Midlife Crisis Hawaii

It’s the sentence that no kid wanted to hear.

As volleymom2 suggested in the previous thread: How about a topic of getting dirty lickens.  Back in the day there was no such thing as child abuse.  It was called Discipline.

jaydee wrote: My best memories of mom? The dirty ‘lickens she used to give us.

volleymom2 wrote: I remember getting lickens from mom, but also saying wait till your father comes home.. oh no…

Mark’75 wrote: Whenever I caught dirty lickens from dad, mom would calmly say those two most soothing words………YOU see?!!!!

Seawalker wrote: I think my mom was a baseball pitcher in her other life. One time, I got her so mad, she actually threw a loaf of bread at me. It was a strike. Right below the belly-button and above the crotch. Yowza, that hurt.  And thank goodness the loaf of bread was only King White size and not Sandwich size.

91boz wrote: I remember one time I had a brilliant idea and used her old style bamboo umbrella as a parachute to jumped off of the garage roof. Well I survived the jump but the umbrella didn’t. I just closed it and didn’t say anything. A few days later my mom and dad took the umbrella out on a rainy night and —ho had dirty lickins for that one.

I remember getting dirty lickens.  When I was doing something naughty, my mom would tell me to knock it off.  But I new she wasn’t serious – so I’d keep doing it like I didn’t even hear her.  A few more warnings and still I’d be carrying on – doing whatever it was that was irritating her.  Until… she opened the kitchen drawer, pulled out the wooden mixing spoon and slammed it on the counter.  Okay, now I know I pushed her to her limits – because that wooden mixing spoon was in arm’s length of me getting spanked.

Remember getting “the stick”?  I’m talking about the YARDSTICK.  And let me tell you young un’s that might be reading this.  Yardsticks back in the day wasn’t those flimsy City Mill kine you get at the Blaisdell Home & Garden Expo.  No sir-ee, Bob!  Yardsticks made in the olden days were solid planks of hardwood.  They were so thick that they even had a rivet drilled on each end so they would hurt even more!  Don’t believe me?  Check out this photo for contrast:

And remember doing the “arch”?  That’s when your father would stand you up and hold your arm raised up above your head and get ready to whack your okole with the thick wooden yardstick – and you would arch your back and stick out your front side forward as much as you could to try and pull yourself away from the hit.  It didn’t work…

I remember my dad had these yellow and white slippers that he wore inside the house.  A spank was only a foot’s reach away.

And if it was going to be a major whippin’ – dad would go to his room, pull off his belt from his trousers, and come after us.  Even though we ran to the farthest corners of the house, it didn’t matter.  In fact, I think it make it worse.

I used to be so terrified of “the belt” that one time I started crying before he even hit me.  And then he asks why I’m crying because I wasn’t the one who was going to be hit.  I was just being proactive.

As for mom, she was a softee.  I don’t think she ever spanked me.  Maybe because I knew to stop when I saw that wooden mixing spoon.  But my older brothers told me stories.  Like the time my mom hit my oldest brother with a wooden hanger and the hanger broke.  And he laughed at it.  Big mistake because the wire hanger that followed didn’t break.

For me, my mom would just say “You wait till your fadda comes home”.

How did your parents “discipline” you?  What was their weapons of choice?  What kind of things did you do to deserve to be disciplined?  Were you ever disciplined by someone other than your parents?

I hope all the mom’s had a wonderful Mother’s Day.

A bit late, but I thought we’d honor our moms by recalling memories of your mom.  Anything from watching her cook to the way she kept the house organized to things she did that made you laugh.

One of the things I remember was running errands with mom.  We’d hop into her powder blue Plymouth Valiant – the kind with push buttons for drive, reverse, neutral, etc. – and make the rounds around Kailua town.

Mom’s car looked something like this one.

I remember that mom used to like to use the drive-thru window at the Bank of Hawaii.  Since I had to sit in the back seat, I could move on over to the seat behind mom, roll down my window and stick my head out to see what mom was putting inside the aluminum drawer.  Then watching the teller do her thing and pushing the drawer back open to give mom her receipts.  And of course I would wave bye-bye.

But at First National Bank, mom wouldn’t use their drive-thru and would instead walk into the bank.  I remember monkeying around underneath the counter with all the different transaction slips.  Maybe that’s why mom liked to use the drive-thru…

And mom’s errands always ended up with a trip to the grocery store.  Harada market, Oneawa market, Star market, any which one she felt like going to.  My older brother always got to push the wagon so I had to just mope behind and follow.  Sometimes I’d find the aisle with the party toys and admire the parachute men, or the color pencils, or the clear super-balls.  I didn’t care to look at the plastic jewelry sets or the girlie tiaras.  Yuk!

In the kitchen – the way I helped mom cook was to stay out of her way.  End of story.

I remember mom was always up first in the morning.  She had to wake up early to make dad his lunch for work.  Then she used to sit at the table while reading the newspaper, drinking her coffee, and listening to “Aku“.  Then at 7:00 she’d wake me up to offer me breakfast and make sure I got ready for school and didn’t go back to sleep.  I was never a morning person.  Sometimes I used to walk out to the parlor like a zombie and fall back asleep on the couch.  Then after I got dressed for school and brushed my teeth, she’d put Seventeen hair oil in my hair and comb it so I’d look cool.

But the best was when mom used to iron in my bedroom at night.  The ironing board and sewing machine was stored in my bedroom so of course mom did her ironing and sewing in my bedroom.  She used to have the portable radio turned on to KZOO radio station and maybe it was just the fact that she was there, but I always felt calm and at ease when mom was there.  So I’d be lying in my bed, smelling the heated spray starch from mom’s ironing, and fall asleep in no time at all.  I don’t ever remember mom finishing up her ironing and turning off the light.  I just remember that the next thing was – it was morning and I was waking up.

Well, those are some of my memories of mom – reflecting on this Mother’s Day.  What are some of your best memories of your mom?

Franz Shiro Matsuo aka “Mistah Saimin” passed away last Thursday at the age of 93.  He was the founder of Shiro’s Saimin restaurants.

But he was also known for the poems he wrote that used to be published in his weekly ads in the Dining Out section of the Sunday newspaper.

Here’s his story:

All his life, Franz Shiro Matsuo had a dream – he wanted to be his own boss and one day run his own restaurant. Growing up as a nissei (second generation Japanese) in Hawaii and being the youngest of four brothers, he was tired of living in the shadow of others. Throughout his journey, he endured a life of adversity; but, he never gave up and never doubted himself. Shiro diligently worked a myriad of jobs and was exposed to all walks of life in the process. Through sheer determination, he eventually became one of Hawaii’s notables. However, Shiro never forgot his roots. Eventually, he used his life lessons to help in the growth of the culinary industry as well as the community.

Shiro grew up in the Aala Park vicinity known as Hell’s Half-Acre. His family worked hard to escape the poor, humble beginnings. Shiro’s father (Seiichi) started an entertainment business bringing in stars from Japan to entertain at the Japanese camps. His brothers (Tatsuo & Fred) built the Kokusai Theater to continue the business. Soon after graduating from McKinley High School, Shiro was drafted into the army in 1942 during World War II. His scrawny physical demeanor (about 109 lbs.) could hardly contribute to the quarry rock-breaking assignment of his all-Japanese unit. He was re-assigned to “latrine orderly”. With his positive attitude, he decided to become the best latrine orderly there was. He got noticed by the mess sergeant who quickly plucked him from the latrines into his mess kitchen. From there, he became the personal assistant and cook for one of the Colonels. So through the army, Shiro found his calling – cooking.

After the the army in 1945, he worked at Seaside Garden in Waikiki and then as the main chef at Mochizuki Teahouse both owned by his oldest brother “Tats” Matsuo. The Mochizuki Teahouse became the premier place-to-be at the time. “Tats” soon became a staunch supporter of a man named John A. Burns. The Matsuos branched out into Lau Yee Chai and real estate. Then the shipping strike hit and they lost everything. Soon after, “Tats” died leaving Shiro with all the family debt. Shiro spent the next 15 years paying off the family debt never considering filing for bankruptcy. He worked at The Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Donn the Beachcombers, a teahouse in Los Angeles, the Biltmore Hotel, The Hoffbrau and numerous other places often holding three jobs at a time.

Shiro met his future wife Jean Kamishima in the years before the army. They got married soon after his duty ended.  She supported him in all his endeavors.  After working at all the various restaurants, Shiro tried his hand in owning and operating his own restaurant.  His early endeavors were The Sheridan Inn, King‘s Den, Fukuju Tei.  Then on a fateful day, now Governor John A. Burns called Shiro and offered him a job as his personal chef at Washington Place.  Through that personal connection, he was able to get a job as one of the first cooking instructors of the Manpower Training and Redevelopment Program at the Kapiolani Community College.  This program became the foundation of the now illustrious Culinary Institute of the Pacific headed by Conrad Nonaka, who was one of the prize students of Shiro’s very first graduating class.

Although the teaching job was the best job he ever had, Shiro was restless.  He was now fifty years old but he still had an enormous drive and passion to start his own business.  He was given an impossible offer.  The owner of the Aiea Bowling Alley Drive In was going into debt and wanted to sell the place.  He offered it to Shiro for $50,000.  Shiro went to every bank and savings and loan; but, no one would approve a loan.  He finally agreed to take over the former owner’s liabilities of about $50,000.  He opened up with only the change in the till.  He let go almost all of the staff and kept only about four workers.  He humbly asked all the purveyors to extend him credit and he would slowly pay off the debt.  They all agreed!  And so Shiro’s Hula Hula Drive In was created.  Fueled by determination, Shiro worked an average of 14 hour days, 7 days a week and didn’t take a vacation for 3 years.  He jumped for joy when sales crept up from $300/day to $1,000/day and climbing.

Eventually he outgrew the Aiea Bowling Alley location and in 1969 he opened in Waimalu Shopping Center.  At that time, everyone served saimin as a snack with a teri beef stick on the side.  Shiro always had a dream to glorify the saimin into a meal in itself.  Thus the Shiro’s Saimin Haven came into being.  Shiro’s Saimin Haven boasts 60 different versions of saimin, along with a wide variety of local favorites – Shiro’s style.

At his current age of 91,  Shiro “Mistah Saimin” continues to exhibit the spunky attitude that has become an integral part of his life and philosophy.  He continues to pass his message to others through his “Dear Hearts” poetry, which can be found on the walls of his restaurant.  He has composed an original poem every week for over 30 years! He still teaches youngsters – at 80 years old, he was asked to be one of the original “Weed and Seed” cooking instructors in Ewa Beach.  He gladly accepted.  In addition, Shiro has been a motivational guest speaker since the 1960’s appearing before numerous senior citizens’ clubs, high schools, colleges (even Waseda University in Japan!), Rotary Clubs, etc.

Shiro contributes to many high school scholarship funds on an annual basis.  He has sponsored his own ukulele show and produced a few CD’s of his own (he sings and plays the ukulele).  He donates the proceeds to various charities including his alma mater McKinley High School.  He has sponsored two DOE poetry contests with the help of Wilson Food Service and awarded $2,000 in scholarships at each event.

In 1990, Shiro successfully turned over the day-to-day operations to his daughter Linda.  Her husband Aaron Lee decided to join the corporation in 1994 and her son Bryce Fujimoto has joined the management team in 2009, making it a three generation family business.  Shiro’s Saimin Haven won the 2009 Small Business Association’s Family-Owned Business of the Year Award.

Shiro “Mistah Saimin’s” life journey exemplifies the fact that nothing is impossible.  With the help of his wife, family and dedicated employees, Shiro has demonstrated that success is attainable through perseverance, stamina and a positive attitude.  Shiro enhanced the image and quality of the industry by staying focused to his vision and  goal through his insistence on high quality and excellent service.  What started off as a quest for personal achievement ended in a demonstration of dedication and commitment to the growth of an industry.

Wow, what a life story!  I’m sure most of you have visited Shiro’s Saimin Haven at least once.  What did you order?

Okay, I’m eye-ing up the #22 Korean saimin with the kal-bi and kim chee.  It’s been quite a number of years since I’ve visited Shiro’s.  I think it’s about time for a Shiro’s saimin.

Do you remember grinding at Shiro’s?  Which saimin on the menu do you want to try the next time you’re at Shiro’s?  If you could create a Shiro’s special saimin with your name on it, what would be in your special saimin?

Rest in Peace, Shiro.  Thank you for all your poems and onolicious saimin.

Headlining the 70′s Nightclub Reunion X (Encore) will be The Kasuals!

Here’s a bio on The Kasuals that I got from Robin Kimura of Greenwood:

“KASUALS” OFFICIAL HAWAII BIO (by Danny Perez)

“Guam and Hawaii’s Own-The Kasuals” was a band formed on Guam by founding members, Frank Mendiola, Danny Perez and Bob Owen, in the summer of 1971, when Frank had just gotten out of the Army after serving honorably in the Vietnam War and Danny had just graduated from high school. The band’s name was derived from two of the top bands on Guam during the 1960s: the “Kaskels”, a band that Danny and his brothers, Joe & Tony Perez had played in; and the “Casuals”, a band that featured Frank Mendiola & Bob Owen.

During their fifteen (15) year run, from 1971 to 1986, Frank and Danny had kept the “Kasuals” musical aspirations alive, recruiting and featuring some of the finest musicians from Guam, the Philippines, Hawaii, and the U.S. mainland, including (from 1971 to 1974): Dave (Tabi/Koho) Taitano; Jesse (Te) Leon Guerrero; the late Joe (Bela) Borja; Ray (Dúng) Baza; the late Charles Jackson; Monte Pladevega; Joe (Uncle Tote) Cunningham; Bobby Laigo; and Patrick Palomo. From 1975 (the year the band moved to Hawaii) to 1986, the “Kasuals” line-up included: Jesse Bais; Roger Jereza; Zachary Flores; Pat Palomo; brothers, Mike and Sal Diamore; Victor Maratas (from California); Mark Demello and Jack Martin (both from Hawaii); and Linda Guerrero.

The “Kasuals” were a full-time, hard-working band, and had performed at nightclubs, hotels, restaurants, and concerts in Guam, Saipan, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Palau, Chuuk, Pohnpei, the Marshalls, the Hawaiian Islands, California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Georgia, Chicago, and Alaska.

From the time they moved from Guam to live and work in Hawaii in 1975, and up to 1986, the “Kasuals” had performed at many venues, such as:

(on Oahu)

• Foxy Lady Disco (Beachcomber Hotel)
  
• Point After (Regency Hotel)
  
• Beef & Grog (the Spencecliff Restaurant on Kalakaua, where the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center is now located)
  
• C’est Si Bon (Pagoda Hotel)
  
• Jazz Cellar (Imperial Hawaii Hotel)
  
• Infinity (Sheraton Hotel)
• Hawaiian Hut (Ala Moana Hotel)
  
• Oceania Floating Restaurant
  
• Garden Bar at the Hilton Hawaiian Hotel
  
• Cock’s Roost at the International Marketplace
  
• Canoe House (Ilikai Hotel)
  
• Captain’s Table (Holiday Inn Waikiki)
  
• Hickam AFB Officers’ Club
  
• Waikiki Marina Hotel
  
• Fort Shafter NCO Club
• Black Angus/Stuart Anderson’s Cattle Co. in Pearl City
  

(on the Big Island)

• My Place Disco
• Kea’ahou Beach Hotel
• Kona Surf Hotel in Kona
  
• Naniloa Surf Hotel in Hilo
  

(on Maui)

• Maui Surf Hotel
  
• Kahului Beach Hotel
  

(on Kauai)

• Waialua Beach Hotel
• Kauai Beach Boys Hotel

In 1983, the “Kasuals” recorded an album on Tom Moffatt’s Paradise Records label, with “Songs About Love” and “Ebony Eyes” (and other cuts) making it onto the charts and getting extensive airplay on radio stations in Hawaii and Guam. For their recording endeavors, the “Kasuals” received a Na Hoku Hanohano Award for “Most Promising Artists”.

Some of the highlights of the “Kasuals” musical career includes: being the opening act for the “Elvin Bishop” Concert on Guam; opening for “The Beach Boys” Concert at the Blaisdell Arena; performing at the annual “Brown Bags to Stardom” concerts at the Waikiki Shell; and entering a song at the Hawaii Music Festival, where they performed with the Honolulu Symphony. As well, some of their most memorable performances were the ones where they gave back to the community for charitable causes, such as: playing a concert for “Operation New Life” on Guam in 1975, when they donated their services to entertain and help lift the morale of the thousands of Vietnamese refugees who were housed at Camp Asan after the fall of Saigon. In 1976, they helped to raise funds through their performances to assist the people of Guam with typhoon relief in the aftermath of Supertyphoon Pamela. They also volunteered their time and musical performances to help out at the annual Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon; the annual Carole Kai Bed Race; and they had also donated their performances to raise funds for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hawaii, among others.

All in all, throughout their musical career, the “Kasuals” were all about striving for musical excellence; and fame and fortune had never been their motivation in working on their craft. Up to the present time, most of the former members of the “Kasuals” are still performing and/or recording in one way or another, whether as soloists, duets, or as members of various groups, and they have never let up in the contributions of their musical legacy; and their love of music and the performance arts has not wavered.

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It’s going to be another packed-dance-floor event!  Tickets for the main ballroom are pretty much sold out but there are singles and pairs of tickets available – spread out around the main ballroom.  And there are tickets and tables available in the overflow ballroom (where there is a live feed from the main ballroom and another dance floor).  Call all your friends for a night out, then call Candy to get your tickets!  It’s going to be another all-star line up!

Speaking of The Kasuals – do you remember The Kasuals from the 70′s nightclub scene?  I recall seeing them at C’est Si Bon because I remember seeing on the curtain behind the band “HAFA ADAI”.  And I remember asking “what does ‘hah fah a dye’ mean”.  And I was corrected that it’s pronounced like “Half a Day” and it means “Hello” in Chamorro.

How about that list of clubs that they played.  Do you remember those places?  How many of those places have you been to?  Do you remember other live bands that played the nightclub circuit?

The famous MLC Pee Chee All Season Portfolio.

The yellow Pee Chee All Season Portfolio was a common American stationery item in the second half of the 20th century, commonly used by students for storing school papers. It was first produced in 1943 by the Western Tablet and Stationery Company of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Pee Chees were later produced by the Mead Corporation.

These relatively inexpensive folders were made of card stock and had two internal pockets for the storage of loose leaf paper. The pockets were printed with a variety of reference information including factors for converting between Imperial and metric measurement units, and a multiplication table. The folders had fallen out of general use by the 2000s, but are available from Mead as of 2010.

The illustrations on Pee Chee folders changed occasionally over the years, but usually depicted high school age students engaged in sports or other activities. The major difference between Pee Chees and other paper folders were the inside pockets. Pee Chees had pockets located at the sides, not the bottom, which prevented the contents from falling out if the folder was inadvertently stored upside down.

The Pee-Chee portfolio was given its name because the folders were initially only available in peach.

Remember these portfolios?  I wanted one so badly in intermediate school, especially for this:

Yup, the multiplication table!  It was from this table that I memorized that 12 x 12 = 144.

There were even earlier versions of the Pee Chee portfolio that I had never seen until now:

I had shown the picture of the Pee Chee portfolio to some of the younger folks at work and they had never seen it before.  Imagine that.

But for the ones who did recognize them – it immediately brought a smile to their face.  And then they would share their stories of how they used to fold it in half so it was smaller and easier to spin on their fingertip.  Or how they used to used report covers and tape to customize their portfolio with their favorite pictures.

And then there were the purists – who would leave it as is and instead doodle on it throughout the school year.

Did you used to carry around a Pee Chee portfolio?  Did you customize yours or just draw on it?  Or maybe you went with the Peter Max portfolios instead?

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Tickets are still available:

Talk this past week of the Kapaa Quarry as a potential dump site took me back to when I was growing up in Kailua.  Coconut Grove to be exact with only the Kawai Nui swamp separating us from the Kapaa Quarry.

I remember being able to see – what was at least a mile away – the big 6 story or so building that looked like a huge structure of scaffolding with lights on it.  I’m guessing it was the rock crusher or something.  And at night, it would light up an area darkened by the deserted swamp.

I remember late at night I could hear the air-brakes from the dump trucks as they slowed down.  I’d be laying in bed falling asleep and the distant sound of the air-brakes never bothered me.  In fact, they became a natural sound of the environment and actually helped lure me to sleep.

During the day – every so often I’d see across the swamp, a big poof of dust against the mountainside.  Then about a second later, I’d hear the boom from the dynamite they used to blast the mountainside.  There were a few times that they miscalculated on the amount of TNT to use and as I was sitting on the parlor floor watching Checkers & Pogo, the sound blast would hit and rattle the windows and doors.

Remember those HC&D cement trucks?  They used to be a burnt orange color with a dark blue 3-leaf clover logo.  And in each of the leaves would be printed the H, C, & D.  btw, who can tell me (without looking it up), what HC&D was an acronym for.  And I’m not talking about Hot Coffee & Donuts.

…and the “junk yard”.  Remember the auto junk yard on the quarry road – just after you pass Kalaheo Hillside Intermediate School (at the time).  Right on the side of the road were cars stacked, what – 6 high?  Or did it just seem that high because I was so small.  But they were stacked on top of each other on both sides of the road.  And this went on for about a quarter mile (or did it only seem that far).  I’m amazed they never fell down with all the big trucks blowing by them.  And where ever there is a junk yard, you’ll be sure to find junk yard dogs!  Yup, huge mean mutts roaming the road like they owned it (which they probably did).  Right at the entrance of the junk yard was the house with all the hub caps tacked on the side of it.  I suppose that was the office.

And finally, “the dump”.  The Kapaa landfill.  You know, I always wondered why there were so many flies where we grew up.  You couldn’t sit still for a minute without having a fly land on you someplace.  And when they got in the house, that was the worse.  “EH, WHO LET DA FLY IN!!!”.

But back to “the dump”.  Ho, was SO STINK!  We used to do a run to the dump every now and then – and we were always tempted to pick something up and bring it home (and sometimes we did).  But the STINK!  Even after we’d left the dump, I could still smell it for a couple hours more – like the smell was stuck in my nose.  And the ton of birds flying around the landfill.  Tons of them!

Yup, the Kapaa quarry road was such a part of my childhood.  Even when we left the Kailua Drive-in theater late at night, my dad would sometimes take the “quarry road” way home.  Spooky.  Especially passing the junk yard.  But once we made it to Mokapu boulevard, I could breathe a sigh of relief.

Well, that tall scaffolding building I remember has been replaced with a trash transfer station.  And the Kapaa landfill has filled the gouges in the hillside where the dynamite used to go off.  And the sound of the air brakes from the 18-wheelers hauling rocks have been silenced.  But they still live on in me.

Thanks for riding with me on the old Kapaa Quarry road.

I was feeling lousy yesterday at work so I went to the doctor to get some meds – and took off the rest of the day to get some rest.  Then I started thinking about when I used to get sick as a little kid.

You know what used to be weird?  When I was too sick to go to school, I’d have to stay home while my mom took my older brothers to school – and I’d feel bad.  I mean I felt like I was breaking the law.  I felt like I was playing hooky or something.  And I used to get a little scared.

But when mom returned home – it was all good again.

When I’d get sick and was laying in bed with a fever – my mom would fill the tall plastic Tupperware cup with ice and 7Up that I would sip between naps.  That was the only time we drank 7Up.  We used to have the tall bottle of 7Up stored under the kitchen sink and it had a Tupperware cap on it that kept it fresh.  And the only time that the 7Up was touched was when someone was sick.

After all, wasn’t 7Up initially invented as a medicine?

And the other thing that I remember as a sick kid was the St. Joseph Children’s Aspirin.  It was kept in the cupboard next to the stove on the middle shelf – next to the candy sprinkles.  It was orange flavored.  The aspirin, not the sprinkles.  And I remember my mom giving me one of the tiny aspirin tablets and telling me to suck on it until it dissolved – just make believe that it’s candy.  And I didn’t mind the taste either.  In fact, I probably sneaked an aspirin more than once because I was jonesing for candy (and the sprinkles was already down to the bottom of the bottle).

And lunch would be none other that Campbell’s chicken noodle soup.  Maybe with a couple of crackers.  Depending on how sick I was – it usually involved less than 10 spoonfuls of soup and a half a cracker.

But being sick also meant not going outside to play when everyone else came home from school and was playing outside.  In fact, it meant taking a bath early – before the 5:00 required time, even if the calendar said that it wasn’t your turn to bocha first.  That part sucked.

As an adult, getting sick is not quite the same.  There’s no one waiting on me anymore.  I have to make my own soup, pour my own soda, but yet I still choose to bocha early!  And the strangest part is – I still feel guilty about not going to work.

What do you remember about getting sick when you were small?  Did you mom rub Vicks Vapor Rub on your chest?  Or maybe on your throat when you had a sore throat?  I hated ear-aches as they always came in the middle of the night.  Did you suffer from ear-aches?  What were some of the remedies your mom or dad had for you when you were little?

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Tickets are still available!

This was the question posed in last week’s Midweek and I thought it would be a good question to throw out there to the MLCers.

I Have a Hard Time Throwing Away…

Where do I begin!?!

But before we get into the nitty-gritty, I like to think about why or what are the reasons that we have a hard time throwing stuff away.  I say it’s twofold.

First of all, most of our grandparents came here with nothing, but to work in the plantations.  Then our parent’s generation had just enough to buy a house and get by.  And we probably watched them keep everything from tin foil to string – so in turn, we learned to keep everything too.

And secondly, maybe it’s because we didn’t have much growing up so we cherish everything we’ve worked so hard to get.  And although the object may not work anymore or is obsolete – it’s like a trophy – a symbol of something we worked hard to earn – so was can’t just toss it away.

So, I have a hard time throwing away…

Clothes – Not necessarily throwing them away, but donating them.  I guess I always got rid of clothes only after it didn’t fit anymore or was too worn out to wear.  And also because I don’t know when I might want to again wear this specific piece of clothing.  For example, I have a drawer of t-shirts that I haven’t worn in over 10 years.  But I don’t know when I just might want to wear one of those t-shirts again, so I keep them.  Yet it might be another 10 years before I have the urge to wear one of them.  I could dump them all (except for the Arakawa’s one), and not ever miss them.  And it’ll free up one of my drawers too!

Boxes – Thanks to ebay, I keep all the boxes from stuff that I bought – just in case I want to sell it later on.  And having the original box helps the item sell when it’s being listed on ebay.  I’m not sure why, but it just does.  If fact, on ebay you can find people selling just the empty box.  Seriously.  And there are people who actually buy just the empty box.

Reference Material – Anything from owners manuals to magazines.  I haven’t bowled in almost 10 years, yet I have bowling magazines from when I used to bowl.  They have great tips.  I can’t see just throwing them away as they may be helpful to someone who’s serious about bowling.  Now as for the Consumer Reports magazines – I suppose that the products that CR rated 10 years ago are probably replaced with newer, more productive models.  We keep them mostly for the car reviews in case we plan to buy a used car.  Then we can look up the review for that year of the car we’re interested in.  But I suppose since we wouldn’t buy a used car that’s more than 10 years old – that we can get rid of the CR magazines that are older than 10 years.

Computers – I have 4 computers that haven’t been started in over a year.  I do plan to save off the data on the computers someday.  But I don’t want to just throw away a perfectly good computer.  Hey, it still works!  Albeit super slow and outdated – so much so that I don’t think schools will even accept them if I donated them.

Electronics – Digital cameras, cell phones, mp3 players.  Hey, they still work!  (where have I heard that before).  Yeah, I have a faster more fancy one that I use, but I can’t see throwing out something that still works.  I guess I could donate them.  But like my clothes – what if I want to use them once again?

Memorabilia – Okay, this shouldn’t even be listed.  They are treasures.  Memories from the past.  MLC!  I’m talking about records, old top 40 listings, yearbooks, senior pictures, report cards, trophies, Youth Unlimited, etc.  As I said, Treasures.

Photo courtesy of Mark’75

How about you?  What do you have a hard time throwing away?  Do you “purge” every so often?  Do you “purge” your spouses things without them knowing?  Is there anything you regret throwing away?

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Bell-bottoms came and went and came back again.

But Dick Clark? He never left. With his toothpaste-ad smile and a microphone always ready, Clark was a fixture in our pop culture for decades.

Maybe you hear his name and think New Year’s Eve stalwart, or American Bandstand host, or “the oldest living teenager,” a nickname he picked up years ago, but Clark was much more than any of those single images.

With teen dance shows, prime-time programming, specials, game shows, made-for-TV movies and even feature films and restaurants, the ambitious Clark made Dick Clark Productions into a thriving business that touched the worlds of music, television and film.

And from Bandstand in the 1950s to his three decades of New Year’s Rockin’ Eves, Clark was particularly adept in the melding of music and TV, long before MTV and American Idol.

“Music is the soundtrack of your life,” he was quoted as saying, and yet, he wasn’t ever the one shimmying on the dance floor.

And his favorite music? “Disco,” he said in more than one interview.

Clark was all about the smooth running of the production, not so much the joy of music. “I don’t make culture,” he once said. “I sell it.”

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Rest in Peace, Dick Clark.

What are you memories of Dick Clark?  I bet a lot of the MLCers watched American Bandstand and probably got up and danced to the music.  Share your memories of Dick Clark and American Bandstand.  Or even the New York New Year’s Eve Parties.  Maybe you were fortunate enough to be there in person to watch the ball drop at the stroke of midnight.  Don’t we all wish we could be teenagers for life?

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Don’t forget – THIS SATURDAY @ Dot’s in Wahiawa: LS 34

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And tickets for the 70′s Nightclub Reunion X – Encore, are now on sale!  Call Candy to get your tickets before they sell out!

Thanks to Rob Kimura of Greenwood, here’s the inside scoops about Anita Hall who’ll be featured with Nueva Vida:

Volleymom2 previously wrote: