And to my great-uncle, Al, who is still going strong as well–Happy Veteran’s Day!
Category: Culture
Gratitude To All Who Served, Part I
And to my 93-year-old grandfather, Happy Veteran’s Day!
Like Dig What’s New
For people of my generation, Bob Denver will forever be Gilligan, the Skipper’s “Little Buddy.” But to my parents’ generation, Bob Denver remains Maynard G. Krebs from The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (also known as simply Dobie Gillis ), a sitcom that aired from 1959 to 1963. Maynard was TV’s first beatnik and jive-talking bongo player, and wannabe hepcats thought he was cool. Even Montgomery Ward took notice and offered trim tapered cotton ivy shirts for those in the know.
In case you missed it, here’s a close-up:
So it wasn’t Moon Zappa or Valley Girls who coined “like” after all. Mainstream American catalogs were doing it way back in 1962. They even used Maynard’s bongo-playing likeness to sell their combed cotton eversheen coats.
Facial hair? What the what? And check out these bobble heads. I wonder what they’d be worth today, American Pickers? Antiques Road Show? Pawn Stars? Anyone?
In case you’ve never seen Maynard in action, here’s a clip of him, showing his classmates the first portable music player, so he can listen to smooth jazz.
Ain’t it a gasser?
No Hat Rack For The Regulars
This was too good not to share–a drugstore in Leakey, Texas in 1973.
Thick, Thirsty Terrycloth
You all know my beef with wearing pajamas in public: NOT ACCEPTABLE. Not to the mailbox, not to walk your kids to the bus stop, not even to put your trash out on trash day. No, sir, we don’t do that. And that goes for slippers, too.
Not in the ghetto, not in the store, not in the driveway, do it no more.
Seriously, big fella? Did you think we wouldn’t notice?
And just because you are at Wal-Mart does not give a grown-ass woman free reign to wear onesies, especially with a faux designer bag.
Footsies! Really?
The only way this would EVER be acceptable is if you ran out of your burning house in the middle of the night, and ran straight to Wal-Mart to purchase bonafide normal clothes, appropriate for all to see, and you had the PRESENCE OF MIND to change into said new clothes in their rank restrooms before actually exiting the building.
The only other alternative I can see is to time travel back to 1962 and purchase any sleepwear from Montgomery Ward because I have thumbed through that ’62 Fall & Winter catalogue, and let me tell you–the pj’s are nicer than today’s styles.
Yes, these were sold as pajamas–cotton flannelettes, to be exact. Why, look at how gay and merry these ladies look! One’s got a telescope. That’s science!
And don’t be fooled into thinking you can’t look hip and trendy in these modest choices. These were made for sleeping, not twerking, but there’s nothing “square” about a shift gown. It says so right in the ad!
Before viewing this ad, I didn’t even realize I NEEDED a bonnet to accessorize my sleepwear. See how it helps her with those fancy yoga moves?
And let’s don’t forget the fellas. Why wear a wifebeater and pajama bottoms with the name of the university that you only attended for one semester twenty years ago when you could wear this?
Go ahead; bring your pipe. What’s not to love with so many colors and prints? This guy is right on time.
And hey, so what if you’ve packed on some pounds after turning 40? Hide that flabby belly underneath one of these swank terry robes, also in TALL and STOUT. That means 170 lbs in 1962.
And let’s not forget the kids. These pajama sets are publicly presentable.
Makes me want to take a trip to Dream Town myself! Those ski pajamas could go from bed to elementary school in no time. Why change at all when it’s so fashion forward? But leave the sleepers at home, kids. Those plastic soles won’t cut it on today’s asphalt parking lots.
Seriously, don’t Betty, Tommy, Sarah, and Mike look smart? Nothing outdated about these Easter eggshell pastels. I suddenly want to eat some Jordan Almonds. Hey, let’s get in the station wagon and get some at Wal-mart. But first, let me make sure I’ve got my 1962 pajama set on. I don’t want to look like I’ve given up on every dream I ever had or lost every last shred of dignity.
Inside Yank, Part II
Yank addressed the realities of the American soldier in his own words, from discharge to depression, all in one panel.
This issue summed up the progress made in the war over the past year, without mincing words (B-29s pounded hell out of the Jap mainland).
The common bond of a shared experience gave comfort to men who had been to hell and back. Humor was often the best salve.
Here a British soldier conveys the perception of American soldiers as lousy lovers:
Grand company indeed.
Interesting words from FDR, who had passed only eight months prior to this publication. 
Inside Yank, Part I
I’ve been going through some of Granddad’s WWII items, and I stumbled upon this Yank magazine, dated Dec 28, 1945. Christmas was upon the nation, and the war was over.
But even though the war was over, many American soldiers had yet to return home.
It is fascinating to read how the servicemen felt about what should be done with the secret of the atomic bomb.
As you might guess, the centerfold included these lovely ladies:
Apparently, the servicemen were feeling a little frisky once they landed on familiar soil.
And there are some (understandably so) not quite politically correct cartoons…
Stay tuned for Part II for another inside glimpse into Yank, the army weekly.
Fish Oysters Budweiser Coca-Cola
Yet another great shot from https://www.facebook.com/TracesofTexas today, taken by Russell Lee.
We’re Not Loading Up Our Woody Because Our Woody Is Ugly
The June 2013 Men’s Journal included this picture of “Enduring Icons,” cars which have basically retained their shape and/or style. That’s nice, but:
- Are these the only three examples that exist within the expanse of hideous styleless rectangles uglifying our neighbor’s driveways and our nation’s highways as we speak?
- The older models still look better.
- Fix it please. I will gladly pay good money to drive a vehicle that does not look like NOW. 2013 will never go down in the annals as the heyday of automobiles.
- P.S. this pic was stuck at the end of a Range Rover review for times when you “need to ford three feet of water while getting a massage from your 20-way power seats.” What I wouldn’t give to just BEHOLD three feet of water in this arid desert called Texas.
- P.P.S. The Range Rover starts at $83,500, which will buy you a HOUSE on the east side in this neck of the woods.
And speaking of woodies…
Uncle and Nephew 1944
Couldn’t You Just Eat Them Up?
Monkey Business In WWII Borneo
Today’s pics are from Labuan, Borneo in the summer of 1945. Note the monkeys, black squirrel, and even a pineapple.
I Don't Get It 