Six dollars for a rock in a cardboard box

I had six dollars in my pocket. That was a month of lawn mowing and trash duty, plus a little extra from my birthday. I was there for a Mood Ring. Everyone in my sixth grade class had one, or wanted…

News for the America we remember

The mall was the center of the world in 1975. If you lived in a town like mine, you spent your Saturday mornings walking the length of the linoleum, past the Orange Julius and the Kinneys, until you reached the back corner where Spencer Gifts sat. It was dark in there, lit by blacklights and rows of lava lamps that looked like slow-motion brains.

I had six dollars in my pocket. That was a month of lawn mowing and trash duty, plus a little extra from my birthday. I was there for a Mood Ring. Everyone in my sixth grade class had one, or wanted one. We believed the science, or what we thought was science. The ring was supposed to tap into your internal temperature and tell the world exactly how you felt.

I paid four dollars and fifty cents for it. The woman at the counter put it in a small blue box. Inside, there was a folded piece of paper with a color chart. Black meant you were stressed. Yellow was nervous. Green was average. Blue or purple meant you

CONTINUE READING →

Tackle your credit card debt by paying 0% interest until nearly 2028

If you have outstanding credit card debt, getting a new 0% intro APR credit card could help ease the pressure while you pay down your balances. Our credit card experts identified top credit cards that are perfect for anyone looking to pay down debt and not add to it! Click through to see what all the hype is about.

Learn How To Apply Now