DRIVE INS AND CAR HOPS

1-21-10...DRIVE INS AND CAR HOPS

I remember a drive in here called Wimpy's. I didn't get to go much but oh how I loved it when I did. Kids my age congregated there, usually on Sunday evenings, and ordered a coke. Any kind of soft drink was called Coke then. If you ordered a Coke the car hop said what kind would you like. A big glass was 10 cents. When I had ten cents I ordered Cherry coke. Wimpy would put any flavor you wanted in your ten cent coke. Now if you were lucky and had a whole quarter you could get a Hamburger and a coke. I can still taste those old fashioned hamburgers. Believe me they are not the same now. You went inside and put a nickle in the jukebox and got to pick three songs. Yep, Sure nuff, three of them. Speakers mounted outside blasted, Don't Be Cruel, Hello Mary Lou, Lets do the Twist and many more. Sometimes a car load of kids would sit there for two or three hours just visiting. We would sometimes get out on the parking lot and Bop or twist our fannies off. Wouldn't take long for my fanny to be off now. Just one coke and sometimes a hamburger and we were set for a night or day of fun.
Wimpy was a silver haired gentleman with a handle bar mustache. He had a healthy head of hair too and sometimes I'd notice it in the lights and I thought it was so pretty. He was slightly bent. Very tall, and walked with a lurch. He was kind and fair but best of all he liked teenagers. I wonder what they would say about a man like that now. They don't dare to even look at a kid. Wimpy would sit in the Parking lot with us and laugh and giggle right along with us.
The boys all had some kind of exhaust pipe , I didn't think I'd ever forget what those were called. Straight Pipe?? Whatever, it was one pipe and it was loud. They would sometimes all get to reving, (is that what it is?) their engines, and talk about loud. We loved it but usually Wimpy would come out and say, “Take it down a notch or two Boys”. They always did it too. Wimpy was a sweet man but he took no backtalk from a bunch of teenagers.
That was the first thing I noticed when I moved back home was Wimpy's Drive in was still there. Only the building though, no bunch of teenaged kids having the time of their life in those cars made in the 50's. (Now those cars are another story) There is an insurance office in the building now but if you listen real good sometimes you can hear All Shook Up blasting out of a speaker and hear the laughter of a bunch of teenagers having a bunch of good clean fun. I swear You can. Yep!!

OUR FIRST TV

1-20-10...OUR FIRST TV

I was in the 9th grade in school before we got our first TV set. It was a Zenith. Daddy and Mamma got it at Vardamans Furniture store on time payments. They usually would not do that but Daddy said, "You kids don't ever get much and you never ask for much. I want you to have a TV set". There were others of course who had a TV but not us. In fact I had never seen but one in my life belonging to my Sunday School teacher. She took us to her house once and had a TV party.
The day we got the TV we were not expecting it. We got off the school bus and ran toward home. When we got closer we saw that big tall TV antenna standing up proudly on the roof of that old wonderful house. By George we knew what that was and what it meant. Whooppee!!! Norman hollered "We got us a TV, We shore nuff got one didn't we Sister?" "Yep I think we did Norman, come on lets hurry".
When we got in the house there stood Daddy and Mamma and of course Granny. They were just beaming. They were so proud that they could provide us with something that we desired so much but never aggravated them about. Daddy said once that was the reason he enjoyed so much being able to give us stuff. We took what we got and never complained because we couldn't have more.
We had been used to running out of anything to do, at least in the winter, at 8 or 8:30 and going to bed. That night we got to sit up till nine o'clock. What a treat. We got two channels and there was not always anything on either channel. I mean literally nothing just that pattern that they put up. I have sat and stared at that a long time thinking that any minute something would come on the screen. Mamma liked Ed Sullivan I think it was and Daddy liked Red Skelton. The whole station went off the air at 10:00 then. News was broadcast and that was it. The screen was not big like I have now, neither was it color but That was the most precious TV I ever saw. It was worth so much more than what it cost. We got so much enjoyment from it. The whole family together watching one thing on one TV.
As I look back I am wondering just how much My Parents had to sacrifice to give us that TV. I know it had to of been very hard for them to pay for. But pay for it they did. Daddy said "Kids always be honest and Pay your bills, If you have a job, JOB IT, and never try to cheat anyone or steal from them". Thank You Mamma and Daddy, I've always tried to live the way I saw you live and the way you taught me. I know Norman has too. I know you were and are Proud of us. Well we were and are proud of you too!!!!!!!