Drive-Ins and Green Stamps

But, did you ever start to drive off with the speaker still hanging on the window? Almost did, caught it just in time. Tulsa's Admiral Twin Drive-In is a little older than I am. A few years ago, its dual screens burnt to the ground. Took a while, but there was tremendous community support, and they re-built, went digital, and are thriving today. Well, not today - closed for the winter. "You must have an FM radio to hear sound," but, now you really get stereo.

I think a friend had the sno-cone maker. I had a cotton candy maker. Pour sugar into the heating element, it spun cotton candy. Must've had some coloring agent in the sugar that came with it. I don't think these toys, or things like the Vac-u-form, would be considered "safe" for today's little monkeys. Oh, yeah, the cotton candy maker met its fate when wise guy Older Brother decided he'd try Jello instead of sugar, over my objections. End of that toy.

I well remember, sometime after we'd moved to Chicago, walking into a music store and realizing there was not an LP in the place. I resisted CDs as long as I could.

I was pretty proud, as a little kid, to know how to use the card catalogs. Libraries then were the world.

Dad used a belt, threat of which was usually sufficient. Not always, but I think the folks had softened up after raising my three older siblings. Stung.

No jacks, but plenty of middle-of-the-night foot-stabbers in the one-dot Legos and the (horrors!) Barbie high heels.

Mom made popcorn in the big kettle, but now and then we had Jiffy Pop; it usually worked.

I pasted a lot of green stamps into books for my mom. They were still going when Milady and I moved to Chicago. She recalls we got a blender or egg poacher or something with our stamps, but had to drive somewhere 'way out west to redeem them. Had to explain the green stamps to daughter.

Thanks for the stroll down Nostalgia Avenue, Pete.