Page 58 - 2019octnov

My 1950S Autograph Book

by Susan J. Decuir
hen you get old and out of shape, remember
girdles are only $2.98. Ha ha. Ha ha.” This is her now living in Oregon and me
“Wjust one silly sample from my 1950s childhood still in Texas, Facebook keeps us up-to-date as well. Living
autograph book, recently retrieved from the depths of a dusty from one century to another, we have seen some amazing
bottom dresser drawer—buried beneath a bevy of childhood changes in the world of technology.
memorabilia: my jewelry box, diary, a treasure box of foreign
coins, a jar of gypsum from the sand dunes in White Sands, But, when I saw a graduation autograph dog in a dollar store,
New Mexico from a family vacation, and…well, you know. I just had to buy one for my granddaughter, Emma, graduating
Stuff. from the fifth grade, so she could experience some of the
joy I had in the days before technology changed the way we
I clearly remember how much fun my school and neighborhood correspond.
girlfriends and I had signing each other’s autograph books
and/or autograph dogs (popular in the 50s) competing to Curious, I did a Google search on 50’s autograph books. I
come up with the funniest, cleverest, or craziest jingle, such was flabbergasted to find a brand new one just like mine. If
as: ”I’m yours until Niagara Falls”; “U R 2 Good 2 B True”; can spare $89.95, you can purchase one of your own. I am
“I saw you in the ocean, I saw you in the sea ~~~~~~~~~~~I confident that is a lot more than Mom and Dad paid for mine.
saw you in the bathtub. Oops! Pardon me”; “Roses are red, Remember, “If in heaven we don’t meet, hand-in-hand we
leaves are green, you got a shape like a washing machine”; will stand the heat, but if it gets extremely hot, Pepsi Cola©
“When you get married and have twins, don’t come to me for hits the spot.” It is my prayer that we all choose God’s way
and go to heaven.
“I like sugar, you like tea, so have some coffee with me.”
“Yours until the Greyhound buses have puppies.”

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safety pins,” and “Don’t fall from a mountain, don’t fall from Living, Memory Care &
a tree, the best way to fall is to fall in love.” Residential Care Homes in
I guess you could call it the social media of the times. Yet, Dallas/Fort Worth.
what we wrote was always done in innocent fun, never
intended to offend or to be mean.
Bonnie, my best friend in seventh and eighth grade (1958 Call Lori Williams at
and 1959), the only school friend I’ve kept in touch with
throughout the decades, signed my autograph book with this 214.783.1222 to
beautiful poetic message: “When the golden sun is setting and find the right home for
your heart with care is free, when of others you are thinking,
will you sometimes think of me.” Bonnie went on to become you or your loved one.
an English teacher. Can you tell? loriwilliams-seniorservices.com
Bonnie and I exchange Christmas cards every year. And with

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