I turned 46 recently. Yes, that's annoying but I'll get over it. I did get to thinking though that there are little things in life that I miss from my past. And I'm not someone who believes that the past was the good old days. Have you seen how clear instant replay is today? Wow!
I miss our weekly pick-up flag football games. I don't miss the three days it took to recover, which is essentially why I stopped playing, but I sure do miss the strategy and camaraderie of the contests. As you know by now if you're a regular reader, I miss tube socks. However I am confident the tube sock will be back unlike my football career.
I miss Johnny Carson. I miss Howard Cosell. I miss Howie Meeker. I miss Wheaties. I miss Match Game and Battle of the Network Stars.
I miss when my feet didn't hurt in the morning. I miss being able to eat Haagen-Daaz without needing to follow it up with an hour in the bathroom. I miss being able to run without having to be careful not to pull a muscle.
I miss when children's sports each had their own season and kids could play several sports a year. I miss cream filled long johns although I'm sure there is a bakery somewhere that has them. I miss the sound of World War Three on Halloween. I miss the Pop Shoppe.
I miss when safety didn't come first. I miss expecting to wait for a ferry. I miss when it wasn't the government's fault. I miss when you only had to brush and not floss. And I miss when the Olympics were a good thing and being a homer was not.
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You turned 46? I forgot that you were so young.
ReplyDeleteAh, Saturday morning WAFFLe. What a time it was....I miss the pre- and post-game kibbitzing too. We'd go hang outside the 7-11 on OB Ave., enduring CBC opera and dissect the key events of the day and the week. I remember mentioning at one point that once we hit our 40s, we'd prolly stop playing, but you were adament that this would not be so. We'd all slow down at the same rate, we'd all adjust our games accordingly, so surely we'd be able to play well into our 40s.
Sigh. If only our bodies didn't betray us so cruelly.
As for Battle of the Network Stars, man, talk about your classically dumb reality TV. I had completely forgotten about that show, but when Kaplan finally an inevitably sticks it to Conrad, I must confess that a big old smile crept across my face, so something must have been working for me.
I miss short shorts.
I miss nuns in habit, ethnic bakeries on every corner, tiny sips of my father's beer, and lazy days with absolutely nothing I had to do.
ReplyDeleteI miss my mother having dinner ready at 5pm everyday, and big fat A's on the top of tests.
When's the last time you got an "A" for your effort?
I miss drinking pop out of glass bottles.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I had that it my first draft, but then I realized two things. One, I don't drink pop much anymore and two, there are brands that still are in glass bottles. Nevertheless, I do admit to some nostalgia regarding the hourglass glass Coke bottles.
ReplyDeleteNone of the brands I drink, unfortunately. And that hourglass bottle was dead sexy.
ReplyDeleteThere was an hourglass pop bottle?
ReplyDeleteWell, hourglass is a bit of an exaggeration perhaps, but that is how the old Coke bottles have been described ever since I can remember.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/images/news/2008/03/Coke_Bottle.jpg
My mom said that department stores used to have salesladies who were glove specialists (and did not have to manage eight different departments at once). They would sit down with customers, take their time, and do a proper glove-fitting to find their exact size. None of this S/M/L (or worse, "one size fits all") business.
ReplyDeleteI didn't experience that, so I can't say that I personally miss the glove-fitting. However, I do miss the once-high level of service in regular stores and department stores that, in my opinion, is sorely lacking today. Of course, you can still BUY great service if you have the money (and inclination) to only shop at very exclusive shops--as has always been the case--but that's not what I'm talking about. I mean the care and attention to providing great customer service, in all types of shops and stores, that now, sadly, seems as quaint as mustard plasters or lunchkits.
We have no one to blame but ourselves for the lack of customer service. When we'll buy wherever the price is lowest, even if it is just to save a couple of bucks, then stores will focus on cutting costs to get their price down and not on keeping enough staff around to provide good service.
ReplyDeletePlenty of people go to the store with the good service and find out what they need to know and then go to the discount store to buy it. That ain't helping either.
Hmm' I thought you were still very pro Olympics, along with all the other suckers? Are you saying there are now more anti-Olympic opinions than pro? Sure hope so! Cheers, xelA.
ReplyDeleteLittle Jackie, see my previous comment about Costco (I'm too lazy to look up the month). I would not pre-shop at local stores (or glean important info from them) then turn around and purchase at big-box stores to save a few bucks. Even in big, anonymous Vancouver, there are many local (small, one-location-only) family-owned produce markets or meat shops in our new neighbourhood. The prices are fair and the money goes back into the community. And yes, the service in those places is noticeably better. So, I guess in the food market, things are still optimistic.
ReplyDeleteI just wish that things were the same in women's retail. I dislike shopping as it is, so I realize that I am already biased (and approaching shopping as a stressful but necessary task). However, if a patient, friendy saleslady sat me down and soothingly walked me through a glove-fitting, I think I might faint with happiness. It just sounds so lovely and old-fashioned and romantic.
The Romance of the Glove. Undoubtedly Harlequin bound.
ReplyDeleteI'd forgotten Battle of the Stars. I can't believe how much of that stuff I watched. Still, Lynda Carter looks pretty fantastic...
ReplyDeleteYou can have your Pop Shoppe pop from a glass bottle today. Yes! At the Market On Yates (and the other one waaaay out there in the boonies) you can buy Lime Ricky, Root Beer, Cola (which never was any good), and Grape. I am hoping they will break out the Pink Grapefruit soon.
ReplyDeleteNow if they can just shorten the PeeWee hockey season and bring back Magnum in his little shorts....
What I love about Jack's video is the fact they smoke after they run. Reminds me of UVic when I was invited to my first flag football game. I was told that I should expect my team to be intense. I waited on the sidelines and finally got my chance to play defense. I run into the huddle and 3 guys are taking a drag on a cig. NOW those guys were athletes!!
ReplyDeleteIn the late 70's, early 80's kids couldn't watch the Sorpanos, all we had was Baa Baa Black Sheep. That show was Awesome!! Dirty dozen in airplanes.
That video really made me laugh. Although, they did master the cliffhanging back then. Even now, I had to wait and see if Gab beat Bob. I'm still laughing.
And finally, I was thinking about "Pick a Pop" just last week. I think we're all ready for retirement.
Rob Martin