I thought I would share some memories of days long ago when we weren't glued to our electronic devices so that we can try to bring down our stress levels from all the political nonsense and foolishness that pervade our lives minute in and minute out. Some of the following items were way before my time, but I am sure many of you have heard stories passed down from your parents, grandparents of days when being outside brought about imaginative games, snacks and treats were so few and far between that they are indelibly mounted on our biological memory board. Foods that are no longer made, but thought of in a calming manner and toys that made us smile much more than adolescent and, oftentimes, vulgar memes.
For example, I remember all too vividly and happily, albeit mundane and a pain in the butt at the time, having to use the dictionary and encyclopedia whenever I needed an answer for school or pleasure. "Dad, what does monumental mean?" I would ask my Dad, even though I knew precisely the answer that was bellowed from his deeply rich retort. "Look it up!"....Always the same answer to every single query I sought an answer to.
I fondly remember Dad telling me about his grandfather going out into the woods in Topsfield, Maine to gather a(now long forgotten)glob of spruce gum. Dad was wicked happy when he saw his grandfather return, reach into his pocket and pull out a small wooden box with a sliding lid, He knew instantly that he was in for a treat of some of Mother Nature's finest...thick spruce sap that had been stretched, pulled and kneaded by his grandfather until it had formed a mass of soft plastic-like rubbery chewing gum. Many of the old time loggers in Maine woods would take their off
day(Sunday)and forage throughout the woods to collect this sap and store it in their own spruce gum box so that when they returned home to their children at the end of logging season. Kids adored this treat almost as much as they were happy to see their fathers again.
I won't go on and on about each item, nor do I need to.
Other forgotten gum from years gone by are:
Beachnut chewing gum.
Blackjack chewing gum.
Clove chewing gum.
Teaberry chewing gum.
Other sweet delights that are sadly gone today were:
Sugar Mama's.
Razzles.
Teem soda.
Shasta soda.
Sassafras(Sarsaparilla) soda.
Birch beer or soda.
RC soda.
How about tripe?
Eel.
Liver and onions.
Cod Liver oil.
Mercurochrome.
Iodine.
Father John's.
Castor oil.
Eye patches or lens covering for amblyopia.
How about dressing up simply on Halloween? Hobo's and ghosts.
Red Rover.
Kick the Can.
3-legged races
.
Tag, Freeze tag, TV tag...
Playing marbles
Jacks
Red Light, Green Light.
And how about those little ditties that have stuck with us for decades, like cigarette commercials and MacDonalds.
"Winston takes good, like a cigarette should"
Or being able to utter "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun", in 4 seconds for a free Big Mac?
"Us Tareyton smokers would rather fight that switch";
Or always getting your Dad Hai Karate aftershave on Father's Day?
For example, I remember all too vividly and happily, albeit mundane and a pain in the butt at the time, having to use the dictionary and encyclopedia whenever I needed an answer for school or pleasure. "Dad, what does monumental mean?" I would ask my Dad, even though I knew precisely the answer that was bellowed from his deeply rich retort. "Look it up!"....Always the same answer to every single query I sought an answer to.
I fondly remember Dad telling me about his grandfather going out into the woods in Topsfield, Maine to gather a(now long forgotten)glob of spruce gum. Dad was wicked happy when he saw his grandfather return, reach into his pocket and pull out a small wooden box with a sliding lid, He knew instantly that he was in for a treat of some of Mother Nature's finest...thick spruce sap that had been stretched, pulled and kneaded by his grandfather until it had formed a mass of soft plastic-like rubbery chewing gum. Many of the old time loggers in Maine woods would take their off
I won't go on and on about each item, nor do I need to.
Other forgotten gum from years gone by are:
Beachnut chewing gum.
Blackjack chewing gum.
Clove chewing gum.
Teaberry chewing gum.
Other sweet delights that are sadly gone today were:
Sugar Mama's.
Razzles.
Teem soda.
Shasta soda.
Sassafras(Sarsaparilla) soda.
Birch beer or soda.
RC soda.
How about tripe?
Eel.
Liver and onions.
Cod Liver oil.
Mercurochrome.
Iodine.
Father John's.
Castor oil.
Eye patches or lens covering for amblyopia.
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| Disclosure tablets |
How about dressing up simply on Halloween? Hobo's and ghosts.
Red Rover.
Kick the Can.
3-legged races
.
 |
| Our clothing in the 1970s with platform shoes and butterfly collars...oh, and bell bottoms |
Playing marbles
Jacks
Red Light, Green Light.
And how about those little ditties that have stuck with us for decades, like cigarette commercials and MacDonalds.
"Winston takes good, like a cigarette should"
 |
| Remember dressing up simply on Halloween? |
 |
| The old Maypole |
Or being able to utter "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun", in 4 seconds for a free Big Mac?
 |
| We thought we were the coolest when we got our first record player |
"Us Tareyton smokers would rather fight that switch";
Or always getting your Dad Hai Karate aftershave on Father's Day?
