My girlish figure and smooth face.

Kookoo bars, cheap gas, drive-in movies (all gone here), manufacturing in north america!

...Made Canada
...Made in the U.S.A.

not China, Taiwan, Phillipines, Japan....

like cotton! Good 'ol cotton!

I would like to see a return of society's ability to be entertained without so much violence, dazzling camera work, special effects, gore, horror, and over-saturation of action and noise. Remember TV shows like "I Remember Mama," "Little House on the Prairie," "The Waltons," and "Bonanza?" They were huge hits in their time. Can you imagine then even being accepted by the networks today?

I wouldn't mind the $3,000 brand new car coming back.

Oh, and ditto Kathy!

Security of our country/homes. Like when we could play outside all day/evening, until the street lights came on. Rollerskate to the park (way on the other side of town-8 blocks) to the tennis court. It was the smoothest place to skate. Skates with the key, that clamped onto your saddle shoes. Saddle shoes worked the best because they had a 1/2 sole on them and something for the clamp to clamp on to.
Leslie

The days when my kids were young and at home....I miss those days...they were the best.

The days passed too quickly from those days to being a senior citizen...what happened to the days inbetween?

patti

I agree Patti, I too miss those days when the kids were at home, it all went far too quickly.

Some morality would be nice.

I wish politeness would come back i.e people wouldn't slam doors in your face.
I wish the only people who had children were adults who knew how to care for them.
I wish there were more good family type shows on tv. Vique

Old fashinoed candy stores, where you could buy penny candy, ice cream, etc. My favorite was two blocks away. They had a sign on the door, advertising for Kool cigarettes. "Come in, it's Kool inside." It was air conditioned, delicious. I'd buy one popsicle for five cents and split it with my best friend Andrea.

People respecting one another and folks standing up and taking responsibility for their own actions.

Real ice cream soda fountains like in the 50's. I use to get really good banana splits and homemade hot fudge Sundays. The ones you buy at the chain ice cream places don't taste the same.
Clare

Made in North America. (US and Canada)
Dress code for service personnel in stores, restaurants etc.
Meritocracy
Patriotism
Parents who actually parent
The concept of shame being a good thing (this self-esteem crap is a horrendous failure)
Cops on the beats instead of on their seats
Real denim for jeans instead of that lightweight stuff they use today

On a lighter note:
Old fashioned soda fountains
Old fashioned delis
More mom and pop businesses
All night diners,drive-in and donut shops that aren't chains
Real bakeries that bake on site
Truck stops
Roller skating (not roller blading)

This is major so be ready....better prizes in Cracker Jacks.

Movies that didn't have swear words in every sentence.
My husband would probably say a garden without horsetails (a weed, in case you don't have them). Their roots grow sideways underground and down to China. Pat

The first thing I thought of was the original Cracker Jack prizes.
Also old-fashioned morality, chores & responsibilities for kids and "Made in America" items.

$3.00 gas sounds pretty good right about now, doesn't it?
:-)

Being able to say the Pledge of Allegiance with out having people take offence to ONE NATION UNDER GOD! AND when people that came here had enough respect for this country to learn the language of their new land.

ALL of the above and especially being able to say the Pledge of Allegiance as Lisa suggested....
Where did those good old days go?

The sounds and sight of kids playing outside after dinner instead of them being glued to video games and ipods.

A common day of rest for everyone to enjoy with their families. Somewhere other than the "Mall"

Neighbours who know and watch out for each other.

Clean lakes and beaches to enjoy.

Wax Lips!!!! and Licorice Plugs!!!!

Ditto Lisa...and for people to stop being so politically correct and offensive over the slightest things.

The Helm's man in his donut truck! We lived on a corner and he would give me a ride to the next corner and always gave me a donut to eat while I walked back home.

Being able to play outside safely late at night.

Being able to enjoy food without the fear if it causing cancer or other health problems.

I miss the good old days!

People taking responsibility for their actions.

Saturday prize drawings at the Kroger Store.

Ice cream cones at 5 cents per dip.

20 cent comic books.

Saturday matinee at the movies.

A drug store with a soda counter.

Small towns with a viable business district. (These have all died. or are dying in the farm country.)

An auto repair shop where the head mechanic did everything from engine rebuild to rewiring headlamps, and head gaskets cost $5 each.

Band concerts in the park in the summer. (This is how the music teacher kept his students in practice during the summer months, and was the encourgement for several students to try their hand at forming their own bands.)

Gasoline at 22 cents per gallon including taxes. Kerosene was 15 cents/gal.

Group swims in the pool of a neighboring town.

Drive-in movies.

Taking the scenic route home.

A new bicycle at $45.

Automobiles cost approximately $1 per pound.

Home made birthday cakes with ice-cream and fruit.

Corn bread and beans.

Cobblers of all kinds.

Eating an apple or peach a moment after picking it fron the tree.

Stopping at a Dairy Queen on a hot afternoon.

When "drugs" were something you bought at the drug store.

Watching apple cider being made at the local orchard.

City ice plants.

Coca Cola in glass bottles with the name of the town cast into the bottom of the bottle were the bottle was first used. Making a game of seeing how many different town names you could find. Pulling bottles at random from a case and making a bet on who got the bottle with the most distant town.

When "hayseed" referred to timothy, red-top, or sudan grass seed and not a hick.

When people knew what a "single tree" and "double tree" was.

When kids mowed lawns for 50 cents - with a push mower.

Common wall coverings in homes was wall paper.

Pitcher pump at the kitchen sink that was connected to a cistern.

Monday clothes wash day.

A clothes dryer was a line out back.

Gingham and polka-dot dresses.

Pleated, full skirts.

Bobby socks and sneakers.

Highschool wool letter sweaters.

Autograph books.

Fountain pen.

Oil bath air cleaners on cars.

Road draft tubes (on car engines).

Pressure switch for brake lights.

6 volt automotive systems.

Generators (not alternators).

Home light plants. (Fairbanks - Morse was a common brand.)

Windmills to pump water.

Zenith Wind Charger (for the radio).

Vacuum tube radios.

Philco parlor radio as large as a juke box.

Juke boxes.

Battery powered radios.

78 rpm records.

Windup Victrola.

Needles for record players.

Greyhound buses running through every town on a US highway.

No interstate highways. Route 66 was the biggie.

Steam locomotives (and steam whistles).

Threshing machines and crews.

Hay binder.

Model-A Fords.

Nash, 6 cylinder with dual ignition (2 spark plugs per cylinder).

Fordson Tractors - start on gasoline, then switch to kerosene.

Kerosene lamps.

Aladain lamps with mantles (pressurized naptha AKA coleman fuel).

Naptha fueled clothes irons.

Blow torches.

Fire starter (corn cobs soaked in kerosene).

Outdated Sears & Roebuck catalogs (toilet paper).

Party line phones with battery boxs and hand cranked ringer.

Glass insulators for telephone lines.

Summer drinks were kool-aid and real lemonaide.

Saturday morning cartoons

Red cabooses at the end of trains

Oh yes, Nickel:

Saturday morning cartoons! I loved them.

I also miss the sound of children OUTSIDE, playing in the streets. When I was a kid (70s) we took off everywhere. We took the bus to the mall, in another city!

Jemdandy - there is a steam train that comes through here now and again. When I hear it, I run outside and listen. It's heaven!

Sheryl