Totally Irrelevant

Granted this is not a good image, but after a few Google pages I gave up trying to find a better one. TV's and radios used to have vacuum tubes. Since I'm not into electronics I'll not try to explain them - what I do know is that I used to be fascinated by the tubes - especially when the rear panel of the TV was off and I could see them lighting up. Sure beats watching solid circuitry. I used to play with burned out tubes - pretended they were spaceships - hey, what can I say - imagination. 

Drug stores used to have tube testers - they were standard fare - and folks used to bring their tubes to the drug store to use the tube tester - you can tell we were living on the edge back in the 50's.

Now you may be wondering about why I'd write about tube testers. The fact is that I think about them from time to time and this may be the best way to get them out of my head. Now you may be wondering why I think about tube testers from time to time. Probably because I like to think back to my early childhood when things were simple and the pages of my book of life didn't have too much written on them yet. My world was pretty much limited to Kensington, MD, and surrounding environs; with the occasional trip to Uncle Caskie's in Virgina.

In those simple days the drug store was one of those places we went on a regular basis, there was Ford's Pharmacy in Kensington, and also Connecticut - Knowles Pharmacy in Kensington. Ford's was next to our pediatrician and also in proximity to our dentist. Either the doctor or the dentist (can't recall which one) used to give gift certificates for ice cream cones at Ford's Pharmacy out - not a bad idea.There is a lot to be said for an ice cream cone in a kid's hand. Actually, there is a lot to be said for an ice cream cone in my hand whatever my age. 

Both drug stores had lunch counters where you could get a small Coke for 5 cents or a large Coke for 10 cents. They were serviced in paper cones that were placed in metal or plastic holders - wonder if there is a photo of those on the Net?

Hey, I found one - the Net is something else. Anyway, you could get a large or a small paper cone in one of these, pretty neat - like I said, 5 cents for small, 10 cents for large - they put ice in the cones in case you're wondering.