As we learned this week with the 24 Hour Party Salad, it turns out loads of Miracle Whip doesn’t, in fact, make everything taste better. Who knew? We also found out that sometimes, even when things elicit amazing childhood memories - they are better off staying as that incredible memory because trying to recreate all of that memory in just one bite, may be a bit of a let down.
That got me thinking about other things that I have sought out because of the amazing memories of it that I hold. Truly, I have found that most of the time, the memory is definitely better than the reality. In the episode, I mention my attempt at rewatching The Greatest American Hero and how that was an epic fail. What you don’t know is that I have told this story 3 (yes, you heard it, THREE) times in our podcasts but our editor keeps cutting the story. I’m not sure why I am so hung up on TGAH or why our editor is working against me!
https://www.scifipulse.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/GreatestAmericanHero.jpg
In addition to my fascination with TGAH (I’m convinced it’s the blonde curls!), there are some other beloved childhood memories that I have given a second chance decades after experiencing the original enjoyment.
I recently had the chance, at the local county fair, to ride their new updated version of the Teacup ride I remember loving as a child. My childhood memory of the Teacup ride stems from the Williams County Fair in the late 70’s. The ride spinning around and around, us spinning our teacup even more round and round, the wind whipping through our hair and the laughter bubbling out. It was childhood nirvana!!! We stumbled off the ride, my Dad, Kristen and me, dizzy and alive with the joy of it all until all the enthusiasm came crashing down with the rise of the nausea that hit them both. We found 2 unused park benches they quickly claimed and remained until their misery passed. Not quite the ending I had hoped for, but as I wasn’t the one who got sick, it wasn’t enough to limit the happiness the Teacups provided. Fast forward 30 years, I had the chance to relive that joy. No joy, only pain and nausea and a deeper understanding about what my dad and sister experienced that day. End result - Teacup happiness was filed away as something that will never be repeated again!
I also remember when my friend got their first Atari. We were never lucky enough to have one and I think that made it even more special when the opportunity arose over at my friend’s. I wasn’t very good at Space Invaders but that didn’t mean I didn’t love playing it! Many a happy hour was spent losing at Space Invaders. When I got married, my husband brought into our relationship his original Atari 2600. You can imagine my excitement when I realized I could relive those hours of happy times from my childhood as a newlywed. We fired up the Atari, blew in the cartridge, as you do, before getting everything all set up. I warned my husband of my subpar skills and we prepared for the fun to begin. While the Atari 2600 worked flawlessly, it was not more than 2 minutes into the game and we started giving each other some side eye trying to assess the enjoyment level of the other. It didn’t take long before we realized we were both in total agreement….this was not going to be hours of fun. This wasn’t even going to be minutes of fun, our expectations had changed and despite a few laughs at the basicness of the technology, once that wore off we were pretty much done. End result - Atari 2600 continues to be hooked up to a crazy old TV and makes me smile when I see it, but remains unused.
But some things DO stand the test of time and continue to be just amazing as I remember them to be. Every time I get together with my best friend from grade school which, admittedly is not that often, it is amazing how years and distance never impacts the true pleasure I feel from being her friend. Re-reading “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” annually at Christmas is still so much fun and the Herdman’s are as awful to me now as they were when I was a kid. And my 45 record album of Disney’s Mother Goose Rhymes. Kristen recently found it on YouTube and my most favorite poem of all, “This is the Way the Ladies Ride” (minute 8:23 if you want to check it out) is just as awesome as I remember it. Goofy as the Farmer tickled me as a kid and also as an adult!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSqaxTcBvZc
I am not the only one who has the desire to revisit the things that brought so much joy when I was a child. There is an entire industry bringing back so many of the things that were previously beloved. We have movies that are being remade - Footloose comes to mind, toys that are making a comeback - can you say Furby, and foods that have returned - cheese balls in a can! It seems like there is some work done to improve these products so that things like the cheesy outfits of the 80’s or the incredibly bad special effects are either highlighted to add humor or changed to bring it into the present. Just like my “retries'', sometimes they are a hit and sometimes a miss. But they are always worth a try because just like we hope Mom’s Wooden Spoon offers, that moment of happy memories just can’t be beat.