TOOLS I Have A Question

MEXICOWANDERER wrote:
Klein Tools are alive and thriving.

The parents purchased a Sears color TV fifty six years ago. We had a channel master antenna rotator with amplifier.

PORTA WALLS fake white sidewalls were the rage for kid's cars. So were Appleton (fake) spotlights, and Lakes Pipes, side exhaust. JC Whitney became huge in young lives. Ford flathead V8 engines had a water pump on each side the the engine. Turn on the radio and listen for the Vibrator before the radio became alive. Do you remember the tire sizes? 6:70-15 7:10-15 7:60-15 and 8:20-15. When the new Lincolns, demanded 9:50-14 tires, speedometers read high, fenderwells became scraped in an effort to use the "cool" new size.

RVs were a wonder. No more sleeping on rocky ground. No more waking up in a soaked sleeping bag. Tent? Oh jesus no. A center pole tent weighed 30 pounds and did nothing for the rocky earth under the canvas.

Sink? You bet! Grab that knob and start pumping. No more coleman stove generator problems. A jug of gas and a 3-burner stove was paradise. Sleeping across a rearranged dinette set wasn't. The ice box never worked well so it was packed with extra groceries.

And it was all affordable. NFS campgrounds were free. Yosemite cost $4.00. In 1954 cabins at Weber Lake CA cost .50 night. Dad tried to teach us boys how to fish where there were no fish. Had to learn on my own later. Mitchell 300 open face reels.

There was one thing VERY PRESENT back then that is utterly missing today. A sense of unlimited opportunity. A lot of this had to do with population density. I saw the census of the USA at fifty two million. Now California alone is not far from that figure.

Later on it was Vibra Sonic. Open the trunk, turn the radio way up and twang the resistor with a flick of the fingers, instant War of The World's II sound effects.

And don't be so dang cocky about medical. I joke with my doctors about "The 7-minute Appointment" Unfaxed prescriptions. Waiting with fifteen pregnant youngsters none of whom speak English. This is in the US.

Then and now is a giant trade off. Then there were no wobble-impact-sockets nor impact guns. You had better know how to sharpen drills.

Flashlights and batteries were truly sad. My dad imposed a near-death-penalty on us boys if we so much as touched his navy gray flashlight. The one with the 90 degree elbow at the end.

Going way back, a 2x4, one fruit crate, and roller skates provided endless fun.

But unlike today, electrical products were tested before they were boxed up. Want decent car stuff? Go to Sears, or Montgomery Ward for Power Kraft tools.

David .... IMHO, the above has to be your finest non-academic dissertation. Way to go!

Again IMHO, here's the signature words from what you said above: [COLOR=]"There was one thing VERY PRESENT back then that is utterly missing today. A sense of unlimited opportunity. A lot of this had to do with population density. I saw the census of the USA at fifty two million. Now California alone is not far from that figure."

Right ON ... the world has too many people in it ... and too much social media for all us people is contributing, too. Those are the engines driving a whole bunch of stuff downward everywhere - not considering another topic we're not allowed to talk about here.