This is aimed at people with a certain level of life experience. I want to step away from the political for a few days and talk about life time love. The daily Politcal rants can wait while I talk about the smaller things. We don't take the time to notice the change around us and find ourselves in a world where we are anachronisms.
1) Do you miss the small town local business?
I try and shop locally as much as possible. I go to the local Hallal Mart and the Mrs never sets foot in there unless I buy a big ticket item. She then alters the credit to meet the household needs. The local butcher is familiar with this. I enjoy going in joking with the guys and getting a lamb bone for the dog with my order. The Mrs likes a place that delivers. The deliver guy looks like a cross between Beaker and Osama bin Ladden. He is incoherent and if I am home I do not let him into the house. Apparently he suffers from a speech impediment.
I fill my day with trips to the corner store, the Korean produce stand and the Guyananese Bakeries. The local barber shop is a rare treat and if a chair is open I will stop in even with the dog. The dog can be bribed with food and is gentle.
2) Are there local brands that bring a special memory?
Italian Ices are big in NYC. No brand has better memories for me than Marinos. It was always a pleasant memory of summer whenever I see the Marinos cup of Ices. I bought a batch for the Mrs who is sick and not recouping quickly. The daughter claimed two so even if Marinos are not as generational with her she certainly knows what it is.
Each boro has its own brand. I prefer Ralph's and the daughter prefers the Lemon King of Corona. Maybe when Cheekie gets back from Trinidad I will take her to get fresh Ices. She does get all pleasant when she is given a Popsicle.
3) Do you miss the printed magazine
I certainly do miss the handy magazine. I miss US News and World Report and was unaware they publish digitally. I miss the Black and White Horror Comics with the short stories. There are a few military history magazines around. Other than the NFL Draft I don't bother with the sports publications.
4) Has the quality of Advertising gone down? I think of all the iconic gingles that I can remember today decades later. There were the great corporate logos and pitchmen. I see Flo the Progressive Spokeswoman and I cringe. Other than the Gieco Gecko this seems to be a lost art.
Advertising for toddlers is fairly effective. I had no idea how a child who can barely speak says Popsicle or can spot a Lucky Charms box at Twenty Paces. The Child likes Gummy Bears and Endlessly plays a commercial. Still other brands are just found by accident. I still enjoy a cup of Hot Chocolate on occasion and have a bag of mini marshmallows on hand. The toddlers eat them in a much different manner.
5) Do you mentor younger peers?
I spent plenty of time doing this. Perhaps I wanted to be there for others in a way that people were not
there for me. The pure technical part of the job is fun. However, I can not impart enough the need to be fair. I enjoy the teaching, I despise the political gamesmanship that goes with creation of larger programs.
6) At work what is your biggest peeve?
Nepotism.
7) Has TV quality gone down
The quality of the action shows has improved. NCIS and the Police Shows appear better. However, other than The Big Bang Theory the quality of the Sit Coms appears worse. The quality of fresh ideas
is lacking. Secondary characters like Steven Urkel or Fonzie who grow larger than the original seems forgotten. The whole genre is weak.
8) Do you miss the Variety Show.
Actually I do miss it somewhat. I was amazed at how many of my peers remembered In Living Color and surprisingly Sha Na Na. The Muppet show was a Variety Show that is also surprisingly remembered fondly.
9) Can you even remember more than twenty people you went to grade school with.
Admittedly, I don't care to visit up with old school pals and coworkers with rare exceptions. I can remember a handful. In middle school I am better because the case was constant for a long time. In high school plenty of people remember me mostly for some jokes and athletics. I remember few of my buddies from college. Most are doing fairly well.
10) What along the way surprised you.
I didn't expect fatherhood and grandfathering to be so much fun. I never saw myself in this role and until the child is a toddler I have little interest. Somewhere along the way the bond develops. I guess it is the less serious side.
I do enjoy the mischievous Cheekie. She does drive everyone else nutty. The other day one of the kids was working on an arts and crafts project and she jumped on the older kid for a horse ride. She certainly keeps things lively around here.
Try to respond to questions and let's try and shelve the political stuff for this one.
I
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3 comments:
Seems our age group grew up in less complicated times. As a small town kid before Malls,
Dairy Queen & McDonalds, I was
happy enough to visit the local grocery stores, which dotted our
side of town, one every couple of blocks. I still prefer local businesses; they aren't coming and going like the current franchise businesses and they
actually appreciate customers.
It was a mile walk to grade school and a two mile walk (or
bike ride) to Jr and Sr High,
whatever the weather, which in
N Wisconsin can be formidable
in Winter. Dial phones and party
lines and just the one radio to
listen to. Of course we knew every secret path along the wooded banks of the big lake up the street. Pleasant memories.
Seems odd because I am in the bridge generation. Video games just started when I was a kid and they lacked depth.
I remember long endless ballgames and adventures in the woods. Top 40 was a relatively new format. There was also stations that catered to my Grandparents.
In the 70s World War One veterans were still with us. I would listen to the World War One, Two and Korean veterans talk of far away places. My uncle described World War One as a big pile of mud flies and death. The softest spoken one was my Granfather who rarely spoke about the Polish Soviet War. He hated war but he understood the evils of Communism. On a good day he could demonstrate feats of marksmanship that just
Were amazing. He didn't even practice much.
I remember even after he had his stroke he beat the local state trooper. He made me give the trooper back his money. The trooper insisted on buying my Granfather a six pack of beer. He would come over with friends and shoot for fun with my grandfather. He lost and the trooper swore my grandfather threw a match.
Sports heroes were bigger. I remember crying my eyes out when Bobby Murcer was traded.
I was older when he returned. Following the Yankees was part of summer
Even simply going hiking in the woods was an adventure. There were trails with Waterfalls, mountains and berry patches. A group of cousins adventured led by Rusty the dog.
Do you miss the printed magazine
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FilmComment
The New York Review of Books
The Nation
The Progressive
The Economist
Harper's
The Atlantic
Poetry
... as far as I can tell, print hasn't changed much. Stillthe best source of news and commentary.
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