Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler I'm so Old, I remember when...

I remember when everyone smoked and drank. . .when my favorite brand of cigarettes (Rothman's) cost 33 cents (southern Ontario) and gas cost about the same per gallon.

. .when I stood outside in the snow one night looking into the window of the local radio/electric store to watch TV broadcasting go on the air for the first time in southern Ontario--it was black & white, CFPL-TV, in London, Ontario, around 1953 or 54. A decade later I worked there on audio control for a time, and the video recorder was an enormous Ampex vacuum-tube unit in a dedicated room with its own Air-conditioning cooling system, black and white, of course.

I remember watching Jack Paar, the host of the Tonight Show, whom I thought was the most urbane funny guy and far better than Johnny Carson, who came later, or any of the current late-night hosts, except Bill Maher.

Jack Paar's show was only watchable a couple nights a week, if that, because it was fringe reception from a TV station in Detroit. My dad refused to put up a big tower with a yagi antenna and rotator. He felt it would demean the appearance of the house (big, old Victorian).

Great thread!

Regards,

Alan