“Bummer” was common slang when I was a teen—a simple, short word that referred to something we didn’t like.

A girl turning down your request to go to a movie was a bummer. So was her accepting—and then wanting more at the snack bar than you had money to buy.

Being short on cash for Milk Duds is always a bummer.

Like many of our slang terms, the meaning of “bummer” as it was used a half-century ago bears little resemblance to its ...

My friend runs a precious metals shop, selling mostly gold and silver. I was there to discuss those very things when a pocket watch caught my eye. An Elgin.

My buddy sells a few watches, mostly Rolex. That’s what made the Elgin stand out.

“Never seen a pocket watch in your store,” I told him.

“It’s just for looks,” he said. “I bought them to scrap for the gold.”

I was taken aback. My father collected pocket watches, and I inherited them when he ...

There are many once-common aspects of the telephone that are now gone.

How many phones people had, etiquette for using one, how phones worked, the existence of telephone company operators, and phone service features.

Growing up in Ashdown, Arkansas, those I knew who had a phone usually just had one. People of means had an extension. Usually in the master bedroom.

Many families didn’t have a phone at all. A telephone was relatively expensive and monopolized by Ma Bell, who charged what she ...

One of the necessities of my youth is now one of your best bets to prevent vehicle theft: a stick shift.

I watch a lot of YouTube, and particularly a lot of videos of police chases and crime being foiled.

It would seem that today’s youth can easily be stopped from stealing your vehicle or carjacking you if your truck or car has a standard transmission.

There are several videos online of kids trying to commit grand theft auto. They hop in all ...

In some cultures, people wash the feet of guests who arrive at their home. At my parents’ house, I didn’t wash the feet of guests, but I did offer to shine their shoes.

And a surprising number of guests accepted.

When I was in Cub Scouts, we were able to select projects that, when completed, went toward credit for badges. Badges are how you advance in Scouts.

At some point, my dad found an old shoeshine kit, bought it, and gave it to ...

Online shopping has turned us into couch potatoes who buy more than we ever used to. Adding items to an imaginary cart and clicking, “Buy Now,” has sent us further into debt and taken the fun out of the shopping experience.

Before Amazon, there was Wal Mart, and before that there was Sears and lots of other chain stores. Many of which started as a catalog.

Catalogs used to be the way we shopped. It still is if you think about it. ...

Folks aren’t counting on each other like we were 50 years ago. Technology is the wedge that’s come between us.

Our parents didn’t worry about us much when we left the house. Everyone felt that if their kid got into a bind, someone would lend a hand.

And for the most part, that was true. I can remember deciding to go visit my aunt and uncle in the Dallas area. I told my mom my plans, threw a map in the glove ...

The difference in a collector and a pack rat is whether you’re rich or poor.

Those with money are considered refined and having taste. Poor people are pack rats.

I’m a pack rat. A proud one. But to clarify, I’m a neat and orderly pack rat. Just don’t ask my wife if she agrees with that statement.

There are family members who keep heirlooms and those who don’t. Most don’t. That’s why whenever someone says, “Whatever happened to dad’s (insert your family heirloom ...

For those of us who once made our living working on the radio, one of the main competitors we had for advertising dollars was the phone book. Specifically, the Yellow Pages.

If you aren’t familiar with phone books, they were issued annually to folks who had a landline phone and included almost everyone’s name, address, and phone number. The Yellow Pages were in the back and were (as the name implies) yellow. If you wanted your business to appear there, you ...

Bruce Willis ad libbed a line in Die Hard that struck a chord with me.

No, not the “Yipee Ki-Yay,” line. I think that was actually in the script.

It was the, “Come out to the coast. We’ll get together. Have some laughs,” quote. Willis made that line up. It seems to be the personification of me trying to take vacations.

Traveling has always been one big calamity for me. Even when I was a kid.

For six months prior to when my parents ...