Memoir Writing Fun – Friday:
I love those funny BuzzFeed posts (buzzfeed.com) and wanted to share one that I saw recently about getting old.
Dave Stopera wrote the article (article link below) which is titled:
If You Recognize Any Of These 35 Pictures, I'm Sorry, You're Officially Old
Wear it as a badge of honor.
(Note: I am not going to include all 35 items – just the one’s I especially like).
This is one of my VERY FAVORITE places: The Drive In.
We used to go there all the time, back in high school. Some had a set price for a carload of people (like $5-7 per car) but when the money was tight, one or two people might hide in the trunk when coming in (!)
The Drive In back then was usually divided into 3 sections:
1. The Front Rows: For families.
2. The Back Row: For couples on dates (… remember the “Put Your Hands on Me, Jack!” car scene from Titanic? Kind of like that).
3. Middle Row: Everyone else.
The cool thing about the Drive In was that you were actually outside, and could watch the sunset and stars come out.
They ALWAYS offered two movies for the price of one also, which was quite a bargain.
One of the best parts of the Drive In? Going to the snack bar at intermission.
You could get all kinds of great junk food there!
And it was always fun to watch the other patrons stumble in there bleary-eyed after 2 hours of watching a movie in the dark.
… Okay, what is that thing shown in the photo above?
It’s the loudspeaker they used back then!
The ONLY one for the movie!
Mono sound (only) not stereo, and certainly not Hi Fi Surround Sound!
And because I grew up in Ohio – where it got COLD in the winter – a few Drive Ins would stay open in the winter months by offering a car heater, attached to the speaker pole (which resembled the speaker).
Yes, I remember watching a movie once during a snowstorm (on a date)!
Jiffy Pop Popcorn!
We used to make that on our gas stove, by shaking it over the burner.
The photo shows it AFTER the corn has popped.
It’s ready to eat – all you have to do is peel the foil back.
The corn tasted pretty good!
It was REALLY EASY to burn the Jiffy pop also, so you had to be careful.
And, I don’t know how many house fires they caused – but I’m sure they did (and especially after late night “festivities”).
I love this one also, but I am definitely pulling out the “Back in My Day, Sonny Boy!” card here.
There were 6 kids in our family (3 boys and 3 girls) and there were always TONS of jacks all over the house.
And they DID HURT when you stepped on them, barefoot!
Related to Jacks, but strangely not on Dave’s You’re Old 35 List, are Jarts (photo below courtesy of Pinterest) which were even MORE dangerous – and are now banned due to legal liability.
The objective of that game was to throw the darts into the plastic circles on the ground.
… Kind of like Corn Hole today, but with sharp, heavy body-puncturing daggers back then.
The Jart head was heavy (it was probably lead) and pretty SHARP – because it had to burrow itself into the ground.
If it hit you, it could do some damage – which is why probably why they do not exist anymore!
They were relatively safe if you threw them only a short distance (like 20-30 feet).
But back in the day at Family Picnics, we would NOT put the rings close together. We would space then WAY FAR apart (like 100-200 feet) and consequently, have to throw the Jarts WAY UP into the air so that they would travel that distance.
… Not that I would drink any beer at a picnic, but doing that would definitely NOT improve your dart accuracy! 🙂
Thank you for the memories, Dave.
PS: For all you young whippersnappers: Just think, 40 years from now YOU will be doing the same thing, with things that exist TODAY!
Memoir Writing Fun – Friday (!)
Try out The Life Writer App with a 30 day guarantee here:
https://www.thelifewriter.com/product/the-life-writer-app/
Need a gift certificate for the holidays? They look like this:
And here is Dave Stopera’s excellent article:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/how-to-tell-if-youre-old
