the lives of most people.

14. The rides and shows of Coney Island were fantastic: Steeplechase Park: the horses, the big slide, the barrels, the zoo (maze), the human pool table, the Cyclone Roller Coaster
, the Tornado Roller Coaster, the
Thunderbolt Roller Coaster, the Bobsled, the Virginia Reel, the Wonder
Wheel, the Bumper cars, the Tunnel of love, Battaway, the loop the loop,
the bubble bounce, miniature golf, the whip, the many merry-go-rounds,
the penny arcades. Luna Park, the Thompson Roller Coaster, the Parachute jump, Fabers Sportsland and Fascination, toffee and cotton candy stores, custard stands, Pokerama, Skeeball, prize games, fortune tellers guess games, hammer games, the Harlem revue, the freak shows, the house of wax, the animal nursery,restaurants, rifle
ranges, push cart rides and parades.

15. The fruit man, the tool sharpener, the junk man and the watermelon man all with the horse and wagon
.

16. Sheepshead Bay was Lundy's Restaurant and fishing.


17. Only place for pizza and only whole pizzas was Joe's Bar and Grill on Ave U. Then in the mid-50's, a pizza explosion: you could buy it by the slice for a dime at many places. By the late 50's it was a whole 15 cents a slice! A tuna fish sandwich or a BLT were 45 cents. A small Coke was 7 cents, a large Coke was 12 cents. Remember Vanilla Cokes when they pumped real vanilla syrup into the glass before adding the Coke?


18. There were many theaters where every Saturday afternoon you could see 25 cartoons and two feature films. The Highway, the Avalon, the Kingsway, the Mayfair, the Claridge, the Tuxedo, the Oceana, the
Oriental, the Avenue U,the Kent, the Paramount, the RKO Tilyou, the Mermaid, the Surf, the Walker, the Albemarle, the Alpine, the Rugby, the Ambassador, the People's Cinema, the Canarsie, the Marlboro, the Avon and the Globe.

19. Everybody knew all the high schools in Brooklyn.

20. Big eating and coffee hangouts: Dubrow's on Kings Highway, also on Eastern Parkway/Utica Avenue, Famous on 86th Street, and Garfield's
onFlatbush Avenue.

21. Ebinger's was the great bakery ... loved the chocolate butter cream
with the almonds on the side, Boston Cream pie, and the Blackout cakes!

Bierman's was terrific also.

22. Kings Highway stores had their own ornate glitz as far as style goes.

23. There were many delicatessens in the 50's -- very few today.. The best? Adelman's on 13th Avenue and Hymie's on Sutter Avenue. The food was from heaven!


24. Big night clubs in Brooklyn were the Ben Maksiks' "Town and Country" on Flatbush Avenue and "The Elegante' " on Ocean Parkway.

25. There were no fast food restaurants in the 50's and a hamburger tasted like a hamburger.

26. There was Murray the K, rock and roll concerts at the Brooklyn Fox and the Brooklyn Paramount. You had to go the night before to get good seats.

27. Quick bites at Brennan and Carr, Horn and Hardart Automat, Nedick's,
Big Daddy's, Chock Full o' Nuts, Junior's, Grabsteins or Joe's Delicatessen. Junior's, you'll be glad to know, is still in the same place, and the cheesecake is still fabulous.)

28. Knishes were great at Mrs. Stahl's in Brighton or at Shatzkin's Knishes. Remember the knish guy on the beach with the shopping bags?
Mrs. Stahls Knishes is Now a Subway






29. People in Brooklyn took pride in owning a Chevy in the 50's; there was nothing better than General Motors then. The cars would run and run and run, no problems.

30. You bought sour pickles right out of the barrel -- for a nickel -- and they were delicious. By the 60's, they cost a whole quarter.


Anyone remember Miller's Appetizing, on the corner of 13th Avenue and 50th Street?

31. The Brooklyn Dodgers were part of your family. g" SRC="aoladp://MA23133038-0024/ATT00119.jpg">
The Duke, the Scoonge, Pee Wee, Jackie, the Preacher, Campy, Junior, Clem, Big Don, Gil. They were always in a lot of our conversations. Remember Ebbet's Field and Happy Felton's Knothole club? For a nickel, you got into Ebbet's Field and saw the Dodgers play. For Brooklynites it was -- and will always be -- a shrine.

32. You come from Brooklyn but you don't think you have an accent. To you Long Island is one word which sounds like "Longuyland."

33. You played a lot of games as kids. Depending on whether you were a boy or a girl, you could play: ringaleaveo, Johnny on t he Pony, Hide and Seek, three feet off to Germany, red light-green light, chase the white horse, kick the can, Buck, Buck, how many horns are up?, war, hit the penny, pussy-in-the-corner, jump rope, double-dutch, Stories, A-My
Name Is, box ball,stick ball, box baseball, catch a fly, dodge ball, stoop ball, you're up, running bases, iron tag, skelly, tops, punch ball, handball, slap ball, whiffle ball,stick ball, poison ball, relay races, softball, baseball, basketball, horse, 5-3-1, around the world, foul shooting, knockout, arm wrestling,
Indianwrestling. And then there were card games like canasta, casino, hearts, pinochle, war and the unhappy game of 52-card pickup.

34. You hung out on people's stoops or in the Courtyard..


35. You learned how to dance at some girl's backyard or house. Kids were safe playing around the neighborhood.Summer nights in good ol'Brooklyn ... were something I wish mychildrencould know. Life was simpler, happier. Oh, the fun wehad...I'm so glad I was part of that world.

36. You roller skated at Park Circle or Empire Blvd. skating rinks in skates with wooden wheels. You had roller skates at home with metal wheels for using on the sidewalks, and you needed a skate key to tighten
them around your shoes. Those metal wheels on concrete were deafening!

37. The big sneaker was Converse. Also Keds and
P-F Flyers.

38. The guys wore Chino pants with a little buckle on the back, peg pants, and the girls wore long wide dresses. Remember gray wool skirts
with pink felt poodles on them? The poodles had rhinestone eyes.


39. In the 50's rock and roll started big teen styles for the first time.

40. Everyone went to a Bar Mitzvah even if you weren't Jewish.

41. Everyone took their date to Plum Beach for the submarine races.

42. There were 3 main nationalities in Brooklyn in the 50's: Italians, Irish and Jewish. Then there was a sprinkling of everyone else. The Scandinavians and Greeks in Bay Ridge, the African Americans in
Bedford Stuyvesant and the Polish of Green Point. AND ALL IMMIGRANTS WERE HAPPY AND EAGER TO LEARN THEIR NEW LANGUAGE (ENGLISH)

43. The only way to get to Staten Island was by ferry from the 67th Street pier in Brooklyn. It was a great ride in the summer time for a dime..

44. In Brooklyn, a fire hydrant is a "Johnny pump."

45. Rides on a truck came to your neighborhood to give little kids a
ride for a dime. The best one was the "whip," which spun you around a track. You got a little prize when you got off, sometimes a folding paper fan, sometimes a straw tube that you inserted two fingers into, that tightened asyou tried to pull your fingers out again.

46. As a kid you hit people with water balloons from atop a building,
you shot linoleum projectiles from a carpet gun, you shot dried peas
from pea shooters, and you shot paperclips at people with a rubber band. C3?C2

47. You shopped at EJ Korvettes, Robert Hall, Woolworth's, Mays,
McCrory's, Packers, A&P, Bohack, A&S. Barney's was Barney's Boys Town
back then,and not a luxury store. You bought your shoes at National and Mi= le s, A S Beck. When you got married you bought your dishes at Fortunoff's under the"el".

48. NBC main production studio was on Avenue M.and E.16 St. The Cosby show was made there.

49. Everybody lived near a candy store and a grocery store.

50. The first mall comes to Brooklyn at Kings Plaza.

51. Bagel stores start popping up everywhere in the 60's.

52. Went to Jahn's Ice Cream Parlor with a big group and had the "Kitchen Sink." If it was your birthday (you had to bring your birth certificate),you could get a sundae free.


53. Everybody knew somebody who was a connected guy.

54. We used the word "swell"; that's pass today.

55. In the summer we all waited for the Good Humor, Bungalow Bar, Mister
Softee or Freezer Fresh man to come into our neighborhood to buy ice
cream. In the early to mid 50's, the Good Humor man pushed a cart
instead of driving a truck. Remember the bells? A pop was 15 cen ts. A large cup was 15 cents, a small cup was a dime. And a sundae -- remember
licking the chocolate off the back of the cardboard top? -- was a quarter.
(Movie stars pictures on bottom of the Dixie cup lids).
As a kid growing up in the 1950s we would spend our money on bubble gum baseball cards, candy and ice cream. A pack of baseball cards (complete with a stick of bubble gum) and full-size candy bars were 5 cents each or six for a quarter. In the summer the . In those days there were lots of interesting coins still in circulation. Dimes and quarters we still made of silver. The oldest Roosevelt dimes were not yet 15 years old. It was not uncommon to find Mercury dimes or worn out Standing Liberty quarters; and Buffalo or Indian Head nickels were common too. Most pennies were wheat-backs; they didn't get the familiar Lincoln Memorial on the reverse until 1959. With luck it was even possible to find an occasional Indian Head penny in your change. But the most coveted find (for us kids, anyway) was the unusual 1943 steel penny.

56. Many of us would sneak cigarettes and hide them when we got home.

57. When we talked about "the city" everyone knew we meant,Manhattan.

58. The Mets in the 60's became our substitute for the Dodgers. But they never did, and never will, make up for the Dodgers leaving.

59. In the 60's we were ready to drive and hit the night life scene. With the car came the girls.

60. We are all in a select club because we have roots in BROOKLYN.
61.. JUST ROLL OUT THOSE LAZY HAZY CRAZY DAYS OF SUMMER THOSE DAYS OF HOT DOGSAND PRETZELS AND BEER!!
THOSE WERE THE DAYS MY FRIENDS, I WISH THEY HAD NEVER ENDED.

Judy and Jackie loving on Grace last Saturday when we had lunch over at my house.

I have not blogged for a couple a weeks, it feels like I have gone through a couple of lifetimes along the way.
Jan is in the hospital ICU/Progressive/going into surgery asap
Back from Mexico - great - wonderful possibilities for the future
Trying to keep it all together, business, family, and myself a day at a time.

I am off to Mexico for a dental holiday. I'm thinking of making a documentary of my trip for either television or film. Medical tourism is a multi trillion dollar industry as people from all over America scramble to find affordable treatment. Join me on my journey which I will be blogging over the next three weeks.
I'm leaving at 9:10 am this morning.
Psalm 9
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be sung to the tune “Death of the Son.” 1 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. 2 I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.
3 My enemies retreated; they staggered and died when you appeared. 4 For you have judged in my favor; from your throne you have judged with fairness. 5 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; you have erased their names forever. 6 The enemy is finished, in endless ruins; the cities you uprooted are now forgotten.
7 But the Lord reigns forever, executing judgment from his throne. 8 He will judge the world with justice and rule the nations with fairness. 9 The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. 10 Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.
11 Sing praises to the Lord who reigns in Jerusalem.[a] Tell the world about his unforgettable deeds. 12 For he who avenges murder cares for the helpless. He does not ignore the cries of those who suffer.
13 Lord, have mercy on me. See how my enemies torment me. Snatch me back from the jaws of death. 14 Save me so I can praise you publicly at Jerusalem’s gates, so I can rejoice that you have rescued me.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they dug for others. Their own feet have been caught in the trap they set. 16 The Lord is known for his justice. The wicked are trapped by their own deeds. Quiet Interlude[b]
17 The wicked will go down to the grave.[c] This is the fate of all the nations who ignore God. 18 But the needy will not be ignored forever; the hopes of the poor will not always be crushed.
19 Arise, O Lord! Do not let mere mortals defy you! Judge the nations! 20 Make them tremble in fear, O Lord. Let the nations know they are merely human.

I was reading Proverbs 2 today and was struck by verses 9-11. I wrote them out on my monthly Bible reading plan. It is amazing that knowledge can fill you with joy. I'm praying for that today myself along with some other things.
Proverbs 2
The Benefits of Wisdom
1 My child,[a] listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. 2 Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. 3 Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. 4 Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. 5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God. 6 For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 7 He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. 8 He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him.
9 Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go. 10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. 11 Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe.
12 Wisdom will save you from evil people, from those whose words are twisted. 13 These men turn from the right way to walk down dark paths. 14 They take pleasure in doing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil. 15 Their actions are crooked, and their ways are wrong.
16 Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman, from the seductive words of the promiscuous woman. 17 She has abandoned her husband and ignores the covenant she made before God. 18 Entering her house leads to death; it is the road to the grave.[b] 19 The man who visits her is doomed. He will never reach the paths of life.
20 Follow the steps of good men instead, and stay on the paths of the righteous. 21 For only the godly will live in the land, and those with integrity will remain in it. 22 But the wicked will be removed from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted.

Proverbs 1
The Purpose of Proverbs 1 These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel.
2 Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise. 3 Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair. 4 These proverbs will give insight to the simple, knowledge and discernment to the young.
5 Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. Let those with understanding receive guidance 6 by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables, the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
A Father’s Exhortation: Acquire Wisdom 8 My child,[a] listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. 9 What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck.
10 My child, if sinners entice you, turn your back on them! 11 They may say, “Come and join us. Let’s hide and kill someone! Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent! 12 Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave[b]; let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death. 13 Think of the great things we’ll get! We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take. 14 Come, throw in your lot with us; we’ll all share the loot.”
15 My child, don’t go along with them! Stay far away from their paths. 16 They rush to commit evil deeds. They hurry to commit murder. 17 If a bird sees a trap being set, it knows to stay away. 18 But these people set an ambush for themselves; they are trying to get themselves killed. 19 Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money; it robs them of life.
Wisdom Shouts in the Streets
20 Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square. 21 She calls to the crowds along the main street, to those gathered in front of the city gate: 22 “How long, you simpletons, will you insist on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? How long will you fools hate knowledge? 23 Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise.
24 “I called you so often, but you wouldn’t come. I reached out to you, but you paid no attention. 25 You ignored my advice and rejected the correction I offered. 26 So I will laugh when you are in trouble! I will mock you when disaster overtakes you— 27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster engulfs you like a cyclone, and anguish and distress overwhelm you.
28 “When they cry for help, I will not answer. Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me. 29 For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the Lord. 30 They rejected my advice and paid no attention when I corrected them. 31 Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way, choking on their own schemes. 32 For simpletons turn away from me—to death. Fools are destroyed by their own complacency. 33 But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm.”
Proverbs 2
The Benefits of Wisdom
1 My child,[c] listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. 2 Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. 3 Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. 4 Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. 5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God. 6 For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 7 He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. 8 He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him.
9 Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go. 10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. 11 Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe.
12 Wisdom will save you from evil people, from those whose words are twisted. 13 These men turn from the right way to walk down dark paths. 14 They take pleasure in doing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil. 15 Their actions are crooked, and their ways are wrong.
16 Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman, from the seductive words of the promiscuous woman. 17 She has abandoned her husband and ignores the covenant she made before God. 18 Entering her house leads to death; it is the road to the grave.[d] 19 The man who visits her is doomed. He will never reach the paths of life.
20 Follow the steps of good men instead, and stay on the paths of the righteous. 21 For only the godly will live in the land, and those with integrity will remain in it. 22 But the wicked will be removed from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted.

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Psalm 4
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by stringed instruments.
1 Answer me when I call to you, O God who declares me innocent. Free me from my troubles. Have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
2 How long will you people ruin my reputation? How long will you make groundless accusations? How long will you continue your lies? Interlude 3 You can be sure of this: The Lord set apart the godly for himself. The Lord will answer when I call to him.
4 Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent. Interlude 5 Offer sacrifices in the right spirit, and trust the Lord.
6 Many people say, “Who will show us better times?” Let your face smile on us, Lord. 7 You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine. 8 In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe.