Back around 1978, I bought a twirly straw in SAFEWAY. I've had it ever since, and whenever I look at it, I can't help but think of how my home town used to be in the '70s. It also brings to mind the contingent of pals I used to have, the comics I used to buy, the TV shows I used to watch, the books I used to read, and the music I used to listen to. Not forgetting the movies I used to go and see. It also reminds me of how young I used to be. (I'd like to be able to say how handsome I used to be, but that'd be stretching the truth.) Hey, that's a lot of 'used tos'.
All that from the above twirly straw. That's pretty amazing, don't you think? Have you got one single item that prompts so many memories? Please share in the comments section.
First I had one of those and I still can't figure out how to clean the inside. Then it occurred to me m. Pipe cleaner. Second to answer your question. I still have my teddy bear. He sits in a closet. He was never the same after I washed him and put him in the dryer.
ReplyDeleteAh, that's good to know. You look after Teddy, PS, 'cos he's your oldest pal. There are Teddy Bear hospitals where they restore them to their former glory. Might be worth considering.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very poignant little elegy Kid, which struck a chord with me. As you say a lot of used to's, which we can all relate to. Of all the things you listed i think its the 'contingent of pals' you mention that I miss the most from the Seventies. I had so many pals back then, loads. Where the hell did they all go? Re. the curly straw I had one too. Great fun when slurping Tizer but hard work with a milk-shake I recall. They needed careful cleaning and once a glob settled in a bend nothing would shift it. There it stayed flavouring all future slurps, gathering gloop and growing in size eventually stopping the flow altogether!
ReplyDeleteI didn't have much of a problem with cleaning my straw because I only ever drank Coca Cola. Then I'd put some hot water in the sink, sook up the water through the straw, then blow it back through to clean it. Of that particular contingent of pals I mentioned, one is dead, several others have moved away, and I see another one occasionally and have a gab. Funny where life takes us, eh?
ReplyDeleteI can't think of 1 single "physical" item that brings back so many memories (lots of comics and a few toys I have bring back specific memories) However I had my Ipod on shuffle a few weeks ago whilst doing a bit of wallpapering and a 70s song came on (Slade, "Take me bak 'ome") which I hadn't heard in ages and I was taken right back to 1971 . it was one of those micro second flash backs where I could almost smell the 70s (if that makes sense to anyone) and memories of my school, my home at that time. and some long forgotten friends came rushing into my mind - was a great feeling - so its excellent you can get that with the "straw".
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean in regard to 'smelling' the '70s (or any ere one's lived through), PM, because I've experienced that sensation myself. I caught a whiff of disinfectant from somewhere while out walking one day, and my mind was instantly returned to my primary school toilet in the '60s. That will come as no surprise to some people, especially those who often say my mind is in the toilet.
ReplyDeleteLol I get that with carbolic soap (especially if I see those large reddish blocks of soap) It take me right back to my primary school in Rutherglen. And the smell of burnt toast reminds me of my gran who burnt it when I was staying with her one day and was upset so I said I liked burnt toast - next time I was at her house with my mum she made us a cup of tea and toast my mum said to my gran "..I'll make a new piece for Paul that slice is burnt , to which my gran relied "no dear Paul likes it burnt I made it specially like that for him" the wee soul
ReplyDeleteThat's a great wee story, PM, but what a fibber you are. You'll be going to the big bad fire - where more than your toast will get burnt. Did you ever develop a taste for burnt toast at all? Or do you ever burn it deliberately just to remind yourself of your gran?
ReplyDeleteNo I never liked burnt anything and only burn things in error - I did burn toast recently as I bought a new toaster and got the settings mixed up -I didn't get a flash back to that time with my gran (mostly as my fire alarm was bleeping away ) bUt I did recall the event afterwards,
ReplyDeleteHope you didn't tell your girlfriend about burning the toast, PM. She'd maybe put it down to typical male inadequacy, which, of course, is a gross insult as men are clearly superior to women. (They must know it, because they don't seem to like me for some reason. I wonder why?)
ReplyDeleteRight, that's me stirred things up for today, time for a cuppa.
I've got a traditional beer mug with a handle that my sister bought around 1986. I don't remember where she got it from but nowadays it sits in my kitchen and always reminds me of her nearly 30 after her death.
ReplyDeleteDo you ever drink from it, CJ, or would you be too worried about breaking it?
ReplyDeleteI just keep pens in it, Kid.
ReplyDeleteAnd I meant to say 30 years in my first comment !
Ah, but I knew what you meant. I'm clever that way.
ReplyDeleteOops, meant 'era' in one of my above replies, not 'ere'. And I can't remember why I was joking about McS being a fibber - oh, now I do. He was 'fibbing' to his gran about him liking burnt toast.
ReplyDelete