Changes

First … 

... I was dismayed this week when I heard about the bankruptcy filing of the Hostess Brands snack foods line. After all, I grew up with Hostess Ding Dongs, Twinkies, Fruit Pies and Sno-Balls being a large and rather tasty component of my school lunch-box fare throughout my elementary and middle school years. Then, as if that weren’t enough to shake the foundations of my forty-something Americana, word came later this week of the agreement between Dublin Bottling Works and the Dr. Pepper Company settling a long-standing dispute over, of all things, Dublin Dr. Pepper bottled with real Imperial Pure Cane sugar. Dublin Dr. Pepper is gone. Seriously? Is there some shadowy entity out there that is purposely attempting to destroy some of the most nostalgic and dearest-held elements of my childhood? I suspect that there exists a vast conspiracy lurking in the seedy shadows of America’s greedy corporate community that continues to seek the demise of many of the really pleasant things that people of my generation have held dear for many, many years. And while there is no imminent danger of losing our Hostess cupcakes in the immediate future, and while Dr. Pepper Bottling Company assures us that the 6 ounce bottles of Dr. Pepper made with genuine Imperial Pure Cane sugar will continue to be produced sans the Dublin label, I cannot help but believe that ravenous and insatiable commercial terrorists are hard at work plotting the disappearance of the next dearly-held and much-loved item from my younger years. What’s next, the Radio Flyer red wagon? The Daisy Red Rider BB gun? Don’t think for a minute that it can’t happen!! After all, when was the last time you saw a Sit ‘n Spin? Or a set of Clackers? Popper Knockers, we called them. How about the old classic Tudor Tru-Action electric football game? How many hours of my childhood were spent sitting at the table, listening to the electric buzzing of that cheap tin football field vibrating on that old formica kitchen tabletop while my brother and I screamed and cajoled and exhorted our little plastic players towards the end zone? So many neat things are now gone, and they are not limited to just toys or snacks. Anyone remember the AMC Pacer, or the Gremlin? I admit they were ugly, but man, back then, ugly was cool. Cool was cool, too, as in the DeLorean. How long has it been since you’ve seen one of those? A long time, I’m betting. Even places are not immune to the great disappearing acts of today. If you are ever out and about and traveling through the western end of Henderson county and drive through Seven Points (yes, Seven Points – the little spot in the road where I grew up and the place where I still call home), look around. There’s an Exxon sitting on the spot where the old Seven Points Grocery used to stand. A better ham sandwich was never made than the BG Ham Special at Seven Points Grocery. A Shell station now sits where Bob Fincher’s Gas and Bait House used to be. I wish I had a dollar for every dozen minnows I bought there before they finally tore the old place down. On up the road, Tin Barn Barbecue once stood close to where the concrete plant is now. Best barbecue ever. The Matex movie theater in Mabank, the Athens drive-in, Mr. Lee’s old livestock auction off  of Highway 175 in Athens, Petticoat Junction – first at the intersection where the bank in Mabank now stands and then, later, across from the old high school – boy, those Petticoat Junction hamburgers were good! Rowan’s Western Wear and before that, Brown’s Western Wear. The list just goes on and on. I suppose my point is that things have changed, things are still changing, and we really should make the most of the things we take for granted while they are still around for us to enjoy. Twinkies and Dr. Peppers are small things, I know, and I realize that they likely don’t occupy as sacred a spot on most people’s hearts as an RC Cola and a Moon Pie or an ice cold 10-ounce bottle of Coca Cola with a 10-cent bag of salted peanuts poured into it – even if you could find a bag of peanuts that cost only a dime anymore. To me, though, the potential demise of such hallowed childhood memories only makes me long for much simpler times, and a wish that all those things that I so cherish will remain around for me to enjoy for as long as I’m around to enjoy them.

… and 10

1. I’ll take fried catfish and crappie, please, with crisp French fries, hush puppies, and ketchup. You can keep the tartar sauce.
2. Enjoying the mild temperatures, but firing up the Weedeater in January? Really?
3. If you haven’t been there, recommend a stop-by at the Bancroft Pecan House in Powell if you are headed that way and you have a minute. Neat little place.
4. Hoping that the weather cooperates for a good berry-picking season this spring. Last couple years have not been good ones around my place.
5. Went close to twenty years without seeing a copperhead snake. In the past year, have seen at least 20 either alive or dead on the road. Guess they are making a comeback.
6. Never did quite understand the game of jacks.
7. Ever wonder why they can’t combine vehicle inspections and registrations? Do both at once and they will expire at the same time each year. Seems simple enough.
8. Biscuits instead of toast, every time!
9. NFL season – about the time it gets even remotely interesting, it’s over.
10. Robert Duvall turned 81 this past week. Clint Eastwood turns 82 this year, as does Gene Hackman. Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman both turn 75. Who’ll replace these legendary guys? I’ll nominate Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington to start, but those are the only two I’m willing to consider right now as legends in the making. DiCaprio may yet earn my consideration, but not at the moment ….