The greatest gift you can give a kid is not an X-Box or video game, or a cell phone or even a trip to Disneyland. Instead, give a kid a creek to play in and the child will be a happy camper. I remember a creek near Hopewell, VA. I was about 9 or 10 and staying a week with my Aunt Topsy and Uncle Jeffrey and I was bored out of my mind. Then, one afternoon, three or four neighborhood kids stopped … [Read more...]

Carl Erskine died this week. Most people wouldn’t know who Carl Erskine was. But I did. He was one of the last Boys of Summer – a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers who graced Ebbets Field and pitched masterfully for “Da Bums of Flatbush”. I was about 8 when I became a Dodger fan. They were playing in the 1953 World Series and their shortstop was named Pee Wee Reese. I liked the name for some … [Read more...]

Children today don’t need a Guardian Angel. Who needs angels when you have two over-protective parents that monitor each breath, public schools that inspect your lunch bags for trans-fats and a nanny-state government that requires seat belts and helmets when a youngster pulls up a chair to the kitchen table? But Boomers certainly needed Guardian Angels – a whole flock of them. It’s a wonder any … [Read more...]

I bought and cooked a Leg of Lamb on Easter Day and it brought back a flood of memories. When I was growing up, we had Sunday Dinners and those magnificent Dinners were served right after Church, not in the evening. Leg of Lamb was a staple for those Sunday Dinners. Daddy always made a thick brown gravy and served it with homemade Mashed Potatoes. Other regular entrees for our Sunday Dinners … [Read more...]

Last week, I bought a can of sauerkraut to go with our St. Patties Day corned beef. As I opened the can, it reminded me that once upon a time I hated sauerkraut along with a number of other foods. I was a picky eater. But Daddy George, who came into my life when I was 4, had a strict rule. “You must eat everything on your plate.” I didn’t have to eat a lot of sauerkraut, but I had to try … [Read more...]

There was a time when Americans eagerly greeted a door-to-door salesman. He was welcomed into the home for a chat and maybe a cup of coffee – sometimes a bite of lunch. The well-respected visitor asked about the family and any news in the neighborhood, and then opened his case of wares. Most were brushes. He was, after all, The Fuller Brush Man The Fuller Brush Man was a consummate … [Read more...]

Boomers had numerous ways to entertain themselves and none involved cell phones or video games. We made the most of whatever was available. If there was a barn around, with hay, that was good for at least a week’s entertainment – hide and seek, springing from one loft to the next, using the stacked bales as a make-believe fortress and numerous other amusements. We rode bikes - everywhere. We … [Read more...]

It was television that triggered the explosion in sales of men’s fragrances. Before TV, there were a handful of scents on the market – Mennen, Pinaud Clubman, Williams After Shave and a couple of others. But in the late 50s and 60s people – especially men people – would buy most anything that was advertised. And we Boomers bought a pile of fragrances. Let’s go back and see. Old Spice had been … [Read more...]