The streets were dirty and the communications were slow. Writing was done on typewriters and for fast conection, you picked up a Bakelite phoneset with a rotary dial and started sharpening your index finger in the little holes. People carried phone numbers in their heads, back then, the way geeks carry URLs and email addies around in their heads now. The weather was pretty much as it is now. The VIllage was cold in winter and hot in summer; it was stunning in spring and nostalgic in the fall.

Coffee was a dime. In ripoff joints, perhaps a quarter. A thick china mug, and the coffee was usually awful. Cigarettes were a quarter a pack, or maybe 35 cents. They were very popular, and were used everywhere -- there was no sxuch thing as a no-smoking area, except perhaps in hospitals.

FOr starters, you should look up the Washington Square Memories thread which can be found here and the "60's in Greenwich Village & Berkeley " thread which can be found here.

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