Share Your Nostalgia

This week I’ve been featuring guest bloggers in the series, “Share Your Nostalgia.” The idea was one that was proposed to me be some of my blogger friends. Many of them contributed to this series. The topic for this feature is “The Toy of Your Life.” Was there one toy that you considered the “best?” When you think of yourself as a child, what is the toy that immediately pops into your mind? What was the toy that you brought to Show and Tell or took with you everywhere?

The idea of having guest bloggers is not a new one. As a matter of fact, my next writer has been doing something similar for a couple years now. I am talking about my good friend Dave Ruch. Dave’s name should sound familiar if you visit my page often. Dave is the host of Turntable Talk, a monthly music feature that appears on his blog, A Sound Day. You can find his site here: https://soundday.wordpress.com/

Dave is another one of those great people I met through music and music bloggers. Dave’s blog features musical writings on many genres of music, music history, and artist info. Dave has also authored a couple books. The Mockingbird Speaks was published in 2014 and deals with two things of importance to him. First, appreciating wildlife (and in particular birds) and second, looking at things in a positive light. Another book is Thank Goodness! 101 Things to Be Grateful For Today. It is a collection of personal accounts of good things that often go unnoticed that can bring happiness.

Admittedly, this feature is a blatant rip off of Dave’s Turntable Talk. The only difference is that his topic is musical and mine is nostalgic. Although, now that I think about it, those two things can easily be the same thing. I need to apologize to Dave here. When I decided when this would run, I didn’t think about my feature and his bumping into each other. My bad. It won’t happen again, I promise.

I can’t help but wonder what Dave’s favorite toy was. I know he’s a big baseball fan. Is is sport related? Let’s find out, shall we?

Don’t Walk Barefoot

Thanks Keith, for inviting me to take part in this forum and relive a few fine childhood memories in the process! “The Toy Of Your Life” is a great topic and it seems most of us have at least one that pops into our head and calls up moments of fond reminiscing.

Growing up in the ’70s, I see I had some things in common with people who’ve already contributed. I think most of us grew up in decent homes, but weren’t Richie Rich clones nor spoiled. I had a good number of toys to play with when young, but my closet wasn’t busting at the seams and I sure was taught young that I couldn’t get anything I wanted just by throwing a tantrum. Typically, outside of a few small dollar-store style toys, if I wanted something major, I’d ask for it and if lucky, it might appear on my birthday or under the Christmas tree. That helped teach me patience, and to save up my little allowance to buy things I really wanted months away from those times. For me, that was largely records, but at times it might be a special toy.

Paul’s Soccer (Football) game was new to me, but reminded me of a table hockey game I had for years – about a yard-long hockey “rink” with little players who slid around when you moved the metal pulls they attached to and would “shoot” the little puck, or try to block it. Like Paul’s game, it came with players in two uniforms (Toronto and Montreal I believe) but you could interchange them and there were other sets of players in other team uniforms available. Eventually I think I had 12 teams, which if memory serves, might have been the entire NHL back then. I liked it, and would sometimes play my older brother (who liked to win – a lot) or even my mother, but it wasn’t my favorite by any means nor something I could do by myself to keep me occupied when alone. The same goes for the several board games like “Monopoly” and “Careers” I had… I liked the latter one more, it seemed more creative and interesting and gave your player choices as to what they wanted to do – go to college? Get into environmentalism? Try to become famous? It was up to you.

Christian already wrote about small cars like Hot Wheels and Matchoxes, and I had quite a few of those and really liked them… in fact I wrote about the Hot Wheels once before! You can read that piece here: https://everydavelife.home.blog/2024/07/26/flashback-foto-friday-fun

They were something that I had a lot of fun with and valued for years, but they still wouldn’t necessarily take my “favorite” title. When I thought about it, there was only one real option for me – Lego.

I imagine nowadays everyone is familiar with Lego. It’s a multi-million dollar industry across varoius ends of commerce, including of course movies. You can now buy Lego kits to build realistic-looking flowers and much of their product line is now branded – Star Wars for example. It actually dates back to 1949, when a Danish carpenter came up with the idea of interlocking blocks (with the little “studs” on top that lock into the “tubes” underneath to make them sturdy when connected. He called it “Leg godt”, or “play good” which got shortened to the familiar brand name when patented in 1958. It was inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame (yes, there is such a thing – part of the Museum of Play in Rochester, which sounds a fun place to visit – in 1998. But back when I was a kid, it was a rather different kind of thing, and I dare say, better.

That’s because while you could get some actual “kits” to build specific things (I seem to remember having this little firehouse kit, or at least the vehicles shown):

Mostly, it was just sold in big boxes of mixed blocks. There were white ones, red ones, probably some black ones too. Some were rounded so you could build a turret or cylindrical building if you wanted. Plus there were little doors, windows, blue ceiling shingles… all still connected with the blocks, plus a few less 3-d interlocking features like little trees, or wheel sets. Instead of following an Ikea furniture-like instruction sheet to build the kit to specification, we just used our imaginations and build what we felt like. To me that is a much more creative and ultimately satisfying toy, as much as I did like building a few scale models of real trucks in later years and have them look like the picture on the box.

I had a very large box of mixed blocks and house accessories like windows, and a case that had extra ones from smaller kits I’d been given. I mostly loved building little houses with it. The blurry picture at the top shows me (on right) at probably three or four years old, with my older brother and some of our Lego creations. You can vaguely make out a little white house with blue roof I’d built, in front of me. And as an added bonus, don’t miss that early-’70s orange wall color! I had hours of fun building the houses, making each one look a little different. Sometimes I’d even draw a sort of floorplan for a house – bedroom here, living room there, door here – on paper and try to build one with Lego. When done, I’d maybe keep it on my desk or a table for awhile, then carefully take it apart and build something new. Every once in awhile, for a change, I’d take the base board that I usually built the individual house on and would stack up blocks into little skyscrapers and create a sort of city skyline, viewed from afar. And the wheels allowed me to change it up and build little cars or vans from my imagination too.

It was a great way to spend a rainy or snowy afternoon, building houses, or little castles or whatever I fancied, having something to show for it and then, best of all, it was reusable. Of course, I guess any really incredible creations could have been preserved, but the basis of the toy snapping together and coming apart meant you could use the same set endlessly…which perhaps was why they turned to more specialized kits later. From a commercial standpoint, a toy you only have to buy the child once and they keep using perhaps limits the market potential a little.

It’s a cliché but it’s also true – it was a simpler time. And, I say, for a kid growing up, a better time. I look back on those Lego creations, and Hot Wheels and model trucks with a lot of affection. I can hardly imagine today’s six year old in 50 years looking back fondly on playing a video game for hours or texting the kid next door all night. Thanks Keith for reminding us of this!

Share Your Nostalgia

We continue with my trial run of Share Your Nostalgia, an idea suggested to me by some fellow bloggers. The topic for this feature is “The Toy of Your Life.” Was there one toy that you considered the “best?” When you think of yourself as a child, what is the toy that immediately pops into your mind? What was the toy that you brought to Show and Tell or took with you everywhere?

Today, we shine the spotlight on Christian. Christian is another one of the great music lovers I’ve connected with here on WordPress. His blog is loaded with all kinds of musical writings. He has a love for 1960’s and 1970’s music, but his blog is far from just those decades. You can check him out at Christian’s Music Musings: https://christiansmusicmusings.wordpress.com/

Take it away, Christian –

When fellow blogger Keith (Nostalgic Italian) reached out to me the other day to see whether I’d like to participate in his call for contributions about the “Toy of Your Life,” I immediately accepted. Then I thought, ‘oh, oh, what am I going to write about?’ After all, I really can’t point to one specific object that was THE toy. As such, I decided to take a bit of liberty and write about my (childhood) obsession with toy cars.

I remember my mom often told me that when I was a toddler back in Germany, I would always walk around carrying stuff in my hands. This included all kinds of pens in different colors and a Tonka-type plastic toy truck. At some point, I guess by the time of first grade, I had discovered Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. I couldn’t get enough of them. And I found an ingenious way to increase my supply!

During much of my early childhood, I had blood anemia and needed to take iron in liquid form – yuck, not a medicine I can recommend! The condition also required frequent blood

monitoring. This meant my mom had to take me our primary care doctor where they always stuck my finger to collect blood.

I was very afraid of the little needles the assistant used to take my blood and always made a big scene. On one such occasion, out of despair, my mom once told me if I would be brave, she would reward me with a Matchbox car after the doctor’s visit. While I still dreaded the needles, that sounded good to me!

And so I began accumulating Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars. I played with them all the time, alone and with my best friend who I met in second grade and who I’m still fortunate to call my best friend to this day. At some point, we began building roads in the sandbox that was in the backyard of his house and taking our cars there – safe to assume a few of them got buried forever!

At some point as I grew bigger, so did the toy cars. Matchbox and Hot Wheels were out, and I started collecting cars that were about twice the size of a Matchbox car. I remember one of the brands was called Siku. One of the cars was a BMW 630CSI like the one pictured below, though I believe mine was silver.

During my early teenage years, I started collecting even bigger toy cars (1:18 scale) by Schuco and other toy car makers. Those cars had many more details and looked way more sophisticated. One, a red Mercedes 280SL convertible even had a working steering wheel. I also had a red Porsche 911 (still my favorite sports car to this day!) that looked similar to the below model, though it wasn’t a Targa.

While I kept my bigger cars on display in my room well into my late teens, once I started getting my first guitar and taking lessons, guitars became my new toy of interest, and the toy cars on the shelves started collecting dust.

While I’m older now (at least on paper!), I will say my fascination for toy cars has never entirely disappeared. When my son was a toddler and the Pixar movie Cars came out, it didn’t take much to convince papi (as he usually called me) to start collecting die-cast models of Lightning McQueen, Tow Mater, Doc Hudson or Sally Carrera. In fact, oftentimes it felt papi was more excited than his son!

Even to this day when I happen to spot toy cars in the pharmacy, I sometimes stop and glance to see what kind of makes and models they have. If I were a kid, I’m sure I’d like some them, especially muscle cars.

Since I’m a music blogger, I can’t wrap up this post without some music. As such, I’m leaving you with three car/driving songs, including one titled Matchbox Cars, though it’s not about toy cars but real cars looking like Matchbox cars from the 52nd floor of a skyscraper – but, hey, close enough!

Deep Purple/Highway Star (1972) – perhaps the ultimate driving song!

Golden Earring/Radar Love (1973) – another contender for best driving song!

Coot/Matchbox Cars (2012) – from the eponymous debut album of this New Orleans-based rock band who are completely new to me – I guess they passed the audition!

Time To Play

I know very few adults who wake up and jump out of bed with a ton of energy. Personally, I get up and need a cup of coffee in order to get the day going. My daughter, however, always seems to be up and ready for the day as soon as she gets out of bed. She’ll run out to the front room, go to her toy box and say, “Daddy/Mommy, do you wanna sit on floor with me and play Little People!?”

Back in January, I recounted my almost injury with Little People. You can refresh your memory here:

Dad Life – The Toddler Zone!

She will always ask to play when she first gets up, and while she will always ask to play with the “Little People,” any toy comes into play. This morning was no exception. My brother sent Ella a “Frozen” bath toy set and despite the fact that they are like 3 or 4 times bigger than the little people, they all interact with each other.

As this picture uploaded, I laughed out loud. At the bottom of the picture – Olaf, Elsa, Anna, and Sven from Frozen. Above that, you have Batman and Robin Little People mixed in with Little People from Little Mermaid, Rainforest Animals, and Barnyard mixed together with various toys from Happy Meals and random Disney characters.

You can only imagine the conversations that happen between the various characters. These conversations get finnier depending on who is playing each character. Today, Ella grabbed the big Anna from Frozen and said, “Do you want to build a snowman?” (a song from the movie) and Batman (me) replied, “I’d love to but the Joker is on the loose in Gotham City!” Ella usually looks at me dumbfounded and eventually tells me what I need to say!

Look again at the picture. You see the Bath Toy Olaf (snowman) and the Little People Olaf? Yeah, that’s what Ella calls “Mommy Olaf and Baby Olaf!” It doesn’t matter that Olaf is a snowMAN, it’s a mommy and baby! As a dad, I just roll with it and often find that this play time brings me tons of laughs.

Sometimes I think that adults should have their own toy box loaded with action figures, Matchbox cars, and things like that. Every day, for an hour or so, adults should get lost in pretend play and forget the troubles of the world. How would this be different that imagining that you are relaxing in a hammock on a tropical island somewhere?

Maybe I’m crazy, but I’d be the first to vote for the politician who mandated play time for adults! Bring on Go Carts, Dodge Ball, Mini Golf, and Laser tag!! The world needs a whole lot more fun.

As a Kid, I Was An Idiot

As a child, I wish I had thought more like Dwight Schrute (see above quote). In swapping childhood stories at work, it became very clear to me that as a child I was an idiot. Here are just a couple examples.

They’d be worth money today

In 1977-1978, my grandparents bought me and my brother the entire collection of Star Wars figures. We had them all. We played with them all the time. At some point, I guess we got “too old” or “too cool” to play with them anymore.

My buddy’s cousin (I think) used to sell fireworks out of his house. I don’t think I ever saw him sell any real big stuff, but we only used to buy bottle rockets, firecrackers, and jumping jacks from him. I’m guessing it was probably illegal, but we never said anything.

I believe we started with Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars. “I wonder how far we can make these cars go if we put a bottle rocket in it?” This is an example of “Idiot Thinking.” Those cars went pretty far for sure.

It didn’t take long for us to find Star Wars figures we disliked (like the Tuscan Raider) and we started to tie them to bottle rockets. They didn’t go as far, and once the thing exploded, we’d want to see the damage done to it.

We also used to put fire crackers in their hand, which almost always held them perfectly. Why we got such a thrill out of this, I will never know. We destroyed so many figures and cars. When I look to see how much some of those figures are worth today … sigh.

Never Blew Up

Jumping Jacks were sometimes called “spinners.” They would spin and bounce and sometimes fly up in the air. These were a favorite of my friends and me.

I’m not sure who had the brilliant idea of dropping them in the sewer, but we spent many hours dropping them into the sewer and watching them spin underwater. They always made the funniest sound as they went off.

I’m not sure just how much flammable gas is in a sewer, but I should be thankful there was never an explosion!

Another Fire Tale

Back in the days before computers, people used typewriters. If you wanted to make a copy of what you were typing, you could throw a piece of carbon paper between two pieces of typing paper and when you were done, you’d have a copy.

I’m really not sure why my dad seemed to have an abundance of carbon paper at our house. I’m also not sure why it was in our garage. At any rate, we found it and my buddy said to me, “You know, if you put a match to that, it will go up really fast!”

That’s all it took for me to go in the house and grab a lighter. My buddy and I took one piece of carbon paper and took the lighter to the bottom of it – “WHOOSH!” It flamed up and disappeared in like a second. We were both amazed – and had to keep doing it. Piece after piece went up in a “Whoosh” until….

The garage door to the house opened and my dad is standing there. “What the hell are you idiots doing?,” he said. For the life of me I couldn’t figure out how he found out. I think I tried to say, “Nothing,” but he knew. Our neighbor across the street was in his front doorway watching us burn those pieces of carbon paper and called my dad.

My dad yelled, “You know there is gas in here! You could light the fumes and blow up the house!” I’m sure I got one heck of a spank and was probably grounded for a week or two. Bonus: No explosion.

It Must Be a Boy Thing

The gals at my work place just laughed as the males shared our destructive tendencies. They obviously have never destroyed toys – just for fun. When our lead tech called, I asked him if he ever blew up Star Wars figures, to which he replied, “Never Star Wars figures, but I’d build Lego houses and blow them up with firecrackers!

This was the late 70’s and early 80’s. I really do not want to think about what kids today are doing “just for fun.”

Remember Fast 111’s?

It’s amazing how two people can remember different things about the same event. My brother and I chatted on the phone tonight. Today marks the 39th anniversary of the passing of our grandfather. In talking about this, my brother and I both (1) remembered that we had been at my grandma’s house the night before (he was away on a business trip) (2) remembered going to a local mall and (3) talking to him on the phone before we went home. My brother remembered a small detail that I had totally forgotten about.

He reminded me that while we were at the mall, we stopped at a toy store and bought Fast 111’s cars. They were made by Kenner and were like Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars. The difference was that they each had a specific license plate that was unique to the car. There were some crazy car designs and I remember having quite a few of them. In preparing to write this blog, I did a quick Google search on Fast 111’s and was thrilled to see pictures of a few of the ones we had.

The one that I remember having was called the Saturn Seeker.

It came in the maroon color above, but also in white. This was the only picture I could find of the license plate:

The above car is obviously beat up a bit… LOL!

On the back of the packaging, you got an owner certificate where you could put your car’s license plat and everything.

As I recall, the Fast 111’s were bigger than your standard Matchbox or Hot Wheels, so they would’t fit in those carrying cases. No problem, though, as Fast 111’s had one made specifically for their cars.

I don’t recall if we ever had the models, but apparently they had them, too!

I’m glad that my brother brought this up tonight, as I had totally forgotten about these! We certainly spent many hours playing with our cars inside and outside. I wish I still had them.

My Oldest Friend

There is no excuse for taking this long to devote an entire blog to my oldest friend. It’s not like I haven’t mentioned him before in blogs, because I have, I just haven’t written one completely about him. Since today is his birthday, I thought it was time to put him in the spotlight. I jotted some thoughts down about what to include, and today in My Facebook “Memories” feed, there was a note from 9 years ago that I had written in honor of his getting older. 9 years later, the content of that note is still true today, so much of this blog is taken from that note (with some 2019 comments added)

Happy Birthday, You Old Coot – A Facebook Memory from 2009

I always knew when my dad was talking on the phone with my Uncle Tom. He would laugh uncontrollably, and there was an increase in the amount of profanity. I always envied their relationship and as a kid, and hoped to have a similar relationship when I grew up. You see, my uncle is not my dad’s brother. They grew up together in the same neighborhood and caused trouble for many neighbors. My uncle, is my Godfather, and my dad’s closest friend. A friendship that has endured through so many years.

I wrote a blog about my Uncle here:

https://wordpress.com/post/nostalgicitalian.com/241

I have a similar relationship. Jeff and I met in second grade. There are many stories I can share and a TON of stuff that no one but he and I would get, so I will just mention a few and will start with my favorite.

Jeff was a bully. I was a timid pushover. I’m almost positive that Friday was pizza day. This was back when school food was actually pretty good. EVERYONE got pizza on pizza day. (Just this week, someone posted THE recipe that was used to make pizza for school lunches and I sent it to Jeff!) My dad always made sure that I had money to buy lunch on Fridays. Little did he know, I rarely ate it. Me being the new kid, I was easily persuaded. Jeff would come over at lunch every Friday and simply look at me and say, “Give me your pizza or I’ll beat you up”. That was all it took – my pizza was his. This went on for almost a year.

One day, dad tried to give me money for pizza. I broke down and said I didn’t want to buy lunch that day. He could tell something was wrong and kept asking why. I was afraid to tell him, but he finally got out of me the reason I didn’t want pizza. He looked me dead in the eye and said, “You tell that boy that it is YOUR money, and YOUR pizza, and you are not giving it to him!” All I could imagine was the pain and bruises I would get for standing up to this kid. I was a wreck all morning.

Finally, lunch time came and I was shaking like nobody’s business. Jeff came over and gave me his typical greeting. At that point, I have no idea what came out of my mouth, but it was probably exactly what my dad told me to say verbatim. I remember Jeff looked at me, and said simply, “Hey, man, it’s cool”! He sat down next to me and we’ve been best friends ever since.

(2019) 43 years later, that story remains one of my favorites (my boys love it, too!) – it’s only appropriate to open with that one.

I recall summer days when we’d be together all day! Seriously – ALL DAY! Jeff would come over at like 8 or 9 in the morning and stay until well after the street lights came on. Those days I remember my mom and dad saying, “Don’t that kid ever go home”?! I’d go in the house and eat dinner, and he’d just hang out in the backyard and wait for me. We could play all day. Countless summer days we’d be out in my backyard with Star Wars figures, playing. We used to go up the Hoover 11 shopping center to Circus World (the toy store) and buy the latest figures.

We also used to have buckets of Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars! We spent hours and hours out in the yard playing with them. In my back yard there was an area that my folks used to use as a garden. We used to go out to the dirt and build roads and make houses for the cars. We had to move to the garden….I guess the huge hole we dug in the middle of the front lawn that my dad almost fell in while cutting the grass was not a welcome addition to the landscape.

We used to play cops and robbers, or pretended we were secret agents and often fought “invisible people”. One can only imagine what it looked like to people driving by to see two kids falling down like they were just punched by …. no one! I remember Jeff came over one day with this cool looking gun. It kinda looked like a combination police special and laser gun. We all had cap guns, which looked like something out of an old western movie, but his gun was really something!! Not only did it look cool – it made a variety of noises! I don’t recall if it was a button you turned or a slider switch, but that gun could sound like a gun shot, a gun shot and ricochet, a laser beam, a huge explosion, and a few other very cool sounds which only aided in our imaginary play! Man, I wish we still had that gun!

When we weren’t at my house, we’d be at his house cause he had the latest tech gadget – the Commodore 64!!!! He always seemed to have the coolest computer stuff. I can remember him showing me these simple and crappy computer games. He was the first one of my friends to have a modem – I remember it was at his house that I first hear the sounds of a modem dialing and connecting with that annoying high pitched screech! He may also have been the first one of my friends to use AOL!!!

There was a cousin of his, I think who sold fireworks in the neighborhood. We’d buy jumping jacks and bottle rockets and shoot em off. I remember lighting the jumping jacks and dropping them in the sewer and watching them spin under the water. Obviously, we had no clue that there was the remote possibility of sewer gasses exploding every time we dropped one down there! As we got older, we’d take the Star Wars figures and attach them to bottle rockets and shoot them down the street. This is a regret now – especially knowing how much some of those things are worth to collectors today!!

To say that Jeff and I caused a little trouble growing up is kind of an understatement. I think he caused more trouble with a few of his other friends, but we got in our share, too. Jeff and I both had BB guns. His had the CO2 cartridge which, of course, made the BB’s go farther and faster! I remember the screen in his mom’s bedroom was full of BB holes. Why? Because we used to shoot at the garage door of his neighbor across the street. Every time that BB “tinked” against the door, we laughed. How many other things did we shoot BB guns at? Well, too many to recall. I will say that I don’t recall ever shooting at anything alive!

We’d stay out till dark – every night! We often took walks around the block or walked up the school. When it was time for me to go inside, I’d walk Jeff part of the way home. He ended up having to walk farther than me, and I always hated walking back home in the dark. I remember we’d walk to a bush that was about half way down my street and that’s where he’d keep walking to his house and I’d turn around and walk back to mine. A few years ago, I noticed that bush was removed by the current resident.

Another thing I recall doing was recording our “stupidity” on cassette tapes. Now normally, you hit the Play and Record Buttons to record something. I don’t recall if it was me or Jeff who figured out that if you hit Record and Fast Forward, the tape recorded at a slower speed, so whatever you recorded sounded twice as fast when you played it back. Our voices ended up sounding like The Chipmunks. Jeff did a spot on imitation of his grandma answering the phone on tape! We spent countless days recording stuff – including farts. Farts are already funny to kids – farts played back twice as fast are just flat out hilarious!!!!

There was a brief period of time that I was told I was not allowed to hang out with Jeff. My folks were gone and my aunt was babysitting us. I don’t remember all that led up to it, but we were probably purposely aggravating my brother. He came out front and was swinging one of those dog chains. You know the ones that connect to the post you put in the ground? He was swinging it around the top of his head like a lasso or something. He was getting close to Jeff, so Jeff pulled out this little pocket knife (the blade was probably less than and inch long and cheap as hell!). My brother told my aunt, who told my mom and dad and I was not allowed to speak to him or hang out with him. I was devastated, but as a young kid, I did what my mom and dad said. Eventually, we started talking again at school (because who can stop a true friendship, right!?). I think we told my mom that the knife was plastic or wood or something. Years later, even my mom said the whole thing was stupid.

It was probably during the time I was not supposed to be talking with Jeff that our house was broken into. My dad and I were bowling at Dad-Lad Night at Pastime Lanes (where I would eventually spend many weeks on a league) and mom was out bowling at another place (with my grandpa, I think). After dad and I were done, we went to see my mom and then came home. Our dog, Lucy was outside barking and we knew something was wrong. Whoever broke in didn’t take much as I remember. I know the microwave was gone, and there was stuff thrown all over the place. My paper route money was still on my bed and not touched, yet my wallet was taken. I say that this happened around the time that Jeff and I weren’t talking, because I remember my dad saying something like, “I bet that troublemaker, Jeff, had something to do with this!” He didn’t!

Speaking of my paper route, Jeff often helped me deliver. He’d take one side of the street and I’d do the other. He would often go out collecting the money from customers for that week. Sometimes my grandpa took us out to deliver in his car. We probably drove my grandpa nuts! We’d always be laughing and whenever my grandpa asked about Jeff, he was referred to as “the crazy one!”

One of the weirdest guys we had to collect from was this old guy who always seemed to answer the door with his shirt off. He always wanted to talk for 10 minutes before handing me the money (from his little plastic change purse). It drove me crazy! It was Jeff, who noticed that the guy had no nipple on one of his breasts! From that day forward, the man was known as “no nips”!

Despite the fact that Jeff went to another school for Junior High, we still kept in touch. Sometimes he’d sneak into his mom’s liquor cabinet and we’d go up to the elementary school playground and drink it. We spent HOURS on that playground just talking – and occasionally drinking. We were such punks. I remember one time, we had been to the school drinking the remaining drops of cheap schnapps. We decided we wanted to get some snacks and a pop. We walked across 10 Mile and stopped at Quick Pick. Both of us walked out with chips and a bottle of Dr. Pepper. Jeff crossed into the middle lane, and I stayed back to wait for a car. As the car passed and I walked closer to Jeff, I watched his hand (like it was in slow motion) let go of the Dr. Pepper bottle (which was made of glass at this time) and the bottle shattered onto 10 Mile. I walked up to him and asked him what happened and he said “I was looking at the bottle and wondered what would happen if if fell – and it did.” Not sure why that is still funny to me, but it is.

It seems like we always ate lunch at Wendy’s (with money his mom had given him)! There are WAY too many stories about the trouble we caused there together (and with Mike Smith). Another place we’d cause trouble was at Hoover 11. We often went there walking in and out of stores and just annoying people. I don’t recall where we got them, maybe from Jeff’s older brother, but we had some packages of condoms. We were probably still in junior high or just starting high school. We were such idiots – we blew them up and stuck them in our shorts and walked around Hoover 11! Anything for a laugh or for attention, right, Jeff?!

Jeff and I ALWAYS can get each other laughing – many times when laughter is inappropriate. I actually blogged about that here:

https://wordpress.com/post/nostalgicitalian.com/719

Back in the days of early cable TV, it was Jeff who told me about this ridiculous movie starring the Hudson Brothers called “Hysterical”. Don’t let the title fool you – it is FAR from hysterical! It’s fairly stupid, yet there are a few scenes in the movie that we still quote to each other while normal people look at us and wonder if we are sane! If you ever stumble on this turd, know that Jeff and I can do the “dance” scene from this movie flawlessly!

I have probably embarrassed him enough today, but it’s his 49th birthday and I don’t have money for a birthday gift, so this blog is the best I can do. I also should get a little serious to wrap it up.

Through the many changes in life, girlfriends, wives, children, etc… we’ve always been there for each other. Even when we both decided to move. He went to Vegas for a few months, and I went to Ludington for a few. You can read about the cool thing we did when he moved to Vegas here:

https://wordpress.com/post/nostalgicitalian.com/606

I’m not sure there is anyone I can talk to, like I can talk to Jeff. Our friendship shares so many things. We both lost our mothers to cancer at an early age, we both have strong faith, and we’ve both had our share of difficult times. It is in those times, we’ve been able to call each other and vent. We can talk about work, our kids, and everything. He has always been the first call I make when I need to talk.

(Side funny to this serious portion of the blog: Sam says she always knows when I am on the phone with Jeff, even though she can only hear one side of the conversation. She says our conversation usually involves 3 things: Beer, Butts and Boobs…and occasionally farts!)

Today, this bum finally caught up to me and turned 49. 43 years of friendship! What an amazing blessing! I’m not going out to buy him a Hallmark card, because no card could ever express how glad I am that he’s my best, and oldest friend. So Happy Birthday to you, Jeff. Thanks for all the great times we’ve shared through the years. Thanks for the laughs and for being like my Uncle Tom was to my dad. I can only hope that my boys will view our friendship as something they aspire to have with someone when they grow up. Thanks for being a friend, a counselor, a sounding board, and a brother to me all these years. Here’s looking to the future!

Oh, and when I told Jeff I was going to blog about him, he wanted to clarify: He says he is not “a bully” because it is such a harsh word. He said that he was an “opportunist who saw an opportunity …. and exploited it as long as I could!”

Consider it clarified, my friend.

Father’s Day Reflections -2019

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As Father’s Day approached, I found a few minutes to reflect. In a world where you hear constantly about “deadbeat dads”, I am lucky enough to have a dad who played a HUGE part in my life in SO many ways. I have blogged about his musical influences on me (Which you can read here: https://nostalgicitalian.com/2018/03/30/my-biggest-musical-influence-dad/) and wrote a blog for him on his birthday (which you can read here: https://nostalgicitalian.com/2018/11/01/birthday-tribute-to-fred/). I was truly blessed with a great dad.

One of the hardest jobs in the world is being a parent, I’ll be the first to admit that. I will also say, though, that while it is a difficult job, it is also one of the most amazing things a man can do! As I look at my two sons, I consider myself blessed. Being a father is one of the most satisfying, frustrating, fulfilling, and life-affirming things I have ever done! I have been a dad for almost 18 years, and as I thought about my boys, I began to make a list of the things I love about being a dad. I thought I would share that list with you. Perhaps you can add to it or relate to mine.

Things I Love About Being a Dad

Your kids think you know it all.
- If I had a dollar for every time my kids have asked me a question about something…LOL. Many times, you know the answer, but sometimes, they ask you something that throws you for a loop! They truly believe you are the smartest person alive!
Playing catch.
- One of my favorite memories of my dad and I was playing catch in front of our house. I remember the first time he threw his “submarine” pitch to me and how much my hand stung when it hit the mitt! Throwing the ball around with my sons is something I will never get tired of doing!
Coaching – Sports.
- I was lucky enough to coach both of my sons in T-ball and baseball. I truly wish they had both continued to play ball, but as they grew older, they lost interest. I also helped the coaches out when my oldest son was on the bowling team in middle school. I loved watching them play soccer and taking them to the driving range to hit golf balls, too. I only got to really go fishing with them a couple times, but I hope that it happens more in the years ahead.
Throwing them around in the pool.
- We lived at one place that had a huge pool. One of the thing I never got tired of was picking the boys up and tossing them back into the water in the summer. I also loved letting them push me in the pool, thinking they had surprised me, when all along I was waiting for them to do it. My oldest is as big as me now, and he still wants me to throw him around! Pool fun is always great as a dad!
Your kids think you are the strongest person!
- I remember arm wrestling with my dad and being amazed at how strong he was. I remember “helping” my dad move things and struggling with my end of it because it was so heavy. Dad wasn’t phased at all, though. As kids, we are always amazed at how strong dad is!
Rocking and singing them to sleep.
- Whether it is at the beginning of the night or in the middle of the night, I never grew tired of rocking my kids to sleep. Holding them with their head on my shoulder and singing Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra songs is forever etched in my memory! The songs changed from son to son, but some remained the same. I used to sing “Bouna Sera,” “On An Evening in Roma,” “Watching the World Go By,” “Vieni Su,” “Cruising Down the River,” and other songs. I used to love when they would sing them to me, too!
You become aware of your bad habits.
- My dad used to smoke. He used to say, “Don’t ever let me catch you doing this!” He eventually quit cold turkey, whether or not it was because of my brother and I, I don’t know. I do know that you are extra cautious about doing things or saying things you don’t want your kids repeating. My dad always tells the story of driving while I was in the car seat behind him Someone cut him off and he yelled, “You stupid prick!” and I said, “What did those pricks do, daddy?!” “Sticks – there were sticks in the road!” was his response. HA!
Play time and using your imagination.
- I remember my dad coming into the bedroom and pretending to be a bear while my brother and I were under the covers. I remember him pretending to be a wrestler and bouncing us on the mattress. I remember pretending that way with my sons, too. I remember playing superheroes with towels tied around our necks for capes! So much fun!!!
Embarrassing them.
- This gets more fun as they get older. My dad did it to me. I do it with my kids. Just recently, we were walking down the street to go to the city fair. On the walk I started skipping and both kids were like, “Dad! Stop it!” This one car was playing some song with a really loud bass, so I started dancing. Again, “Stop it!” When the petting zoo came into view I screamed, “Oooo! Look at the baby goats” and started running toward them. They were so embarrassed! It’s what dads do!!
Introducing them to things from your childhood.
- For me, dad introduced me to a lot of music and such. For my sons, I shared movies and music, but thanks to technology, I was able to share with them the Atari 2600! They had some retro Atari that was loaded with 200 games or something one Christmas. My oldest loved it. He was always playing Maze Craze! We used to hit the thrift shops and I would love when there was some old toy from my childhood there! Of course, I passed down the Three Stooges to them! I also introduced them to the Classic Scooby Doo cartoons, Hong Kong Phooey, and the Muppets.
True and unconditional love.
- It’s a mutual thing. I have never felt such an unconditional love for someone or from someone, until I became a dad. Holding each of my boys for the first time, you melt! The love just gushes out from you. It is an amazing thing.
Hearing “I love you” from them.
- This kind of goes with the above item. As if you can’t love them any more, the minute they tell you “I love you” is just an amazing, emotional, and wonderful thing that you will never forget. I still have voicemails from both boys as toddlers on my phone. I need to find a way to get them into an MP3 or something. I never want to lose those!
Halloween
- There were a few years I worked nights and missed out on taking them out trick or treating. I was able to be at all of their Halloween parades at school. I loved being able to help pick out costumes with them. Pulling them around the neighborhood as babies was something very fun.
Gibberish talk.
- As parents, we all do this. Especially when they are babies. I wish I could remember all the things I said to my kids, I don’t. I know there were gibberish phrases that I used for each boy, though. I used to love saying them to make them smile.
Making them laugh.
- My kids were always my best audience. “Do it again, Daddy!” There is nothing like making your child laugh. Their laughter is like music! Even as they grow up, I still love listening to them laugh. They may not laugh at it everything like they used to, but that’s ok. It’s still fun to make them laugh.
Roughhousing.
- It’s a bit different now that they are older, and have the potential of kicking my butt! I love when they want to rough house! I remember my mom yelling at my dad, “Stop that rough housing!” Why?! It was fun for all of us!
Being silly.
- Adulting sucks. Sometimes, you just have to be silly! Being a dad allows you to be silly. Silly is good. Sometimes, you have to break away from the serious and embrace the silly!
Letting them win.
- Oh how many games of cribbage did my dad let me win?! With Uno, he wasn’t so nice. I think he used to love putting down that Draw 4 card – much like I do with my kids today! Sure, I have let them win occasionally, and there is some satisfaction in watching him and his brother brag about how they beat dad at the game. Every once in awhile, though, you gotta show them you can beat them at it too!
“Caving” at the store.
- I don’t do this as much now, but I used to. You know how it is – you go to the store and there is that “can we get this?” or “I need this!” All too often, I would cave and buy whatever it was. Now that they are older, they understand a bit more when you tell them you don’t have the money to buy that right now. they younger they are, the easier it is for dads to cave!
Getting beat at video games.
- I love spending time with my boys. They love their video games. They have this one called Super Smash Brothers. I really don’t understand it, but the gist is that you are a character (there are many) and you beat each other up until someone wins. They kept asking me to play, so I did. They wiped the floor with me. Both of them were laughing as they beat the snot out of my character. I was just pushing buttons trying to make it hit or whatever. All of a sudden, my character started to light up and did this crazy punch/kick thing! My youngest said, “Dad, you figured out how to use the special!” There was some special move – every character has one! They just neglected to tell me about it and let me lose! LOL! Smart boys!! I don’t care whether I win or not, I just enjoy the time with them.
Carrying them on my shoulders
- I remember as a kid, loving when my dad carried me on his shoulders. I used to hold on to his hair! My boys did the same thing! I would give anything to be able to carry my sons again on my shoulders. I used to love walking through the store with them up there. I loved taking walks in the park with them up there. I wish I had more pictures of them up there.
Snuggling/Hugs
- I have always been a hugger. I love hugging my kids. I miss the days of snuggling up next to them for a nap. I miss holding them while we watch TV. I remember many times trying to get up from the couch, trying not to wake them because they fell asleep. Those moments are so special for a dad. I love when they come up and hug me for no reason. It is still an amazing thing.
“Pull my finger”
- This is probably the one thing that is exclusive to dads. Not many moms do this! Farts, dads, and kids mean laughs. It’s probably such a huge annoyance for moms. Dads fart. Kids laugh at farts. I remember one time my friend and I were outside in the front yard playing with Matchbox cars. Dad came home from work and as he was walking in the house he made the “finger gun” with his hand and “shot” it as he farted. We still laugh about that! The fart will always be a funny thing that dads and kids both laugh at together.
Looking at your relationship with your kids and being able to connect it to memories you shared with your dad.
- Go back and read how many times I mention something I love about doing with my sons, and how many times I can connect them with something my dad and I shared!
The “bond” that is eternal.
- There will never be anything that can come between me and my kids. I love my sons with all that I am. They are my flesh and blood and will forever be my little boys.
The firsts and lasts
- Those firsts stay with you forever. The first steps. The first words. The first day of school. The first concert. Both of my sons are still in school, but if social media is an indicator, the last day of school is just as emotional as the first! Watching each of my sons get on the bus for the first time was very emotional for me. Big days – big emotions.
Artwork
- Back when I had an office at work, I used to have countless drawings that they did in school. I used to have a macaroni bee that my oldest son made. The noodles eventually broke on it. I still have some paintings they did and the coffee mug coasters that each boy made me for Father’s Day in kindergarten or first grade. Those little things hold special meaning for me.
Bedtime Stories
- It starts as you reading to them. I don’t know how many times I read “Goodnight Moon” or “I’m Thankful Each Day” to my sons, but I enjoyed it every time. I am sure there were other books, too. “Snowmen at Night” was a favorite, too. I used to love when they would read to me! I wish the video games weren’t so accessible, because I really wish they would find more time to read. I loved when they would tell me about a story of book they read in school.
The emotions that they make me feel.
- They make me proud. They make me happy. They make me cry (both happy and sad tears). They make me worry. They make me thankful. They make me feel a never ending love for each of them. I am not ashamed to admit how emotional I have gotten watching them in a play, a band concert, a baseball game, or during an awards ceremony. God help me, when they graduate, get married, and have children – I can barely hold it together now!!

I am sure if I had a few more minutes, I could add many more items to this list. Being a dad is the greatest thing I have ever had to do. My sons have been tremendous blessings to me and fill my heart with joy and laughter. I love them so much. If and when I am blessed with another child, I will look forward to reliving some of the things mentioned and creating new memories with that child, because being a dad is one of the coolest, most special, and fulfilling things I have ever done, or will ever do in my lifetime.

Happy Father’s Day!

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