Northport Memories of Yesteryear: The Big Picture

If a picture is worth a thousand words, there are at least that many in this one.  The two Northport chaps in this 1964 photo are myself on the left and my friend, Charlie on the right when we were in our late teens at a basement party somewhere in the middle of Long Island. Let's examine the details in this retro-freeze.

The clothes:  One might question why we would be attired in sports jackets, dress-shirts, and ties to attend a basement party. In those days, it was considered appropriate to "look sharp," a phrase that today might seem like an oxymoron considering the jacket that Charlie was wearing. This actually was the "rock star look" and Charlie was emulating the likes of Elvis Presley. The thinness of the ties may suggest to the reader that times were austere and fabric in short supply, but that's how clothes were actually designed. We proudly "dressed for success" in  hopes of attracting the opposite sex. What can't be seen in the picture are the "pointy" shoes. 

The hair:  This detail cannot be ignored. Back in the day, the "hair tonic" of choice was Vaseline which we applied by gobbing our combs into the jar and slathering it in liberally, a daily regimen which helped ensure "cool." The sides were combed back in a hair pattern that met at the back of the head in a regulation "ducks tail" or D/A, as it was commonly called.  The old fashioned front-of-head pompadour was modified into a tumble-home "spit curl", the signature hairstyle made popular by early rocker Bill Haley who is considered by many to have been the architect of Rock & Roll.  Good grooming of course was underscored by the importance of good hygiene, a code that required we wash our hair at least twice annually. Looking back, I can remember how slippery my pillow case got and wonder how my mother put up with all of my "cool." 

The booze: On the table and in our disposable cups is the "hard stuff." At age 18, it was important to be a connoisseur of fine spirits in order to display our worldliness. At that time, I would have elected for a Scotch-based cocktail. I didn't like the taste of it then and I still don't, but drinking Scotch made a statement. I don't remember how much of it we typically drank in those days, but it was too  much. After we partook in our fill of libation, we got in our cars and escorted our dates to who-knows-where. DUI had not yet been invented and authorities were still trying to figure out if there was a connection between auto accidents and drinking. 

The asbestos insulated plumbing pipes: Visible at the top of the picture, the white asbestos-insulated plumbing pipes that run along the bottom of the floor joists are noted. Pipe-wrap like this was in common use back then but this dangerous material is no longer in residential use. Usually when found, removal by a licensed qualified specialist is the protocol since inhalation of airborne particles from this type of application has been proved to cause cancer. Speaking of inhaling, we ingested a huge amount of tobacco smoke back then, at least 20 cigarettes a day or more. Between a history of asbestos exposure and cigarette smoking, the contemplation of each annual "routine physical" now conjures up about the same amount of trepidation as anticipating a root canal.

The year was 1964: Lyndon Johnson was President of the United States and we would soon be pressed into service in the armed forces. In a very short time, we would "loose all of our cool" and  would be wearing the threads of the United
States Navy. In only fifteen seconds, we would loose all of our hair at the boot camp barber shop. Some of us would fall to the booze, some to asbestos and some would triumph beyond the wildest imagination. We as a generation would face many more perils in life as it unfolded and challenge the yet unchallenged. It was time to move on--it was time to embrace the "big picture."