Friday OT #1 - The Baguettes
- Thread starter Angie
- Start date
When the golf course and clubhouse in my hometown was first being constructed, my dad was approached about investing. He agreed and negotiated a lifetime membership for him and Mom, as well as memberships for all 8 kids until we turned 18.
We never had a lot of money, but that was one of the shrewdest moves I've ever seen. At the time, there was a definite social distinction between farm families and town families. Being able to have our family rub elbows with the upper crust was probably as important to my dad as anything else. So, of course, after the course got established and making money, they tried several times to renege on their deal, but my dad wouldn't budge. I think the board thought they could sorta shame him out of the deal that was promised.
He is on good terms with everyone now and has since donated to help out when the course struggled, but man, the small town drama is real.
Not having to go to a food pantry or Aldi for groceries.
Not having to get clothes/shoes from Goodwill or Walmart.
I will add others as I think of them
Not having to get clothes/shoes from Goodwill or Walmart.
I will add others as I think of them
Nowadays a brand like Nike, for shoes or shorts or tops or whatever, I think is more accessible to more families... plenty of less expensive options that still have that magical swoosh. When I was younger and mainly in middle school, circa 1983-1986, there weren't nearly as many options. My parents worked hard and always made sure we had top-notch shoes for sports, usually the same Nikes as all my buddies. But we were by no means a very monied family, so while some of my friends sported name brand accessories like Nike or New Balance running shorts, tops, jackets, etc., I often wore those with off-brand names like MacGregor. So if I saw anyone in those short-short satiny running shorts with a small swoosh or an "NB" on the front right panel, I figured they were rich.
Nike Air or Reebok Pump shoes.
if you were rocking LA Gear kicks in my school you were not cool.
if you were rocking LA Gear kicks in my school you were not cool.
My list is all over the place.
Elementary school:
- one of those pens with four different ink options
- a baseball glove with a MLB player's signature in it
- a soda making machine
- Atari, Intellivision, Nintendo
- 3-wheelers
- multiple tvs in their house
- cable tv
High School:
- a cd player
- a car that could possibly impress a girl
- more than one pair of jeans (seriously)
- name brand jeans
Elementary school:
- one of those pens with four different ink options
- a baseball glove with a MLB player's signature in it
- a soda making machine
- Atari, Intellivision, Nintendo
- 3-wheelers
- multiple tvs in their house
- cable tv
High School:
- a cd player
- a car that could possibly impress a girl
- more than one pair of jeans (seriously)
- name brand jeans
Somewhat random and not a "thing" per se. But I had some friends who were from more wealthy families and every single one of them had a nice office or living room with nice furniture, art, etc. that you were never allowed to go in to.
My favorite glove ever was a “Kirk Gibson” glove. Still have it. Bet a lot of kids had that in the late 80’s after the ‘88 series.
I grew out of my super cheap one and begged my dad for a nicer glove. I was a big Twins fan, so when I saw one with Harmon Killebrew's name on it, I lobbied for it.
Nope. Too much. I ended with a Steve Carlton glove. Sure he's a hall of famer, but since I was a righty, I took **** from my friends for having a left-handed pitcher's name on my glove.
Kids are dicks.
my dad was a superintendent for a local course which had our memberships included in the deal.
Thanks so much to @cmjh10 for this idea! There was a thing going around social media the past couple of weeks that sparked this idea.
What were things you thought were indicators of wealth as a kid? Stuff reserved for the upper crust?
I assumed this coffee was fancy AF:
Damn, I actually miss those. They had them in little envelope packs which were great on really cold ass Minnesota January days. Alas, not longer made.
This, as a grade school kid in late '50's and early '60's rich people drove Cadillacs.
Cadillac, Cadillac
Long and dark shiny and black
Open up your engines let 'em roar
Tearing up the highway like a big old dinosaur
