Category: Memories

 

So who remembers payphones?

Back in the day, it cost a dime to make a phone call at a public payphone. Over time, the price went up to a quarter…I believe later it went even higher, but I have been a cellphone user for so long, I didn’t keep up with the payphone cost hikes.

Bottom line, those devices have gone the way of the dinosaur. For the most part…

Payphones still exist in airports, but the number is being steadily reduced as more and more people carry a phone at all times.

I recall in high school using the payphone to call Mom when I needed to be picked up after a track meet. If she wasn’t home, I hung out and tried again later. I couldn’t catch Mom on the road and say, “Swing by an get me when you finish at the market.” She didn’t have a cell phone. No one did.

Today, my kids shoot me a text when they need me. If I’m out and about, I just add them to my list of stops. It’s a different world now…

 

Stay groovy…

–Susie

(Copyright 2019 Susie Krivacic)

So, it’s summer and you know what that means: grillin’…

If there’s ever the perfect time to grill a burger or steak, it’s in the summertime. Some people are so devoted to grilling, that they do not let bad weather get in the way of the perfect meal.

Take Mom…She is an expert griller and some of our best meals growing up came from the grill…even during winter…

You see Mom is such a devoted fan of grilling that she would go onto the patio during a major snowstorm in Indiana to grill our steaks. I kid you not; Mom would be in a winter coat and boots with snow falling heavily from the sky lighting up the grill. She’d come back inside to get the tenderized and marinated meat and would dash out to the patio to grill our meal. And it was always delicious.

I don’t know if I fully appreciated the awesomeness of this practice when I was young. But as an adult, I so get it. Thank you, Mom, for the years of yummy BBQ, no matter what the season.

 

Stay groovy…

–Susie

(Copyright 2019 Susie Krivacic)

So Ethan has gotten me into the Netflix original Stranger Things. I’m usually not a fan of the sci-fi genre, but my son feels this show qualifies as a horror series. Either way, I love the show.

One element that attracts me to Stranger Things is the tie-in to the 80s. I attended college during this decade, and we tend to identify with the music we danced to during that time. And dance we did…

Stranger Things does an excellent job of representing the 80s in all its glory. The clothing is hysterical…Did we actually wear those outfits? And the music…oh the music! I drive my kids crazy because I sing along when the 80s songs are blaring in the background of the scene.

One element of the show is causing some controversy. Some of the main adult characters smoke, such as Joyce and in particular, Hopper. Apparently this season, parents have complained about this, and the writers intend to not portray characters smoking in future seasons.

Now, I don’t like smoking. But in the 80s, smoking was quite common. Sure, people knew that it was unhealthy, but often they had started smoking before the information about the negative health impact was available. So to have people smoking is appropriate to the timeframe, and to abruptly remove it is inauthentic. I don’t believe young children would see Hopper smoking and think, “Wow! That’s cool.” In addition, I don’t believe that Stranger Things is appropriate for those same young kids.

Just my opinion. If you’re a fan of the 80s, check it out…

 

Stay groovy…

–Susie

(Copyright 2019 Susie Krivacic)

So this particular blog entry may only be significant to my family, but it’s a tale that must be told.

Today, while teaching my students in China, the vocabulary term “bucket” came up. It immediately brought back a childhood memory:

My parents were out of town and my Uncle David was staying with us. Amy and Todd, the youngest two of six kids, loved Blueberry Buckle baby food. Uncle David was always a joking fellow, so he told the kids they were members of the “Buckle family”. There’s Amy Buckle, Todd Buckle, Mommy Buckle, Daddy Buckle, etc…

As Amy and Todd were still eating baby food, you can imagine that their pronunciation of most words would be questionable. That was the case here. They referred to us as the “Bucket family”. That’s Amy Bucket, Todd Bucket, Mommy Bucket, Daddy Bucket, etc…

For years we continued to make reference to the Bucket family. I had completely forgotten about it until the vocabulary term “bucket” appeared in the lesson today. It’s amazing how one word can stir up memories…

 

Stay groovy…

–Susie

(Copyright 2019 Susie Krivacic)

So I’m continuing to think back to my days as a child in Indiana. We had this cute scrap of fur, a white Maltese dog named P2. Maltese dogs are in the “toy” category, so they are very small. You want to know what can be an adventure? It’s walking a small white dog in two feet of snow.

One winter morning, it was my turn to take P2 out. I was carrying her, hoping to find an area for her to do her business that wasn’t so dense from the storm. You see, the snow had fallen the night before, and a very thick blanket covered our back yard to the tune of two feet.

As I was walking, P2 jumped from my arms into the fluffy snow. Her leash was intact, but she had totally gotten away from me. Near panic began to set in. I couldn’t see P2 anywhere.

As I gazed at the backyard, left and right, I suddenly caught a glimpse of her. Well, not of her actually. I saw a path scurrying through the snow. And P2 was moving quickly. I raced through the path, caught up to her, and scooped that damp pile of fur into my arms. A warm dry towel next to the fire got her comfortable within a few minutes.

After that, I made sure to hold tight to that leash, particularly on a snowy morning…

 

Stay groovy…

–Susie

(Copyright 2019 Susie Krivacic)

So I’ll never forget this really cool thing my grandfather did for us. We were living in South Bend, Indiana about to embark on our first winter there. My grandparents came for a visit, and our grandfather began building “an organic garden”. As gullible little kids, we bought this story.

So Grandpa Joe measured and measured, cut wood and cut wood. He built a square foundation while hammering nails and hammering nails. He then added plastic to the bottom. I figured he had laid seeds under the plastic and in some magical way the “garden” would sprout.

When winter arrived water was added to the garden and with a good freeze, our ice skating rink was born. It was so much fun to be able to walk into the back yard and pretend to be Dorothy Hamill. Okay, so she wasn’t an Olympic champion until 1976, but she was becoming a household name. You get the idea. We also had awesome ice hockey matches.

We would continue to skate until our toes were numb with cold, only to go inside for just enough time to warm up and thaw out. At some point during the day, our neighbors would arrive “to play”. They just happened to bring their ice skates. Needless to say, our house was the place to be that winter and subsequent others.

When I was 10 years old, we moved to Florida, so our ice skating winters were in the past. But I still often think of that rink made with love by Grandpa Joe. So many memories were made there…

 

Stay groovy…

–Susie

(Copyright 2019 Susie Krivacic)

 

So do you remember waking in the morning, going out to the front porch, picking up the newspaper, taking it inside, and reading it while drinking your morning coffee?

Well, this is something that kids today know nothing about. All news is fed to most of us through some electronic device whether it’s your cell phone, laptop, PC or tablet.

Some people just catch the news on television or listen to the updates on the way to work.

And sure, there still remain some purists out there who like the feel of a standard newspaper in their hands. They don’t seem to mind getting their fingers covered in ink.

How about you? What’s your preferred method of catching up on the news?

I wonder how long until the sound of a newspaper hitting the front porch will go the way of the dinosaurs…

 

Stay groovy…

–Susie

(Copyright 2019 Susie Krivacic)

 

 

So those of you raised in the 1970s know that familiar phrase (often spoken in a yell), “I’ll get it.” What will the person get? The phone…

You see, in the 70s cell phones not only didn’t exist, but the average person couldn’t imagine that soon we would have “phones” that had the ability to operate like a computer.

Phones back then were attached to the wall and had a cord that limited where you could speak on said phone. Some families bought extra long cords, so teenagers could talk in their rooms. We had to be careful not to trip over that long cord running from the kitchen, down the hall.

Let’s get back to the phrase, “I’ll get it.” People did not have individual phones, but one shared phone in the family. Sometimes you shared with neighbors as well (remember “party lines”). So when the phone rang, no one knew who the call was for. Therefore one or multiple kids in the house would yell, “I’ll get it,” as they raced down the hall to the kitchen phone to be the first to pick up the receiver.

I’ll never forget one of the many times that happened at my house. My brother and I ran smack into each other as we dashed to be the one to “get it”. I kid you not, we head-butted each other, and I recall seeing stars.

It’s different today, as we each have our own phones with different rings. If it’s not your phone, you let voicemail pick it up. No need to holler, “I’ll get it.” Sometimes I miss the 70s…

 

Stay groovy…

–Susie

(Copyright 2019 Susie Krivacic)

So I vaguely remember my brother’s passion as a small child. John loved to dig ditches. He would spend hours in the backyard digging holes…EVERYWHERE…

My Mom was quite a good sport about it all. If my kids dug random holes in the yard, I’d lose my mind. But Mom took it in stride.

So John dug, and dug, and dug, and dug…

Then one day there began digging of a different kind. As we lived in Arizona, it was time for my parents to add a pool to our home. Three of the four kids in the house were thrilled, but John wasn’t.

Us: “John, we’re getting a pool. Aren’t you happy?

John: “No!”

Us: “Why?”

John: “They destroyed my best ditch…”

 

Stay groovy…

–Susie

(Copyright 2019 Susie Krivacic)

So as you get older, it’s natural to need glasses. People who had 20/20 their entire lives find reading and using the computer more difficult as the blurriness sets in. Seriously, older people are almost always seen wearing reading glasses. Being lost without my spectacles now, I found myself wondering about people with a lifelong need for glasses.

I remember a conversation with a colleague who felt “blind” without her glasses. Her poor vision was finally recognized when she was in the third grade. That’s a long time to go without seeing well. She said that she was amazed at all of the detail she missed before having glasses. Her best example was the appearance of the lawn. She always thought that grass was simply a blanket of green. When she left the optician’s office with her new glasses, she was stunned to note that there were actually individual blades of grass.

I now find myself putting my glasses on at dinner, so I can actually “see” my meal. Without my readers, it’s all just a blurry pile of mush. Contact lenses are probably in my near future…

 

Stay groovy…

–Susie

(Copyright 2019 Susie Krivacic)