Clock Watching

Once again the world is ushering in a New Year as 2006 gives way to 2007. Billions of people will be clock watching as midnight on December 31 draws near.

I've seen more New Year's than I really care to remember. Having said that, I cannot help but marvel at the changes in the five decades of New Years that have occurred on my watch.
....Once upon a time the transistor had revolutionized the world of communications, making the world much smaller. Now, that technological wonder is all but forgotten. ...And oh, how our entertainment has changed.

In retrospect: the 50's -»
In the early 50's TV programs were only aired for three hours in the evenings. The rest of the day the only image on your set, which was a piece of furniture itself, was the Indian head test pattern.

....Do you remember? Poodle skirts, cardboard record players, drive-in diners, Bill Haley & the Comets, 3D Movies, Christine Jorgensen, Ozzie & Harriet, Silly Putty, DA's, Gidget, the Edsel, the Rosenberg Trial, The Fly, Ding Dong School, "Klattu Borado Nikto", hula hoops, I Love Lucy, Ben Hur, McCarthyism, Kukla,Fran & Ollie, transistor radios, penny loafers, I Like Ike, Pinkie Lee, juke boxes, "Duck and cover.", Howdy Doody, View Masters, Lassie, "Say the magic word and win $100."
In Retrospect: the 60's -»
....Do you remember? FM Radio, "Mary Ann or Ginger?", The Beatles, S&H Green Stamps, the TV Dinner, The Banana Splits, mini-skirts, Lost In Space, Tupperware, Hai Karate, the Frito Bandito, "To boldly go where no man has gone before.", Camelot, the Smothers Brothers, UHF TV, The Valley of the Dolls, bikinis, Tang, Tonka Toys, "The Eagle has landed.", game shows, pop-top cans, Hullabaloo, Julia Child, the Ford Mustang, "Eeep Opp Ork Ah Ah", Kent State, Xerox copiers, Arpnet - the forerunner of the Internet, Peyton Place, "Far out, man!", color television, Viet Nam, Aluminum Christmas trees, Jimmi Hendrix, Polaroid cameras, Hawaii Five-0, "Sock it to me!", The Twist, The Bay of Pigs, Born To Be Wild, the Nixon-Kennedy debates, Bonanza, Woodstock, Your friendly neighborhood Spiderman.

In Retrospect: the 70's -»
....Do you remember? the Bicentennial, L'eggs, SNL, Charlie's Angels, earth shoes, Play-Doh, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing!", Queen, Mr. Microphone, CB radios, Holly Hobby, Happy Meals, Atari, "In a galaxy far, far away...", The Partridge Family, Wolfman Jack, Photomats, Mood Rings, Disco, Weebles, The Blues Brothers, "Goodnight, John-Boy", The Mod Squad, Etch-a-Sketch, The Village People, Saturday Night Fever, Billy Beer, macrame, Airplane, Pet Rocks, Nancy Drew, Ronco Pocket Fisherman, Slinky, "Kiss my grits!", Jack In The Box, Sea Monkeys, 45 RPM record adaptors, Hot Wheels, lava lamps, Self-serve Gas Stations, leisure suits, Playboy Clubs, Airstream trailors, "Jane, you ignorant slut!", Grease, mock turtle necks, Dressy Bessy, energy crisis,
7-Eleven, wrap-around skirts, Simon, 8-Track tapes, The Brady Bunch, bell bottoms, "I'd rather fight than switch.", polyester, mini,midi & maxi skirts, Happy Days, Animal House, "Sometimes you feel like a nut..".

In retrospect: the 80s -»
....Do you remember? Rubik's Cube, Jamaican Bobsled Team, The Far Side, Pac-Man, futons, Home-Shopping Network, "Do you believe in miracles?", Yakov Smirnoff, Smurfs, Urban Cowboy, Baby Jessica, Max Headroom, Trivial Pursuit, MTV, the Space Shuttle,
E.T., Milli Vanilli, Mount St. Helens, Madonna, Apple Computer, Knight Rider, Buhwheet, Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy, Care Bears, The Family Feud, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, "Who shot J.R.?", the Super Bowl Shuffle, Yuppies, American Bandstand goes off the air - 1988, Ghostbusters, Speak & Spell, Howard the Duck, Chernobyl, "You'll shoot your eye out, kid!", Tylenol tampering, Little Shop of Horrors, Strawberry Shortcake, Satellite television, The fall of the Berlin Wall.

In retrospect: the 90's -»
....Do you remember? eBay, cell phones, Starbucks, Free Willy, Judge Judy, AOL, " I'm Tom Bodet, and we'll keep the light on for you.", Home Alone, debit cards, prenuptials, "Wazzup!", Kwanzaa, Married With Children, veggie burgers, Fax machines, The Real World, Hooters, dollar stores, The Spice Girls, Mrs. Doubtfire, tattoos, Infomercials, Napster, The WB, Psychic Friends Network, nylon mesh sponges, Sony Playstation, Furby, toe rings, the Dancing Baby, South Park, gourmet coffee, Amazon.com, leggings, Baywatch, Beanie Babies, Susan Powter, Sweatin' To The Oldies, microbreweries, office cubicles, The Simpsons, Thighmaster, The Budweiser frogs, votive candles, Win Ben Stein's Money, NYPD Blues, " I'm not only the Hair Club President, I'm also a client.", Cartoon Network, 1-900 telephone numbers, Pokemon, CD Players, emoticons, Beverly Hills 90210, SuperCuts, Jurassic Park, bread machines, chat rooms, The Joy Luck Club.

The 00's still have three years left before being a complete decade, but it promises to be one of the most memorable. One thing that is sure to included and noteworhty in the 00's is the popularity of Blogging.

There are many important events, movies, TV shows, products, people, etc., not included in each of the above recaps of those decades. There were far too many things to mention for those eras that I could possibly mention and still keep this post from becoming too voluminous. ( I'm not a machine, Captain. I'm just a blogger. )
....I'm sure that as you traipse through all the nostalgia of the decades you remember, you'll come up with a lot that I haven't mentioned.

In 1 hour and 45 minutes, here in New England, 2006 will be a memory. I hope you enjoyed this little jog down my own personal memory lane.


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