Everything’s Relative – December 2012
Way back in the day, winters were colder, summers were hotter, mosquitoes were bigger, and household responsibilities apparently began at an exceedingly tender age—at least to hear Grandma and Grandpa tell it. To reward these readers for dutifully listening to the same hyperbolic tales time and again, we’re sending them our new book Good Old Days, My Ass: 665 Funny History Facts and Terrifying Truths About Yesterday by David A. Fryxell (see our excerpt on page 52 for a sampling of stories).
Child Labor
Gotta Hand it to Him
Karen Lane Shelberg » Jacksonville, Fla.
Bug Off
Judy Fish Albano » Meriden, Conn.
Your story
Best in Show
Colleen Slater » Vaughn, Wash.
Reheating a Cold Case
When I began researching my husband’s family, I found he had a great-aunt who was killed in July of 1940. I wondered why and by whom, and how it turned out in court. I asked a researcher in Memphis, Tenn., where the murder occurred, to check old newspapers. She sent me two articles, but they didn’t reveal what happened.
Brenda Johnson » Mountain Home, Ark.
Saved by the Bell
My husband’s mother’s maiden name is Bell. Family lore says they’re related to Alexander Graham Bell, though I’ve never seen proof. One day my husband answered our phone and the person was selling long distance phone service. My husband said he was related to Alexander Graham Bell and therefore already got a big discount through what was at the time Southwestern Bell. The caller apparently believed him, saying something like “Oh well, I guess you do” and hung up.
Leave a Reply