The Lincoln Park Round-Up:

I went to the Lincoln Park amusement park in North Dartmouth Massachusettes quite a few times in the mid to late '70s. One time I went, I rode The Round-Up. 8 times in a row. I got SO sick...

Misc. Remembrance:

In the late '70s we had a neighbor named Dick Q. In the summertime he used to get drunk on beer on Sunday mornings then mow his lawn while playing loud Irish music. I don't know why that was his "thing", but whatever..

Irene Goodnight, Irene goodnight. Goodnight Irene, goodnight Irene, we'll see you in our dreams:

Sometimes she sleeps in pajamas
Sometimes she sleeps in a gown;
But when they're both in the laundry,
Irene is the talk of the town.
Irene never goes off to Dreamland
'Til she's combed every hair on her head;
She puts it in neat little curlers,
Then she hangs it on the post of the bed.
A burglar broke in Irene's bedroom,
The dear girl was sleeping in peace.
Then Irene she fought like a tiger,
'til the burglar called the police..
Irene goodnight,
Irene goodnight.
Goodnight Irene,
Goodnight Irene,
Well see you in our dreams.

I remember an episode of Little House On The Prairie...

... when Nellie Olsen fell in love with the son of a pig farmer. Mrs. Olsen was less than thrilled. So Nellie invites the boy over to the house for dinner and he shows up wearing no shoes. Then they decide to elope and get married by a justice of the peace, and as they're in the town's only hotel in their room about to consumate the marriage, Mrs. Olsen barges into the room with a shotgun and starts shooting and the kid runs out of the room in his longjohns. I'm not sure if the marriage got annulled or how it dissolved, but needless to say it didn't last..

Misc.:

This was Mary's step-up kitchen. I always liked the stained-glass roll-up window/partition and the brick wall. Of course, if someone shut me in there I'd panic from claustrophobia, but still it wasn't a bad setup.

Misc. Remembrance:

When I was around 4 years old, one of the rooms in our house was my playroom where all my toys were kept and that's where I'd hang out. I found a plastic spoon, and since I didn't have anything else to do I decided to see what would happen if I stuck it into one of the electrical outlets. I ended up on my ass. If you're tempted to try it I'd advise against it..

The good scissors:

In our house we always had an "everything drawer". That's where my folks kept the note pads, pens, pencils, tape, playing cards, etc. Also there were 2 pairs of scissors: the regular scissors, and "the good scissors". I was not allowed to use "the good scissors". Only mom could use "the good scissors", dad wasn't even allowed to use "the good scissors". If I had to use scissors, mom would always remind me not to use "the good scissors". Then as I was in the process of cutting, she'd call out: "You're not using the good scissors, are you???!!!?!". Then she'd find an excuse to come into the room just to make sure I wasn't using "the good scissors". I think she's past that stage now..

A 1969 Christmas:

So did anyone else get Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots that year? And were any of you an only child like me?? Receiving a game that was meant for two??? Does anyone else see the irony in this????

Their favorite foods:

Walter Findlay liked Gatorade because "it made him feel like a jock". Jan Brady liked peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. Marcia Brady liked spaghetti. JJ Evans liked his mom's sweet potato pie. Gilligan liked Mary Ann's coconut cream pie. Fred Flintstone liked brontosaurus burgers. Archie Bunker liked having a Twinkie in his lunch bucket and a beer when he came home from work. Alice Hyatt liked anything with chocolate. Laverne Defazio liked milk and Pepsi. Shirley Feeney liked Fudgesicles (pronounced fudge sicles, not fudgicles. She was very particular about that...)

1974:

I'm not sure what you were doing on December 19th 1974, but I'm pretty sure I was probably reading the Sears Wishbook. Over and over. And over. And over. And over....

Misc. remembrance:

When I was a kid, my birthday was always celebrated a week before the actual day, because our family would host Christmas Eve for the whole extended family and a birthday party just would've been too much. My friends were rather jealous that I got to open my birthday gifts a week before. Above is, I believe, either 1970 or 1971.

Back in the day, my Great Grandmother (Bachi) loved The Bobby Vinton Show. She was a huge fan because he spoke and sang fluent Polish. My Great Grandmother came to the United States from Poland back in '39, and lived in Taunton Massachusetts 'til her passing. I'm sure she missed her homeland terribly, and Bobby sort of "eased the pain", so to speak. She and my Grandmother lived in a 2-apartment house on Meadow Street down by the Reed & Barton factory. My Great Grandmother lived in the second story apartment, and my Grandmother lived on the first floor apartment. My grandmother also spoke fluent Polish, and every now and then they'd argue together in Polish because nobody could understand them, and it used to drive me crazy not knowing what they were saying. How rude..

Back in the day:

Seems like everyone liked hanging out at Mr. Hooper's.

Random:

When I was a kid we did things as a family, but we never went on a picnic. I also didn't grow up near a nuclear plant, either..

Random fact:

When I was a kid I never was never in the habit of playing with my food.

Aunt Jenny turned 100 this year:

My grandmother's sister Jenny turned 100 years old this year (I don't know her exact birthday). My grandmother passed away in '86, and everyone else from that generation passed on, but Jenny's still going strong. She apparantly took after her mother, because my great grandmother lived to be 92 (she probably would've lived longer if she hadn't broken her hip). Jenny lives in Raynham Massachusetts with her daughter, and was just awarded with an "Oldest Person In Raynham" award, but between you and me that doesn't seem to be an award I'd wanna brag about. Or show people...

I was just thinking about...

... Fannie Flagg. She was a regular on various game shows back in the day. She was also on Candid Camera. Once they set her up as a lady working in an information booth in a mall, and she didn't know anything. It was hillarious watching people get exasperated with her, she was funny as hell. I think she's an author now. She's one classy lady.

Sha Na Na:

So does anyone remember the Sha Na Na tv show from sometime around 1977? I watched it, although I only remember Bowzer. The guy next to the long-haired guy wearing glasses looks like Billy Crystal, but I don't think it's him. I don't remember any of their songs except for the last line of the song they always used to sing at the end of the show (goodnight sweetheart goodnight). I could only watch it my folks weren't in the room because they couldn't stand the show... well what did they know. This was quality programming. For a 9-year old ....