Down Memory Lane

As I mentioned before, Christmas always makes me a little nostalgic.

I was musing on things that were around in the early 60's that just aren't around anymore and wondering if others remember them, too:

1. Remember Fizzee's? (they were like Alkza Seltzers that you put in a glass of water and it made like a fizzied koolaide type drink. Who knows what the hell they were really made of?)

2. Remember Pixie Sticks? (They were straws filled with gritty pure sugar in different flavors that you would pour directly into your mouth. I am sure that dentists invented them when their patient load dropped so that they could make lots of money.)

3. Remember WLS Radio Station in Chicago? (I always lived in a rural area when I was a teen....and we could only pull in the rock and roll after about 8pm from Chicago on the transistor radio we had. The local stations hardly ever played Rock 'n Roll).

4. Remember the Ed Sullivan Show? (He was a Frankenstein looking host who had a stiff neck so he'd turn his whole body when he turned and said things like: "There's going to be realllllly good Shoe (show) tonight!")

5.Remember the very first time you watched the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show?

6.Remember the horror from your parents/elders when they first saw the Beatles? And Elvis? Do you remember their horror over the Beatles "long hair"?

7. Remember your first color television set?

8. Remember your amazement over seeing your first microwave? (And being scared to put paper plates in it?)

9. Remember Twiggy? (She was a skinny-ass model that started all teenage girls into being either anorexic or bulemic)

10. Remember white go-go boots? (And Nancy Sinatra singing "These Boots are Made for Walking"?) (And wanting a pair, even if it meant donating a kidney to get them?)

11. Remember ironing your hair to get it straight? (I can still smell it!)

12. Remember the first "TV Dinners" where you had to put them in a real oven and bake them forever? (And they always tasted awful, anyway....but hell, it was "convenient" so we ate them anyway!)

13. Remember the first "fast food" restaurant in your town? (Ours was a hamburger joint called "Sandies" where we could buy hamburgers for 20 cents each).

14. Remember "black lights"? (and the first time you wore a white blouse under the lights and you could see your white bra clearly through because of the light?)

15. Remember Ford Mustang convertibles and how that was your "dream car"?(Mine would have been red with a white interior).

16. Remember English Leather aftershave? (Your first boyfriend probably wore it).

17. Remember Brylcreme and Vitalis for men's hair? (My dad wore them to "slick" down his hair...it was the first type of hair products for men).

18. Remember reel-to-reel tape recorders?

19. Remember 8 millimeter movies? (and watching them on a big screen in your living room?)


Now, anyone under 50 is probably thinking: "Man, that lady really IS old!!"

Well, maybe that's true.

But let me tell you....it will be a blink or two and you, too will be writing your own list about remembering when you got your first own laptop or cellphone or Nano Ipod.

Your kids will be rolling their eyes behind your back and winking at each other, all while they are flipping thru their newest techy gadget to look up what "home" they are going to put you in......

But like me, you will find some comfort in remembering the past..especially around Christmas time when you get nostalgic.