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Aug 9, 2004 Normally a column is a commentary on personal observations or of an item that you noticed or wish to comment on. However sometimes, it's about being a kid again and finding those funny things that you thought of as a kid that were part of growing up or those things that as the days become shorter and a crisp waft is hinting in the air. And you come to grips that though you feel 12, you are really …. Old. 43) Come back with me to a time when the TV went off at 3 in the morning to the sound of a loud tone and a simple image was displayed on the screen. A time when staying up late or sneaking down to watch Carson meant something really good to talk about the next day and hope you didn’t get caught by your parents. Some stuff just sticks out in the brain like a blister, boil or in my case a mole. Ever present, and ever remindful that today's kids just aren't getting the creative advertising or taste of the past. To begin with I went to high school back in 1974. It was my freshman year, and like that TV show' That 70s show" we did wear those types of clothes. But what sticks out in my mind when the crisp notes are in the air, and the shadows become distinct, is the old Levi's jeans commercial. Not these new ones, but the one of the " wearing my lee--heee--vies. Hawnk hawnk. Leeheeheeheeevies honk honk.. And that kid going so fast form house to school to bus.. To this day no other Levi's commercial has been so engrained. And it still signals the beginning of school. That first day of school was scary and exciting. Your new clothes and meeting your teachers, lunch was actually good at my old high school. And come to think of it so was breakfast. How many kids were lucky enough to have a high school where every morning you could get coffee and Kaiser roll with real butter and watch Phil Donohue and make it a discussion if first period? As the days progressed and became hot in spells, I wished most desperately for the Mr. Frosty or Good humor ice cream man. Jumping from the pool soaking wet and traipsing water through the house to find moms pocketbook and get everything in it soaked to get a quarter or 509 cents for a real creamsicle or Mr. Frosty cherry coated soft serve. To drip and get back into the pool and see ice cream float until the filter sucks it in. As I was driving down the road, I caught a whiff of coal gas. It was cool night and that smell of coal gas brought back streaming heaping pieces of memories of my grandmothers' house and my taste buds tingled with the memory of her chopped liver. Dinner discussions the other night brought back the memories of real TV dinners. Not the microwave stuff. No the real deal. Aluminum trays holding real meat and real potatoes and pas and corn in perfect size to each other that to this day can not, no matter how hard they try be duplicated! There was just something wonderful about those old fashioned dinners that came form the oven. Believe it or not, stores used to be closed on Sunday. And you never really cared. Playing at each other's garage, there wasn’t anything like you have to go home for supper, you were merely another child and another cup of macaroni and cheese and peas and apiece of hamburger for dinner. Reminiscing about my time, as it were. It is fun to think of all those " typical" 60s dinners. Aprons were even in fashion… A recreation I am into now. Rice a Roni was new, so was hamburger helper. Many parents welcomed with open arms these boxes of new flavors. But not my mom, she was not thrilled about these new dinners, they were not wholesome. It wasn’t until I was married that I was fortunate enough to sample these simple meals. It's fun to try and relive those days. Dinners become a case of TV show families.. And it's fun! Sunday a big dinner of roast chicken potatoes and fresh bread, Meatloaf (or meatless) Mondays, pasta Wednesdays with homemade Italian bread and a salad, fish on Fridays. Many of my favorites that I grew up with have become a new staple in the house. Beans and French fries, eggs and cheese, egg noodle casserole, macaroni and cheese with canned peas and fish sticks, Even school fare has become a new old favorite. Who else can remember that gigantic meatball? Or trading garbage pail kids cards or even flipping for baseball cards? Now that was an art in itself. Fond memories of horror movies and the afternoons spent watching them on an old zenith! Classic Comics Illustrated! The real ones. Not the shortened reprints. Ha so many good memories. I even remember when Mountain dew first hit the stores. An image of a hillbilly next to an outhouse on a knoll… bare feet and a big hat. That was real. Even the taste has changed. 7 Up used to have lithium in it and it was a lot better back then. Ginger ale wasn’t as sweet as it is now. And Pepperidge farm or silver cup bread was the best that there was! Maybe it's just me, but it seems that ingenuity and creativity isn't as prevalent as it once was. A singing alka seltzer guy to this day makes me hum while I am cooking. Mr. Clean was just as Spic and Span as Ajax (which had dancing blue dots). And that Ajax song pops in at the fun times. Especially when I am buying Ajax. OK maybe I am old. Or maybe I am just one of those lucky few that remembers good products. Yes I was a Whippy! I loved lemon up shampoo and Body on tap was great. Nestle Henna shampoo turned me red and I liked it. Pepsodent powder tasted good and got your teeth clean. Swedish Tanning secret worked when I was allergic to the sun. And though some of the products that made up part of my memories have faded though they haven't faded all the way. You wouldn’t think that jingles and products would be an integral part of a memory of childhood, but for many of us growing up in the 60s and 70s it was. It was the beginning of the advertising age. Of course now Ivory doesn't smell like Ivory anymore… and Maxwell house isn't as fragrant as it was, Lipton tea still reminds me of the sinking of the Titanic… And I still w ant the Nestle dog puppet… So if your ever in the store and you hear some strange woman humming or singing old jingles, join in. It's never easy to remember everything from childhood. Many people just choose to think they are too old for such things. Something in their brain clicks and they instantly forget being a kid. I feel sorry for people like that. I fortunately am just as much a kid at 43 as I was at 12. I don’t feel any different, though I have to admit I do look a tab bit different. But things don’t change Why mess with a good thing! When I get sick and want my favorite blanket, slippers, mug and doll, just As I did when I was a kid. Though my favorites have since changed (the old ones were lost in a fire) I remember what it was like in school and I didn't want that to happen to my child. The illnesses that were so uncomfortable I didn’t want for my child. The torments and family feuds I didn’t want for my child. These were remembrances as well. What I did provide was a head full of fun and full memories. Of even as we have no money, we have a heap of memories that make us laugh. For me, at least I had the vivid remembrances and good memories have been recreated for my child. And hopefully she will have new memories for her to torment her kids with have been created. Meanwhile we still rock the car to oldies during the summer, sip hot cocoa in front of really bad horror movies and sing as many jingles for stuff we see... ------------ About the author: Julia Sherman-Talley is a medical writer with an international handbook for diabetes self managment, currently being translated into two ther languages. Factoring Diabetes is the most visual self help book available on the market today. Available at booklocker.com. She is an NDEP/CDC/WHO diabetes partner for education resources. She is also publisher of Cloth Doll Designs Magazine and is currently attempting to go back to school to get a teachers degree... Email: jimmysdevoted2@bellsouth.net Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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