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Some areas of heavy traffic congestion could slow the commute.

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Pearl Harbor Day: Sam Greenberg recalls his service

<p>I&#8217;ve decided to take a little trip this Christmas season.</p><p>Just for a change I&#8217;m going to pay a visit to the 1950s. Instead of handing out cash or gift cards, I think I&#8217;ll buy and wrap up some genuine gifts, the kind of things the folks back then ooohed and aaahed over as they snapped them up from under the tree and tore off the colorful paper and ribbons.</p><p>Hey, let&#8217;s go shopping.</p><p>For the youngster who&#8217;ll soon be heading back to college, here&#8217;s something that will surely be a hit. It&#8217;s the very latest in communications technology &#8211; a typewriter. Yes, you&#8217;ll be the envy of your dorm when you stride in lugging it in its very own carrying case with a leather handle.</p><p>With tuition at your school having hit a whopping $400 a year, you&#8217;ll surely appreciate the economic boost this new machine represents. I&#8217;ve even thrown in an extra ribbon and a little packet of brushes to clean the keys after they&#8217;ve gotten clogged up with ink.</p><p>Grandfather, you don&#8217;t get out of the house much these days, but you&#8217;ll cheer when you open up my package and find a nice new union suit. Yes, nothing beats the warm and toasty feeling of a thick layer of cotton on your backside as &#8230;</p><p>Wait, for those who&#8217;ve never heard the expression, a union suit is a one-piece set of long underwear. Enjoy, granddad.</p><p>Little Susie, don&#8217;t think I&#8217;ve forgotten you amid the shower of sparkly presents. Take a gander at this. It&#8217;s a pile of cut-out books. Yes, you and your third-grade buddies will spend hours and hours with pairs of scissors, cutting out the paper figurines and the clothing with tiny paper tabs to attach it to the figurines.</p><p>Why you can send your heroine to the ball in her flowing gown or to the tennis court in her white skirt and blouse. Don&#8217;t forget to dress up her beau in his college sweater. My, what a lovely couple they make.</p><p>Some gifts, of course, are just too big to wrap. That&#8217;s why little Joey is already sailing around the house in his bright red coaster wagon. Whoops &#8211; watch it, young fellow. Don&#8217;t run over the cat. We&#8217;ll need him later when Mom opens her present and sees a camera with a big flash on top.</p><p>Got to get that group picture that every family takes today and puts on the mantelpiece. So I&#8217;ve included a packet of flashbulbs. Hope none of them are duds. I understand the neighbors bought one of those new doohickeys that pumps out the picture as soon as you&#8217;ve taken it. &#8220;Polaroid,&#8221; I think they&#8217;re called.</p><p>Wait, hold up, I almost forgot Dad. Here you are, my good man. It&#8217;s a carton of your favorite cigarettes, all done up in Christmassy style. Enjoy &#8216;em as you sit in your armchair listening to &#8220;Dragnet&#8221; on the big radio over there. The show&#8217;s on TV, I understand, but I&#8217;ve seen a set or two and, believe me, the picture&#8217;s so bad you&#8217;re better off with the radio.</p><p>Ooops! Time for me to head back home. Merry Christmas, everyone.</p><p>Try not to snicker too much at those folks I&#8217;ve just visited. Our prized electronic gizmos and games and flat-screen TVs and endless plastic gift cards will look just as quaint in a few decades. Beyond that, if there&#8217;s a moral to the story all I can say is &#8220;ho ho ho.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Remember When </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_TOM_MOONEY.jpg</photo0><caption0>Remember When </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Tom Mooney</p><p>Remember When</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Tom Mooney is a Times Leader history columnist. Reach him at tmooney2@ptd.net.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Remember When: The gifts of Christmas past