Jitney dancing! What was that?

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I was at the doctor’s office last week when a friend of mine came in. She sat down and started talking. She said I have never mentioned jitney dancing in my column. Jitney dancing? I told her I had never heard of it. She explained that around Fort Loramie (I forgot where), they would put down a wooden floor, rope it off and then you would pay a nickel for each dance. Sounds like a great time to me!

Again it brought me back to olden days. Did you ever have a kaleidoscope, or a Magic 8 ball? I thought the kaleidoscope was the neatest thing. I was fascinated with how it worked. Of course the Magic 8 ball had all the answers.

Remember all the old TV and radio shows that did not have vulgar language, nudity and suggestive situations? Shows like “I Love Lucy,” “I Remember Mamma,” “Mr. Ed” and “Life of Riley.”

I always wanted to live in Mayberry and hoped that the Cleaver family would move into our neighborhood.

I never realized how hard my parents worked to keep our household going. I tried to help by fixing dinner. Talk about lumpy gravy! Since both of them worked, they took Sunday afternoon naps. I was so bored. We were lucky to have a small TV and we only got Channels 2 and 7. Now I get it! Naps are good and not just on Sunday afternoon.

On Saturdays, my mother heated up pot pies. They came in little aluminum pans. I could eat the beef, but I could not get the tuna pot pie down. My mother made vegetable soup, which I would not eat. She said I could not get up until I ate my vegetable soup because kids in some country were starving. Guess who won that battle? I now love vegetable soup.

Did you ever ruin things you really wanted? I got a new pair of pedal pushers to go on a class trip to Ohio Caverns. Went down the slide the first time and landed on my knees, which, of course, tore my pedal pushers. I got a poodle skirt for Christmas and went outside in the snow to get something from the car and, of course, the snow spotted my skirt. Mom was not happy! It just seems that I was a klutz in my formative years. Not much has changed!

Remember in this heat, the Senior Center is cool. Stop down for a tour, and I think you will be amazed at what we offer. I bet you will see some old friends, and I know you will make new friends.

By Eileen Wiseman

Senior Moments

The writer is the executive director of the Senior Center of Sidney and Shelby County.

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