For those of you who have lived in Mystic for a while, do you remember when you could go downtown and …

Get your oil changed; take your choice of two places to pick up the Sunday papers, since the New London Evening Day didn’t publish on Sunday; sit at a counter and order a corned beef sandwich and a cup of coffee; go bowling; buy a new white shirt and tie; get your ice skates sharpened; have your shoes resoled; buy a pound of nails and a sheet of plywood;

Get white gas for your Evinrude; buy penny candy for a penny; go to a movie; buy a sketch pad and charcoal pencils; get a prescription filled; buy Florsheim shoes; get a Boy Scout uniform; buy dungarees; buy marbles at the five and dime; have drapes made; get white gloves for your Brownie for the Memorial Day parade; get your bicycle tire stuck in the gap between the trolley rail and the edge of the pavement; get your teeth cleaned; buy eyeglasses; get your bankbook updated; take your kid to see Santa; buy baseball cards (and throw away the gum); buy guitar strings;

Get your Christmas presents gift wrapped at no extra charge; take your choice of a few different barbershops; test drive a new Chevy; get your radio or television repaired and then go next door and buy Italian sausage; and find a place to park.

Robert F. Welt is a retired Groton Public Schools teacher who lives in Mystic.