Saturday, April 05, 2014

Memories of Times Past

Started a beautiful, sunny morning with this week's American Top 40. I was almost 3 in early April 1982, when this episode first ran, and some of these songs are among my earliest childhood memories. Among the hits that spring were "Pac Man Fever" by Buckner and Garcia (this was the height of the original Atari video game craze), "Freeze Frame" by the J. Gelis Band, "That Girl" by Stevie Wonder, "Edge of Seventeen" by Stevie Nicks, "One Hundred Ways" by James Ingram and Quincy Jones, "Key Largo" by Bertie Higgins, "Make A Move On Me" by Olivia Newton-John, "We Got the Beat" by the Go-Gos, "Don't Talk to Strangers" by Rick Springfield, "Do You Believe In Love" by Huey Lewis and the News (their first top 10 hit), and Van Halen's version of "Pretty Woman."

The #1 hit that week and for pretty much the entirety of March and April was one of my favorite songs of the early 80s. Mom, my sisters, and I used to belt Joan Jett and the Heartbreakers' anthem "I Love Rock and Roll" as loudly as we could whenever we heard it on the radio.

I actually ended up spending a lot of the morning reading some of the books on the late 40s through the early 2000s I took out of the Haddon Township Library on Thursday. Currently, the story I'm working on is set in 1987 (though that may change as I work my way through it). I was almost 8 years old in March 1987, which is where the story begins. I have fond memories of the music, movies, and toys from this time...but a lot of the rest of the era doesn't bring as much happy nostalgia for me today. For one thing, the years from 1987 through 1989 were the height of my problems in school and at home. This was when my body started developing in ways I was far from ready for. My parents hit a rough patch in their marriage, too. Being so close to Atlantic City didn't help Dad's bad habits, and both of my parents were regulars in the South Jersey bar scene. Both Mom and Dad worked; as soon as we were old enough, my sisters and I took care of each other.

I have no memory of the politics of the time whatsoever, other than one of the few things Mom and Dad could agree on during this era was they had little use for Reagan or Bush Senior (neither were fond of their tax policies or cutting funding for schools and agriculture). The only yuppies I ever saw were on TV and the wealthier tourists who would pass through during the summer. All I knew was that communists were bad and the US was good; I didn't really start to notice global politics until 1989. One of the most profound memories of my childhood was watching the Berlin Wall being torn down on the news and realizing what an enormous change this was for so many people.

I finally decide to take a quick walk for lunch around 11:30. It was a fairly normal day in early spring, blustery and chillier than Thursday, but not as cold as it has been. I had lunch at Phillies' Phatties, the pizza parlor around the corner from me. I watched ESPN Sports Center as I ate a slice of cheese and a slice of mushroom and broccoli pizza, along with a can of Diet Pepsi. Since it was barely noon, I was only joined by two cops who were wearing bright yellow vests - maybe they were helping to fix pot holes.

When I got back in, I ran a couple of Max & Ruby episodes while I got ready for work. Ruby and Louise attempt to play doctor and nurse, with Max as their not-so-patient patient, in "Max's Check-Up." Max really wants the toy at the bottom of the cereal box in "Max's Prize," but Ruby says he can't have it until he eats all the cereal in the box. Ruby, Louise, and Valerie want to make a princess' castle for their entry into the Bunny Scout Parade in "Space Max," but Max thinks it would make a much better space station! Max is the model for Ruby and Louise when they want to create "Max's Work of Art," but being a toddler, Max just can't stay still for long.

Work was pretty much the same as yesterday - very busy with very cranky people. I don't know why everyone's in such a bad mood. It's spring, and the weather was gorgeous today, so they no longer have the weather excuse. Thankfully, we had a lot more help than we have the last few days. We had so much help, I was able to spend the last half-hour shelving candy.

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