Just saw an unusual episode of Jack Benny (on Antenna TV), unusual
because the sets not the stage and his home but were a taxicab and the
LA airport. He's going to NYC for an advertisers convention, which seems
like a charming note of realism.

Two interesting things: His plane is delayed an hour and 20 minutes,
and he wants an earlier plane. Surprisingly IMO, there are two, flight
19 which is 120 dollars and flight 18 which is 20 dollars. Why so
little, Jack asks. Flight 18 is U-fly. So I guess in the 50's
rentacars were called U-drive, at least in California.

To choose seats, they had a floor plan of the plane set up with hooks
for each seat and tags hanging from the hooks, which passengers could
remove in order to pick their seat. I never flew anywhere until 1966,
but even though this is a comedy show, I guess this was how passengers
picked their seats in the 50's.

Does anyone remember stuff like this from those days?



"How do I find my U drive?" "The U: drive has now replaced the C: drive
on the majority of computers connected to the cloud," LOL

But U-Haul is still around.

On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 17:20:30 -0500, micky
wrote:

Just saw an unusual episode of Jack Benny (on Antenna TV), unusual
because the sets not the stage and his home but were a taxicab and the
LA airport. He's going to NYC for an advertisers convention, which seems
like a charming note of realism.
Two interesting things: His plane is delayed an hour and 20 minutes,
and he wants an earlier plane. Surprisingly IMO, there are two, flight
19 which is 120 dollars and flight 18 which is 20 dollars. Why so
little, Jack asks. Flight 18 is U-fly. So I guess in the 50's
rentacars were called U-drive, at least in California.
To choose seats, they had a floor plan of the plane set up with hooks
for each seat and tags hanging from the hooks, which passengers could
remove in order to pick their seat. I never flew anywhere until 1966,
but even though this is a comedy show, I guess this was how passengers
picked their seats in the 50's.
Does anyone remember stuff like this from those days?
"How do I find my U drive?" "The U: drive has now replaced the C: drive
on the majority of computers connected to the cloud," LOL
But U-Haul is still around.


Who was Jack Benny .. ?

John T.

In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 23 Feb 2020 17:43:19 -0500,
wrote:

On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 17:20:30 -0500, micky
wrote:

Just saw an unusual episode of Jack Benny (on Antenna TV), unusual
because the sets not the stage and his home but were a taxicab and the
LA airport. He's going to NYC for an advertisers convention, which seems
like a charming note of realism.
Two interesting things: His plane is delayed an hour and 20 minutes,
and he wants an earlier plane. Surprisingly IMO, there are two, flight
19 which is 120 dollars and flight 18 which is 20 dollars. Why so
little, Jack asks. Flight 18 is U-fly. So I guess in the 50's
rentacars were called U-drive, at least in California.
To choose seats, they had a floor plan of the plane set up with hooks
for each seat and tags hanging from the hooks, which passengers could
remove in order to pick their seat. I never flew anywhere until 1966,
but even though this is a comedy show, I guess this was how passengers
picked their seats in the 50's.
Does anyone remember stuff like this from those days?
"How do I find my U drive?" "The U: drive has now replaced the C: drive
on the majority of computers connected to the cloud," LOL
But U-Haul is still around.


Who was Jack Benny .. ?

John T.

I'm glad to see we have some young people reading Usenet.

On 2/23/20 5:20 PM, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 23 Feb 2020 17:43:19 -0500,
wrote:

On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 17:20:30 -0500, micky
wrote:

Just saw an unusual episode of Jack Benny (on Antenna TV), unusual
because the sets not the stage and his home but were a taxicab and the
LA airport. He's going to NYC for an advertisers convention, which seems
like a charming note of realism.
Two interesting things: His plane is delayed an hour and 20 minutes,
and he wants an earlier plane. Surprisingly IMO, there are two, flight
19 which is 120 dollars and flight 18 which is 20 dollars. Why so
little, Jack asks. Flight 18 is U-fly. So I guess in the 50's
rentacars were called U-drive, at least in California.
To choose seats, they had a floor plan of the plane set up with hooks
for each seat and tags hanging from the hooks, which passengers could
remove in order to pick their seat. I never flew anywhere until 1966,
but even though this is a comedy show, I guess this was how passengers
picked their seats in the 50's.
Does anyone remember stuff like this from those days?
"How do I find my U drive?" "The U: drive has now replaced the C: drive
on the majority of computers connected to the cloud," LOL
But U-Haul is still around.


Who was Jack Benny .. ?

John T.

I'm glad to see we have some young people reading Usenet.

Letzeeee. Jack's last show aired April 4, 1965. (Wikipedia)
That's almost 55 years ago. And yes, I do remember him being on tv
although not the specific shows. Jackie Gleason on the Honeymooners is
also in my memories.

On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 17:20:30 -0500, micky
wrote:

Just saw an unusual episode of Jack Benny (on Antenna TV), unusual
because the sets not the stage and his home but were a taxicab and the
LA airport. He's going to NYC for an advertisers convention, which seems
like a charming note of realism.

Two interesting things: His plane is delayed an hour and 20 minutes,
and he wants an earlier plane. Surprisingly IMO, there are two, flight
19 which is 120 dollars and flight 18 which is 20 dollars. Why so
little, Jack asks. Flight 18 is U-fly. So I guess in the 50's
rentacars were called U-drive, at least in California.

To choose seats, they had a floor plan of the plane set up with hooks
for each seat and tags hanging from the hooks, which passengers could
remove in order to pick their seat. I never flew anywhere until 1966,
but even though this is a comedy show, I guess this was how passengers
picked their seats in the 50's.

Does anyone remember stuff like this from those days?


No it was a joke.
The seats were assigned on picture of the seats behind the counter and
they just checked them off. Computers (electro mechanical) were
already creeping into airline booking, replacing a manual card systems
and such by the early 50s but by 1960 IBM was selling the SABRE
system. (an offshoot of a DoD project). At that point reservations
were all on the computer. By the 80s they had dial up systems for
people with computers and when the internet showed up it was what it
is now.

On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 17:34:53 -0600, Dean Hoffman
wrote:

On 2/23/20 5:20 PM, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 23 Feb 2020 17:43:19 -0500,
wrote:

On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 17:20:30 -0500, micky
wrote:

Just saw an unusual episode of Jack Benny (on Antenna TV), unusual
because the sets not the stage and his home but were a taxicab and the
LA airport. He's going to NYC for an advertisers convention, which seems
like a charming note of realism.
Two interesting things: His plane is delayed an hour and 20 minutes,
and he wants an earlier plane. Surprisingly IMO, there are two, flight
19 which is 120 dollars and flight 18 which is 20 dollars. Why so
little, Jack asks. Flight 18 is U-fly. So I guess in the 50's
rentacars were called U-drive, at least in California.
To choose seats, they had a floor plan of the plane set up with hooks
for each seat and tags hanging from the hooks, which passengers could
remove in order to pick their seat. I never flew anywhere until 1966,
but even though this is a comedy show, I guess this was how passengers
picked their seats in the 50's.
Does anyone remember stuff like this from those days?
"How do I find my U drive?" "The U: drive has now replaced the C: drive
on the majority of computers connected to the cloud," LOL
But U-Haul is still around.


Who was Jack Benny .. ?

John T.

I'm glad to see we have some young people reading Usenet.

Letzeeee. Jack's last show aired April 4, 1965. (Wikipedia)
That's almost 55 years ago. And yes, I do remember him being on tv
although not the specific shows. Jackie Gleason on the Honeymooners is
also in my memories.

He is still on TV on one of the sub channels of a network (MeTV or
AntennaTV I think).
They are also running George and Gracie, Alfred Hitchcock and Highway
Patrol ... 10-4.

On 02/23/2020 04:34 PM, Dean Hoffman wrote:
On 2/23/20 5:20 PM, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 23 Feb 2020 17:43:19 -0500,
wrote:

On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 17:20:30 -0500, micky
wrote:

Just saw an unusual episode of Jack Benny (on Antenna TV), unusual
because the sets not the stage and his home but were a taxicab and the
LA airport. He's going to NYC for an advertisers convention, which
seems
like a charming note of realism.
Two interesting things: His plane is delayed an hour and 20 minutes,
and he wants an earlier plane. Surprisingly IMO, there are two, flight
19 which is 120 dollars and flight 18 which is 20 dollars. Why so
little, Jack asks. Flight 18 is U-fly. So I guess in the 50's
rentacars were called U-drive, at least in California.
To choose seats, they had a floor plan of the plane set up with hooks
for each seat and tags hanging from the hooks, which passengers could
remove in order to pick their seat. I never flew anywhere until 1966,
but even though this is a comedy show, I guess this was how passengers
picked their seats in the 50's.
Does anyone remember stuff like this from those days?
"How do I find my U drive?" "The U: drive has now replaced the C:
drive
on the majority of computers connected to the cloud," LOL
But U-Haul is still around.


Who was Jack Benny .. ?

John T.

I'm glad to see we have some young people reading Usenet.

Letzeeee. Jack's last show aired April 4, 1965. (Wikipedia)
That's almost 55 years ago. And yes, I do remember him being on tv
although not the specific shows. Jackie Gleason on the Honeymooners is
also in my memories.

Let us not forget Uncle Miltie...

In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 23 Feb 2020 19:20:37 -0500,
wrote:

On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 17:20:30 -0500, micky
wrote:

Just saw an unusual episode of Jack Benny (on Antenna TV), unusual
because the sets not the stage and his home but were a taxicab and the
LA airport. He's going to NYC for an advertisers convention, which seems
like a charming note of realism.

Two interesting things: His plane is delayed an hour and 20 minutes,
and he wants an earlier plane. Surprisingly IMO, there are two, flight
19 which is 120 dollars and flight 18 which is 20 dollars. Why so
little, Jack asks. Flight 18 is U-fly. So I guess in the 50's
rentacars were called U-drive, at least in California.

To choose seats, they had a floor plan of the plane set up with hooks
for each seat and tags hanging from the hooks, which passengers could
remove in order to pick their seat. I never flew anywhere until 1966,
but even though this is a comedy show, I guess this was how passengers
picked their seats in the 50's.

Does anyone remember stuff like this from those days?


No it was a joke.

Okay. Thanks for addressing the (implied, for that matter) question.

The seats were assigned on picture of the seats behind the counter and
they just checked them off. Computers (electro mechanical) were
already creeping into airline booking, replacing a manual card systems
and such by the early 50s but by 1960 IBM was selling the SABRE
system. (an offshoot of a DoD project). At that point reservations
were all on the computer. By the 80s they had dial up systems for
people with computers and when the internet showed up it was what it
is now.

With Antenna TV, the credits are 1/3 screen while the next show starts
(to give more time for advertising) so I couldn't see the copyright on
the show, but
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ogram_episodes
implies it was "Preparing for New York Trip" from April 17, 1955.

He was only on once a month at first, and twice a month by 1955.

Ther's another possibility "The Airport" October 6, 1957

Wasn't 4 times a month until fall of 1960.

Some of those early episodes have very interesting names. Maybe someday
I'll see them, (again?).

In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 23 Feb 2020 20:15:42 -0500, micky
wrote:


No it was a joke.

Okay. Thanks for addressing the (implied, for that matter) question.

The seats were assigned on picture of the seats behind the counter and
they just checked them off. Computers (electro mechanical) were

I forgot to say that this sounds more believable. Otherwise people who
didn't even have tickets could take the seats they wanted, just in case
they bought a ticket. Etc.

already creeping into airline booking, replacing a manual card systems
and such by the early 50s but by 1960 IBM was selling the SABRE
system. (an offshoot of a DoD project). At that point reservations
were all on the computer. By the 80s they had dial up systems for
people with computers and when the internet showed up it was what it
is now.

On 02/23/2020 03:20 PM, micky wrote:
To choose seats, they had a floor plan of the plane set up with hooks
for each seat and tags hanging from the hooks, which passengers could
remove in order to pick their seat. I never flew anywhere until 1966,
but even though this is a comedy show, I guess this was how passengers
picked their seats in the 50's.

Does anyone remember stuff like this from those days?


What I do remember is the insurance kiosks in the airports. Many early
air travelers didn't expect a happy ending and wanted to provide for
their families.

This wasn't 'travel insurance' that will reimburse you for
inconveniences and so firth. It was a one shot death and dismemberment
policy sold to anxious flyers. Incidents like this kept the sales brisk;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United...nes_Flight_409

I can't even remember if it was a school or Boy Scouts thing but I do
remember a trip to the airport where we were allowed to board an
aircraft, probably a DC-3 but definitely a tail dragger.

That also was the era when driving over to the frontage road to watch
the planes come and go was a popular activity.

On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 18:08:32 -0700, rbowman
wrote:

On 02/23/2020 04:34 PM, Dean Hoffman wrote:
On 2/23/20 5:20 PM, micky wrote:
In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 23 Feb 2020 17:43:19 -0500,
wrote:

On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 17:20:30 -0500, micky
wrote:

Just saw an unusual episode of Jack Benny (on Antenna TV), unusual
because the sets not the stage and his home but were a taxicab and the
LA airport. He's going to NYC for an advertisers convention, which
seems
like a charming note of realism.
Two interesting things: His plane is delayed an hour and 20 minutes,
and he wants an earlier plane. Surprisingly IMO, there are two, flight
19 which is 120 dollars and flight 18 which is 20 dollars. Why so
little, Jack asks. Flight 18 is U-fly. So I guess in the 50's
rentacars were called U-drive, at least in California.
To choose seats, they had a floor plan of the plane set up with hooks
for each seat and tags hanging from the hooks, which passengers could
remove in order to pick their seat. I never flew anywhere until 1966,
but even though this is a comedy show, I guess this was how passengers
picked their seats in the 50's.
Does anyone remember stuff like this from those days?
"How do I find my U drive?" "The U: drive has now replaced the C:
drive
on the majority of computers connected to the cloud," LOL
But U-Haul is still around.


Who was Jack Benny .. ?

John T.

I'm glad to see we have some young people reading Usenet.

Letzeeee. Jack's last show aired April 4, 1965. (Wikipedia)
That's almost 55 years ago. And yes, I do remember him being on tv
although not the specific shows. Jackie Gleason on the Honeymooners is
also in my memories.

Let us not forget Uncle Miltie...

The original trans star.

On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 20:17:47 -0500, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 23 Feb 2020 20:15:42 -0500, micky
wrote:


No it was a joke.

Okay. Thanks for addressing the (implied, for that matter) question.

The seats were assigned on picture of the seats behind the counter and
they just checked them off. Computers (electro mechanical) were

I forgot to say that this sounds more believable. Otherwise people who
didn't even have tickets could take the seats they wanted, just in case
they bought a ticket. Etc.

I wouldn't bet they even had assigned seats in the 50s, at least in
coach. My first flight was in 1956 but I was only 9 and the details
were fuzzy. I was flying alone (OK City to DC) and actually getting
through ticketing was done by my grandmother. She gave me my ticket, a
kiss on the cheek and sent me down the concourse. I bet that would be
child abuse today. There was really no special program to keep an eye
on me and I did get off in Tulsa, bought a hotdog and got back on. The
Stew seemed a little surprised when I was boarding again eating my hot
dog, drinking a Coke.

On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 18:29:55 -0700, rbowman
wrote:

On 02/23/2020 03:20 PM, micky wrote:
To choose seats, they had a floor plan of the plane set up with hooks
for each seat and tags hanging from the hooks, which passengers could
remove in order to pick their seat. I never flew anywhere until 1966,
but even though this is a comedy show, I guess this was how passengers
picked their seats in the 50's.

Does anyone remember stuff like this from those days?


What I do remember is the insurance kiosks in the airports. Many early
air travelers didn't expect a happy ending and wanted to provide for
their families.

This wasn't 'travel insurance' that will reimburse you for
inconveniences and so firth. It was a one shot death and dismemberment
policy sold to anxious flyers.

It was dirt cheap too, literally pocket change. I think the top of the
box was around $5 for $10,000-15,000 or something but you could get in
for 50 cents or so. I am sure they made a lot of money because even if
you crashed, your heirs needed the policy number and I bet they were
not volunteering it. I think you were supposed to fill out the form
that came out of the machine and mail it ... if you had a stamp. I
never actually bought one.

On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 18:29:55 -0700, rbowman
wrote:

This wasn't 'travel insurance' that will reimburse you for
inconveniences and so firth. It was a one shot death and dismemberment
policy sold to anxious flyers.

I just read an article that said $5 got you $5000 but that was when
Wilson was President.

On 02/23/2020 07:24 PM, wrote:
It was dirt cheap too, literally pocket change. I think the top of the
box was around $5 for $10,000-15,000 or something but you could get in
for 50 cents or so. I am sure they made a lot of money because even if
you crashed, your heirs needed the policy number and I bet they were
not volunteering it. I think you were supposed to fill out the form
that came out of the machine and mail it ... if you had a stamp. I
never actually bought one.

My brother worked for Boeing in that era and was a frequent flyer. He
passed through on one trip and had time to visit. I don't remember why
but he had to fly out of Idlewild so we took him down. When my mother
asked why he didn't buy insurance he gently explained to her is was a
scam for suckers.

But that was back when Boeing made planes that flew...

In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 23 Feb 2020 21:19:12 -0500,
wrote:

On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 20:17:47 -0500, micky
wrote:

In alt.home.repair, on Sun, 23 Feb 2020 20:15:42 -0500, micky
wrote:


No it was a joke.

Okay. Thanks for addressing the (implied, for that matter) question.

The seats were assigned on picture of the seats behind the counter and
they just checked them off. Computers (electro mechanical) were

I forgot to say that this sounds more believable. Otherwise people who
didn't even have tickets could take the seats they wanted, just in case
they bought a ticket. Etc.

I wouldn't bet they even had assigned seats in the 50s, at least in
coach. My first flight was in 1956 but I was only 9 and the details

While Jack Benny might have traveled first class, the map of the plane
seemed to cover the whole plane, and he took seats from the middle of
it.

were fuzzy. I was flying alone (OK City to DC) and actually getting
through ticketing was done by my grandmother. She gave me my ticket, a
kiss on the cheek and sent me down the concourse. I bet that would be
child abuse today. There was really no special program to keep an eye
on me and I did get off in Tulsa, bought a hotdog and got back on. The
Stew seemed a little surprised when I was boarding again eating my hot
dog, drinking a Coke.

I don't have a travel story, but...

Because of my birthday, in Pa. I started 1st grade when I was 5 yrs. 8
months. This was of course when they didn't teach how to read until
the first grade, and I didn't go to kindergarten anyhow.

My parents were off for the evening, and my older brother, 12, was
picking on me, and I knew the names of my parents' friends, so I looked
their number up in the phonebook and called to complain. They were so
impressed that I could do this, but I thought their reacton was silly.
After all, my whole class and I had been going to school for 4 months to
learn how to read, so why were they surprised I could read. It wasn't
even a whole sentence, just last name and first name.

The whole class could read by Christmas vacation,

On 02/23/2020 10:13 PM, micky wrote:
While Jack Benny might have traveled first class, the map of the plane
seemed to cover the whole plane, and he took seats from the middle of
it.


The theory was sitting over the wing was a good idea particularly when
planes flew lower and encountered more turbulence.

On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 21:35:09 -0700, rbowman
wrote:

On 02/23/2020 07:24 PM, wrote:
It was dirt cheap too, literally pocket change. I think the top of the
box was around $5 for $10,000-15,000 or something but you could get in
for 50 cents or so. I am sure they made a lot of money because even if
you crashed, your heirs needed the policy number and I bet they were
not volunteering it. I think you were supposed to fill out the form
that came out of the machine and mail it ... if you had a stamp. I
never actually bought one.

My brother worked for Boeing in that era and was a frequent flyer. He
passed through on one trip and had time to visit. I don't remember why
but he had to fly out of Idlewild so we took him down. When my mother
asked why he didn't buy insurance he gently explained to her is was a
scam for suckers.

But that was back when Boeing made planes that flew...


In my reading I saw they paid out 25% of their revenue worst case but
it also got down to 6%. Not horrible 94% profit minus expenses but the
air ports started making the lease for your machine ridiculous and
they killed the golden goose. The government also started cracking
down on the machines after a guy loaded up on his MIL and sent her off
with a bomb.

On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 18:08:32 -0700, lowbrowman, the endlessly driveling,
troll-feeding, senile idiot, blabbered again:


I'm glad to see we have some young people reading Usenet.

Letzeeee. Jack's last show aired April 4, 1965. (Wikipedia)
That's almost 55 years ago. And yes, I do remember him being on tv
although not the specific shows. Jackie Gleason on the Honeymooners is
also in my memories.

Let us not forget Uncle Miltie...

....and the senile babbling continues... BG

On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 22:50:24 -0700, lowbrowman, the endlessly driveling,
troll-feeding, senile idiot, blabbered again:

While Jack Benny might have traveled first class, the map of the plane
seemed to cover the whole plane, and he took seats from the middle of
it.

The theory was sitting over the wing was a good idea particularly when
planes flew lower and encountered more turbulence.

There is no discussion (whether on topic or off topic) demented enough that
YOU will not gladly join, eh, lowbrowman? ****ing stupid seniles ****ing up
the entire Usenet! tsk

On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 18:29:55 -0700, lowbrowman, the endlessly driveling,
troll-feeding, senile idiot, blabbered again:


What I do remember is the insurance kiosks in the airports.

Oh, no! Now he will babble about insurance kiosks! tsk

On Sun, 23 Feb 2020 21:35:09 -0700, lowbrowman, the endlessly driveling,
troll-feeding, senile idiot, blabbered again:


My brother worked for Boeing in that era and was a frequent flyer.

Lets all hope HE didn't end up a blithering idiot like you on Usenet,
lowbrowman!