When I was a teenager in the 80’s, music videos were a new phenomenon. (Wow, that sentence screams old.) The launch of MTV in 1981 (who remembers which video was played first? The answer is at the end of this post.) made it possible for music fans everywhere–especially teens–to enjoy their favorite acts at a higher level than ever before. The visual experience of music videos back then was something to behold: most videos had a storyline and were shot like mini films. Most teenagers watched MTV during every waking moment, waiting for their favorite videos to appear in the rotation. Or maybe that was just me. For me, one…
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Old Friends
I was on the phone with D the other day when he asked me to go to our local Big Box Toy Store to pick up a specific Star Wars toy that would be part of a thank you gift for his fraternity “dad” (it was meant to be funny). I was happy to do it: the combination of getting out of the house and away from my LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER to-do list and doing a small favor for him–when he typically doesn’t ask for much at all–made this kind of errand a pleasure rather than a chore. Yesterday I headed out to the store and as I drove…
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Green Thumb
I take joy from many things. Here are just a few of them: ~Family time ~Travel ~Writing ~Baking ~Eating ~Zumba Gardening, you’ll notice, is not on that partial list. It’s not even on the full list. That’s because I despise it. My total disdain for the activity was likely brought on by a combination of my couch potato tendencies as a kid (when all of my little friends were outside, I was inside practicing my Ubbi Dubbi skills) and the fact that my sister and I spent many weekends pulling weeds out of the landscaping around our house and especially under that godforsaken magnolia tree, whose lower branches were left…
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Finally, The Popularity of the Reality TV Genre Is Explained.
I’m turning on a dime today, switching gears and providing the reason why reality television is so popular. You’re welcome. But first, go back in time with me, will you? The road is long and winding. Billy Joel’s “My Life” came on the radio yesterday. Every time I hear that song I think of the early 80s Tom Hanks/Peter Scolari sitcom “Bosom Buddies”, because a version of “My Life” was used as the theme song: I adored that show. The premise is arguably ridiculous: two guys who dress in drag (and take on the names Buffy and Hildegard) in order to live in a women’s-only building, and everyone other than…
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Memory
The last couple of days has been really, really difficult for my family, my sister and me in particular. First, click here to read what’s been going on. My sister already wrote about it and I figure there’s no need for me to rehash it here. Seriously. Go read that before continuing. On our way home Monday, we were discussing how odd it is that M, our elderly loved one, has a hard time with her short-term memory (she asks the same questions over and over), but she can remember the strangest little things, like how her daughter-in-law always loved fruit compote, or this: When I graduated from high school…
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The Brady Bunch
My absolute favorite show when I was little was, hands down, “The Brady Bunch”. I don’t remember when I started watching it (the five seasons originally aired from 1969–when I was one year old–until 1974 and then syndication began immediately, making the shows available almost every day for years and years), but I watched it all the time. I watched “The Brady Kids” (the animated show), “The Brady Bunch Variety Hour” (singing and dancing in kooky outfits? yes please!), “The Brady Girls Get Married” (reunion tv movie!), “The Brady Brides” (so wacky!), “A Very Brady Christmas” (classic!), and even “The Bradys”, the hour-long drama that aired in 1990, depicting Marcia…
- Blessings, Childhood Memories, Family Fun, Favorite Things, Food, I've Got Mad Skillz, My Kid Has Mad Skillz, My Mom Has Mad Skillz, Review
Birthday Traditions: Make A Cake And Eat It, Too.
A couple of weeks ago we celebrated J’s 17th birthday. SEVENTEEN. As in, “My younger–and last born–son is seventeen.” It would be really hard for me to believe if there weren’t a trail of rainbow-colored crumbs all over our family photo albums*. You see, around here birthdays mean one thing: beautifully decorated rainbow cakes (the insides are tinted in various colors). It’s a tradition my mom started, and what I love about it is the thought that goes into it, resulting in the birthday honoree feeling extra special. I remember how creative my mom was with birthday cakes when we were kids. Over the years, she made me a Holly…
- Childhood Memories, Confessions, Do I Really Want My Readers To Know This?, Food, My Mom Has Mad Skillz
Old Habits Die Hard.
When he was little, J–like so many other young kids–had a strong aversion to bread crust. Unfortunately for him, I had a strong aversion to making a sandwich and then cutting off the crusts for my kid. Call me mean if you want, but I just figured that if he didn’t like the bread crust that much, he could just eat around it. I did help him out a little bit, though, by cutting his sandwiches into quarters on the diagonal. This way, he could nibble what he considered “the good stuff” all the way down to the crust. That picture above, though? That was my sandwich, from yesterday’s lunch.…
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The Love Boat
Back in the late 70’s through the mid 80’s, my sister and I were always in the same place on Saturday nights: in front of the television, watching “The Love Boat”. The weekly adventures of Captain Merrill Stubing (Your Ship’s Captain), Julie McCoy (Your Cruise Director), Issac Washington (Your Bartender), Doc Brinker (Your Ship’s Doctor), Gopher Smith (Your Yeoman Purser), and the parade of special guest stars that appeared each week (like Charo, Meredith Baxter Birney, Florence Henderson, Sonny Bono, and so many others) kept us glued to our seats from the intro song–which, at nearly two minutes, was clearly created in the days when the powers-that-be weren’t concerned about…
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In Concert
Considering that Jim is into heavy metal and rock, D is into alternative and rock, J is into electronica, and I’m into pop and electronica (mostly), the fact that there are a few select recording artists that all four of us really, really like is pretty amazing. Related: I will tell you that Jim and I have dreams for our boys. Concert dreams. For years, we have told the boys that their first concert would be that of one of these select few artists, so we could all go together. You see, I have always wanted my sons’ first concert experience to be wonderful, because I am a little embarrassed…