Face it: we're getting older. And there's nothing we can do about it ... except laugh.

Tim Porter's birthday started the run of 50th birthdays among the Class of 1973. A forest's worth of paper to print a ton of obnoxious cards will be purchased for our classmates in the coming months. Mugs with "The Big 5-0" will be bought. "Over the hill" banners will be displayed at your home or office.

Along the way, you'll try to remember back through your life. To give you a little boost, here are 50 things that you should remember if you are 50:

1. President Kennedy's assassination
2. Dial phones
3. The Erie County Savings Bank
4. Doing long division without a calculator
5. Phone exchanges (as in TE5-7218)
6. Mail without zip codes
7. The Mercury and Gemini space programs
8. Milkmen
9. Doctor's housecalls
10. Blackjack and Teaberry gum
11. I want my Maypo
12. "The AFL champion Buffalo Bills"
13. The AFL, period
14. Jack Kemp, quarterback
15. Cars named Galaxie 500, Falcon, and Rambler
16. Transistor radios
17. Polaroid Swingers
18. "Trick or Treat for UNICEF!"
19. Keds and PF Flyers
20. Hai Karate aftershave ads
21. The Bisons at War Memorial Stadium
22. The Bisons at Memorial Auditorium
23. Atlantic and Esso gasoline
24. Gas cheaper than 25 cents per gallon
25. Princess telephones
26. Tab and Royal Crown Cola
27. Air raid drills in school
28. Four American TV channels
29. "Strikes, Spares & Misses" and "Beat the Champ"
30. Rocketship Seven and Commander Tom
31. Clint Buehlman on WBEN
32. Huntley and Brinkley
33. Your first color television
34. Underdog and Magilla Gorilla
35. Joey Reynolds, disk jockey
36. Soft drinks in glass bottles, and cans with pull-tops
37. "Cootie," "Mousetrap" and "Give-a-show Projector"
38. Tiny Tears and Thumbellina dolls
39. Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots
40. The five-cent stamp
41. Gleem toothpaste
42. Bonomo Turkish Taffy
43. School dress codes
44. "New math"
45. Loblaws and Park Edge
46. Two Guys & Twin Fair
47. Crazy Foam and Super Balls
48. Quisp and Quake, Apple Jacks and Honeycombs
49. Eastern and Mohawk Airlines
50. The Beatles on Ed Sullivan