Has anyone else ever thought about things they couldn't afford when they were young

[Thtwudbeme]

and went to buy them now only to find out that they are hard to find?

For instance, I always wanted a real Puka shell Hawaiian necklace (think: David Cassidy-- only I am a girl) and now they are so hard to find. I remember them being in surf shops at the beaches when I was a kid- but of course I had no money.

I found one- I am thinking of getting it to wear to the beach next summer; I don't care if it accentuates my lilly white SPF 500 neck and wrinkles.

Also, I loved loved loved those little Subarus with hatchbacks- the ones that switched from FWD to 4WD. I just found one on the internet and it's cherry! 10 grand so that's not happening.

I have a friend that is using ebay to put his old stereo system back together so he can enjoy his vinyl 1970's style.

Anyone else?

[Effete Snob]

1. I was talked out of a purchase I could afford

A friend's father had an Opel GT that he hadn't driven in quite a while, and needed some minor work (window screen, bondo, sandpaper and paint).

He was willing to let it go for pretty cheap.

A friend of one of my siblings who fancied himself an "expert" on cars talked me out of it. He said I'd have no end of problems, the seals are probably all shot, yadda, yadda, yadda. He never actually looked at the car, and I was overly intimidated by his chatter.

In retrospect, though, I've always regretted the decision not to buy that car.

Kinda weird, eh.

It still holds up as a design classic:

?fit=940%2C626

[bucolic_frolic]

2. Nostalgia has its place

If tech can still perform, it's a benefit. But often the tech becomes obsolete. All 3 of my old computers are liquidated. I kept them in pristine condition and fetched about 12-14% of the original price I paid. Sounds terrible, but tech is so much cheaper today, they bought a newer modern laptop!

Cars are a pain to keep. Most people, and even mechanics in America, have little experience driving old, old vehicles. THey need maintenance - all the liquids need changing because they corrode. Then there are parts that wear out. After about 20 years the parts become cheap. By 30 they're scarce and expensive, and the really critical parts that fail often are nowhere to be found.

Very old tech - 40s, 50s, 60s is worth quite a bit, even the parts. Because there are no parts available.

But also a lot of things that were supposed to be scarce and hold value just didn't. Jewelry for example. Unless it involves a famous maker, a pristine large stone, a hard to tool setting, it's worth the value of the components.

So beware the nostalgia wave you wish for.

[Thtwudbeme]

3. :) I don't expect a Puka shell necklace

to hold value. I don't want it for value- I want it for fun

I am not buying the Subie.

[Emile]

4. I always wanted a 1959 Chevrolet Impala convertible. They

are hard to find and when you do find one they're pretty expensive.

This one they want $350,000.00
https://classiccars.com/listings/view/1606713/1959-chevrolet-impala-for-sale-in-ventura-california-93003

[malthaussen]

25. My brother owned one of those... in 1974.

It was cheap, then. I got to drive it a few times.

-- Mal

[Emile]

27. I know back in 1967 I could buy a 55-57 TBird for $2,000. That

was a lot of money back then, especially when I was only making 50 cents an hour at Steak-n-Shake.

[hibbing]

5. Mom wouldn't buy me Adidas Superstars

Now I see them and they aren't as cool as when I was in junior high and they were all the rage!

Peace

[highplainsdem]

6. I don't even want to think about some things I'd once wanted and expected to afford

but then couldn't, when certain things didn't work out.

But you're right that certain things just disappear, so you can't find them many years later even if you're willing to pay a lot more.

What I'd really like, most of all, is a time machine...at least to go back and tell myself to take advantage of certain things I passed up.

And yes, those puka shell necklaces were cool... Including the red ones, which I see you can still find on Etsy. Which is a great site for vintage items.

[Stuart G]

11. How about a ..."Nash Rambler"??...or a (what's it called) Lexus?

..."Time Machine"?? Back to the 50s to see ...3D Movies... Sounds Right??

[highplainsdem]

12. Make it a DeLorean. And I never liked 3D films.

[multigraincracker]

7. For me, it's all just stuff now.

I buy and sell stuff. Don't really want to keep any of it.

[brewens]

8. I love classic Monster movies and always wanted to get the super-8 projector and

my own reels of those films. I have most of them on DVD now. Those were easy to come by and cheap.

[Archae]

15. Recently I bought an 8mm and Super8 digitizer.

Converts the old 8mm and Super8 films to digital, a few of the old films I posted onto my Youtube.

But lately I've been buying a lot of the gadgets I wanted, but couldn't afford years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXamo5dLzOa0mZP9lc0uoSQ

[dameatball]

9. Get the puka. You will love it. I recently went online to a vintage clothing site and bought myself

a pair of madras shorts. i don't know if anyone else thinks they are cool but I do.

[Thtwudbeme]

10. Cool! I bet they look great

Now that you mention it I haven't seen Madras in a long

[highplainsdem]

13. They still sell madras shorts, but they're a hundred dollars or more at sites like

Brooks Brothers. And there's something called patchwork madras these days.

[mnhtnbb]

14. Etsy has lots of puka shell necklaces for women

https://www.etsy.com/search?q=puka%20shell%20necklace%20women&ref=auto-1&as_prefix=puka%20shell

[Thtwudbeme]

18. I love Etsy!

It's funny- but I am old enough to know that sometimes thinking about something is more fun than having it

I am enjoying shopping for it right now- thank you for the great link!

[Archae]

16. I love gadgets.

Been buying a lot of them, gadgets that years back I couldn't afford.

Just bought a Nintendo Switch.

[frogmarch]

17. I wanted two horses.

In the early 1950s when I was 8 years old, my best friend Myrtle Chandler's grandfather, Hayes Chandler, was a local celebrity. It was always a thrill to see him and his horse-pulled wagon full of dead tree branches and the like coming down the street. Kids and adults alike followed the wagon joyously, chatting with Mr. Chandler and giving his horses pats and kisses.

When Myrtle told me her grandfather was going to retire and reluctantly sell his horses, I begged Mom and Dad to buy them. I couldn't understand why, just because we lived in town, we couldn't buy the horses. I had heard my sister once say that Dad made $50 a week at his railroad telegrapher job, and I thought that would be enough.

I seem to recall that townsfolk chipped in and boarded the horses at a farm right outside of town for Mr. Chandler, so he could visit them whenever he wanted to.

[Thtwudbeme]

19. are those photos of Mr. Chandler?

What a great story- you should work that up and write it. Thank you for sharing!

[frogmarch]

20. Yes, they are.

I remember when Mr. Worley, a professional photographer who owned our town's (Alliance, Nebraska) photography studio, asked Hayes Chandler to sit for photos. The first photo is one of them. The other one may have been taken by a photographer from our local newspaper.

Here's a newspaper story about Hayes Chandler:

https://alliancetimes.com/hayes-legacy/

[Thtwudbeme]

21. I love stuff like this- I enjoyed reading all of that

I was a history major in undergrad and as much as I enjoyed learning about "the big stuff" (wars, economic policies, treaties) I love "small history" the best. Stories about just regular folks and their every day lives. I used to transcribe journals for a university archive, and there was something wonderful about holding the journal and reading the thoughts of folks long dead. Rarely was it earth shattering...more along of the lines of "my goodness the snow is really coming down! The kitchen is warm because Momma is baking today....the bread smells wonderful."

Those snippets transport us back in time to what we imagined was a simpler lifestyle. We can make human connections across the decades easily.

I surely enjoyed your posts. You should write more of them.

[frogmarch]

24. Thank you. I enjoy "small history" stories too.

Just for the heck of it, here's Myrtle 'n' me and our classmates in our 4th grade class picture. Myrtle is in the top row, third from the left, and I am right beside her, 4th from the left.

From the look on my face, I think I was still pouting over my parents not buying Hayes Chandler's horses the year before.

[Thtwudbeme]

28. Childhood friends were the BEST

I know you two had fun together- I have gotten in touch with my best friend from back then, and we are both 58 now. Instead of playing outside, wading in creeks and generally enjoying the day- we write about stupid "adult shit."

I wish there were summer camps- real ones- for grownups. With cabins, campfires, s'mores, canoes and no damned internet or cable for a week.

I would go, and wear my puka shell necklace. AND sew my name in my underwear.

[frogmarch]

29. That would be great! :)

Myrtle and I would have a race to see which of us could eat their tube of toothpaste the fastest, like we did at Bluebirds camp one summer.

I am glad you and your childhood friend are in touch now.

[NNadir]

22. Hostess Twinkies.

When I was a child my allowance, such as it was, really didn't allow for me to purchase Twinkies, though I loved them.

Hostess went out of business for a while, and apparently one couldn't get them. I think some company bought the rights to produce them again.

Unfortunately my metabolic state cannot afford Twinkies. Were I to eat one today, I'd probably think they sucked anyway.

[onethatcares]

23. the left shoe

I always got the right one and by the time my brother outgrew the left it didn't fit me.e

Simple pleasures.

My mom used to take us to the grocery store and point at the meat and say, "You can't have that". Now I'm working on vegan menus for my house.

[malthaussen]

26. I'm like that with books.

Certain multi-volume series were beyond my ability to purchase when they were new, so for years I collected them from different venues on the Internet. Unlike the things you mention, though, used books tend not to hold value unless they're rare editions.

-- Mal

[Marthe48]

30. Back then I wanted things I don't want now

It's like you want to say something, but by the time there is a pause in the conversation, what you wanted to say doesn't matter any more.

Glad you might get your puka necklace. I have several pieces of authentic shell jewelry, and 3 Hawaiian leis with kakui nuts and sea shells or satin. Pretty.

[hunter]

31. I ended up with some 35mm cameras I always wanted...

... and got them for practically nothing.

Nope, they didn't make me the photographer I imagined I could be then...

I also have an Amiga computer that was used in a small town television station, again purchased for practically nothing. There's no way I could have justified to myself spending that kind of money on a computer setup when it was new.

I bought a new car instead, probably the only new car I'll ever buy.

[Thtwudbeme]

32. I know what you mean by the cameras

I was pretty convinced I could be a "good photographer" also-

The computer sounds cool too-