As the white-haired, silver-moustached old gentleman walked down the main synagogue aisle, whispers behind shielding hands followed him. What were they saying about this benign, amiable worshipper as he moved slowly toward his seat?

"He has a thousand shares of AT&T!"

"Er ist a reiche mann!" (He is a wealthy man!)

"He must be a genius to have accumulated so much AT&T stock."

"His family will be comfortable for decades."

There were symbols of wealth in the 1950's that have faded as we slide into the second millennium. "Blue chip stock" was a phrase that carried weight. The sure things were everywhere. There were the winners that would never pale and never diminish. Today, AT&T is a losing stock on the way down.

A Cadillac car was one of those super, high-flying symbols with Oldsmobile just a little less prestigious, following. In the 1950's, an automobile stated your place in society. It was Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Chevrolet in a descending order of worth. Cadillac has been displaced by expensive Japanese and German cars and the Lincoln Continental.

Oldsmobile is presently being phased out by General Motors - another sure thing is the 1950's that is a victim of a changing world.

Let me list a few former heralded items that have been cut down to size or have just disappeared.

Every neighborhood and every small town had a Woolworth's 5 and 10 cent store. Their lunch counters and merchandise were a staple of American living. They have been replaced by huge malls and newer chain stores that seem impervious to bad times, but probably are not.

I had a lifetime subscription to Vic Tanny's Health Salons and Nancy's VCR rental shop in downtown Syosset, but both are long gone.

The Brooklyn Dodgers and the baseball NY Giants appeared solid and golden, but both now reside in California.

The radio has been replaced by television.

Whatever happened to all those delicious Horn and Hardart Automats with the food in glass cases that were unlocked with nickels and dimes?

Nothing in business truly is everlasting and eternal. The Capitalistic cycle goes shooting up and crashes down. Yesterday's winners are today's also rans or have disappeared from the scene.

It's a Topsy Turvy world!