Bobby and Sally, just say no to drugs. If you hear anyone say something like "If it feels good, do it" or "turn on, tune in, drop out", run the other way. Better stay away from the cigarettes and booze, too. Trust me, sweeties, you listen to your old Aunt Zerelda, and you'll be thanking me some day.

Oh, and Bobby, stay away from leisure suits and polyester shirts. Sally, honey, there are bad times coming in the 70s, and 80s when it comes to women's hair styles and clothes. You are on your own, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Hi redhead64!
Be careful what you do today...history repeats itself.

I'd tell Bobby and Sally that even if their parents are dysfunctional people, they don't have to be. They can have healthy relationships and healthy lives if they work at it.

I'd also tell them to buy up stock in Microsoft when it first comes out. ;)

Peggy - the sponge isn't 100% effective, and great job writing the jingle for Enjoli perfume!

Kitty - if you're not having sex now, it really won't get better.

Betty - skip the PTA meetings and get your real estate license.

Bobby - keep all of your space toys and metal lunch boxes.

Sally - you're not fat.

Your posts are all so awesome!!!!!

Don - If the booze and cigarettes don't kill you, the trans fats will
Betty - If you think furniture was made cheap then, it only gets worse in the future
Roger - It's not an ulcer, it's gastric reflux (the oyster barf should have been your first clue)
Women of Sterling Cooper - There will always be a Queen Bee (Joan) in every office you work in.
Betty and Don - Padded headboards will make a come back in 2008
- hang on to yours!
Draper's Neighbors - Hail to the gas BBQ's! You will never have to wait or suffer with charcoal hands again
Betty - Giving a child a lock of your hair will get you arrested in the future

.....hi RH64 - i think i would tell peggy and joan: forget the husband-hunting - invest in IBM!

.....hi RH64 - i think i would tell peggy and joan and all the girls, really: forget the husband-hunting - invest in IBM!

....oops sorry i got some weird error and it failed....

Sally, soon your little girl's body will start to ungo changes. Do not be afraid. These changes are perfectly normal. Pay close attention to the film strips you will be watching with the other girls in gym class. But be warned, little Sally. If, at anytime in your future life as a woman, you are ever tempted to purchase a product called Tassaway, don't do it. Don't be swayed by the pretty box, drop it and run. Trust me on this, Sally, I know whereof I speak.

Don - your hypertension is bad now but the medication (reserpine) you take is even worse, especially with the amount of ETOH you consume. Take a baby aspirin every day and stick to the red wine. Start walking around the city at lunchtime and although raucous sex is good exercise, STDs are death to romance. For the love of God, man, WEAR a Condom when you stray! (Maybe you already do?)

Peggy and other single gals - watch out for those high dose early oral contraceptives and DON'T EVER use a Copper T IUD. At worse, It will perforate the uterus, making you sterile and will lead you to years of painful endometriosis.

First trimester moms to be (maybe Helen or Jane?)- if your doctor hands you some samples of Thalidomide in answer to your complaints of morning sickness, RUN don't walk to the nearest garbage can.

Any land speculators who need a secure nest egg as a hedge against your secret identity being discovered- buy up all the crapola acreage in Orlando, FL.!

Great idea for a thread, redhead64! Whenever I watch a period show, I always wish I could tell the characters things they should know about modern times/the future. So fun!

Don,
You will be 82 years old in 2008….if you live that long. That doesn’t seem likely unless you modify your behavior starting now. First, stop smoking, preferably cold turkey. Second, cut down substantially on your consumption of alcohol. And of course there is always the danger that you might pick up an STD (and/or transmit it to others) if you continue your indiscriminate womanizing, so try to get control of that also.

I know all this sounds impossible to accomplish, but a skilled therapist, over a period of time, can help you understand why you do the things you do; however you must tell him/her the whole truth and nothing but the truth about your life past and present. Don’t leave anything out. (I don’t recommend that you go to Dr. Wayne for therapy.)

Good luck!

Joan, when it becomes the fashion to go bra-less...don't do it! You'll
end up playing hockey with 'em.

Salvatore - be patient, your time is coming. You'll be in the gay pride parade one day.

Don, disregard all the good, sensible advice given to you here and move to either Hollywood or Washington DC. Your drinking, smoking, carousing and self-absorption will not be the least bit out of place and you can re-invent yourself until the cows come home.

Bobby, Get your dad to take you to a Yankee game, get as many autographs as you can, especially from Mantle and his buddies. Don't clip your baseball cards to the spokes of your bike, but store them on a shelf in your closet alongside a stack of your comic books. You and Sally should keep all your toys in their original boxes. Your mother will want to throw them away, so find a safe place for them and be ready to pitch a fit if she touches them. And Sally, when you begin dating, and the guy says he has a new Poloroid camera, keep your clothes on.

Carla....
--Continue walking, add exercise to your daily routine...
--Fight hard for the right to vote, and vote at every opportunity...
--Buy land...
--Education is the key...
--Become your own boss in your own community...
--Know you are not alone, and are empowered to change the world for your children...
--Eat more fruit and vegetables, eliminate pork from your diet and season your food using spices other than salt...
--In spite of what you've heard, your beauty will be sought and bought by those who profess to hate you...
--Take meticulous care of all your jazz records (vinyl)...
--Never forsake those in the struggle with you, and
--Never forget to dance.

Sally & Bobby: play outdoors as much as you can, you will fondly look back as you see your kids park their chubby butts in front of the TV/computer and never go outside

Peggy, Joan, Betty etc: put the pointy-toed "roach killer" shoes in the back of your closet, they will come back

Don: don't worry about the smokin' & drinkin'. When you are 80 and pass away quietly in your sleep your family can grin and say "Dang, Grandpa smoked & drank like a fiend and stayed healthy his whole life"

Salvatore: don't bring something home to your wife and stay out of bathhouses in the late 70's

All of the characters: buy land land land. They won't make any more!

All ladies, young and old, on the show. Ditch those stiletto-heeled, pointy toed shoes or you'll be wearing orthopedic flats real soon. (From one who knows.) I started having problems in my early 40s and had to go to T.O. Dey in NYC and pay over $500 to get decent looking orthopedic sandals custom made!

Love all the advice...can't add a thing! You guys kill me!! LOL

Bobby - flee to Canada before you turn 18.
Sally - DO NOT GO TO KENT, OHIO for the weekend over May Day, 1970. Do not put Tupperware in the microwave.
Everyone - go see every Paul Newman movie that comes out. Don't go to Manhattan on Tues., Sept. 11, 2001, stay away from the Pentagon, and don't get on a plane that day.
Everyone - go see Star Wars the weekend it opens and keep the ticket stub.
Sally and Bobby - buy your kids lots of Star Wars toys and keep them in good condition. Better yet, keep them in the box!
Everyone - STOP SMOKING - NOW. FOREVER.
Most important of all, in the summer of 2007 a new show will come out on a channel called AMC called "Mad Men." Watch it and enjoy the trip down memory lane to the years of your childhood. It will seem uncomfortably familiar.

Nancy, what is this talk about quitting smoking. ;o) Good advise, though!!
Crab and Petra - Don't build bombshelters, build tax shelters.
Buy property in Aspen, Manhatten and Seattle and hold on to it!
Buy up stocks in Ebay, Google, Motorola and Apple Computers.
Cheers!

The health issues seem to be obvious.
I absolutely love the financial advice. "Hindsight is 20/20".

Don't forget to buy Xerox!

I was going to tell them not to build bomb shelters, gas masks or freeze-dried food (my parents had cases of it stored in the garage!). Love the tips on real estate - Orlando was a great one. Xerox, Kodak and IBM would all be good stocks to buy. DuPont was a good one, too, and so were Westinghouse and General Electric. I would also advise them to watch Ronald Reagan movies so they can be really amazed one day.

Sally and Bobby, When you hear of a new musical group named the Beatles, start on your dad immediately to get you tickets to see them when they come to the USA...maybe he can get you in to see them backstage at the Ed Sullivan Show. Get their autographs. And, when you buy their albums, always buy two. Play one on your hi-fi's and keep the other one in its celephane wrapper.