Daddy Dan

VegasDad brought up an interesting point in the comments of “Am I Being Selfish?”  He stated that the Babito wouldn’t remember anything about a trip to Sea World at this time, and it reminded me that the Babito will not remember any single moment he’s experienced to date.  He won’t remember his many trips to Disneyland, he won’t remember his first or second birthday parties, he won’t remember anything. It’s kind of weird and sad, isn’t it?  

How strange that our brains don’t hold onto our earliest memories.  I wonder why that is?  Still, the experiences he goes through, the things we teach him, the values we try to instill in him, will still be there.  At least I hope they will.

I’ve tried to think of what my earliest memories are.  Sometimes it’s a little confusing as to whether something is an actual memory or its just something you think is a memory because you’ve heard your family tell the story so many times.  It’s strange that for most of your earlier years there are just scattered, random memories.

Some of my earliest memories:

•  I think my earliest memory is when I was around 1 1/2.  My mom and aunt used to make me walk barefoot on the grass.  I hated it and would walk on my tiptoes and try to get off the grass as soon as possible.  It’s something I vividly remember.
• I remember when I was about 3 years old and some older kids stole my Big Wheel.  I remember my Mom going to the kid’s house and getting it back for me.
• I also have a vivid memory of having a terrible nightmare when I was around 3 or 4.  I had gotten out of bed to go to my parents’ room in the middle of the night.  My parents sat up in bed and they were apes from The Planet of the Apes!
• I remember being around 4 years old on Christmas Eve and getting in trouble for yelling at people to get out of the house and go home.  After all, Santa Claus does not come until you are in bed asleep, and I was worried he’d pass our house by if he saw that people were still there.
• I remember being in kindergarten and the kindergarten bully used to run around and kick the other boys in the balls.  

What are some of your earliest memories?

One of my fondest childhood memories is the many, many hours I spent racing my little brother on our Big Wheels. We would ride these things until the plastic wheels began to crack and break apart. I used to love to speed down the sidewalk, pull on the sidebrake and go into a perfect 180 degree turn. Big Wheels were the best.

Did anyone else out there have a Big Wheel? Any Big Wheel stories you’d like to share? I’d love to hear them.

I desperately wanted to get The Babito a Big Wheel so he could experience the joys I experienced as a child. Alas, the Big Wheel is now a rare find. The company that originally made them has gone bankrupt. There are many imitators out there, but no real Big Wheel. Sometimes life isn’t fair.

Today, I’m going to start a little regular feature looking at the 1979 Sears Catalog.  I know I’m plagiarizing ideas here like Barack Obama, but I don’t care.  I think it’s so fun to look at stuff like this.  I was a mere elementary student in 1979, and looking through this catalog brings back a lot of memories.

Let’s look at some of the stuff I owned.  Click the picture to see a larger version.

I had the bedspread on the right on my bed back then.  I don’t remember having either the matching curtains or pillow cover.  My parents were cheap!

We also owned this TV, or at least one very similar to it.  Look at some of the exciting features!: 

• Sensor-touch lets you change channels at the touch of a finger!
• Beautiful wood paneling!  I believe we had the Colonial style.
• A remote control that lets you change channels (in EITHER direction!) and lets you turn off the TV from anywhere in the room!
• 12 whole channels of viewing fun!
• All of this for the low price of $699.95!   (Wow, that’s like $4,000 in 2008 dollars!)

We had a lovely houseplant sitting on top of ours. 

In our next visit to the 1979 Sears catalog I’ll take a look at some of the latest fashion trends.  I found these pictures at Wishbookweb.com, where they have catalogs ranging from the 1940’s to the 1980’s.  Go check it out!