Tag: memories

Analog writing….

Posted on by CV Whitfield

So I watched a documentary the other day….

It was about the resurgence of typewriters in the writing community. The film also spotlighted the notable writers that have and continue to use vintage and trusted typewriters.

I grew up in a time that I was given a typewriter as a child. My mother inspired me to write my stories. She even allowed me to type on her electric IBM at the office and she was lucky enough to take one home. Back then I just hunted and pecked my way around the keyboard. When it was time to go to High School, the one class I had to take and there was no debate (according to my mother) was typing. She said it would come in handy.

See, she knew that typewriters (and eventually ‘word processors’) was the future of my academic writing. And it would one day the tool to write my book(s).

When I was a small child, I remember my mother going to the community college to take a typing class. Because she was a single mother and poor, she asked the professor if she could bring me and sit in the far corner of the room. The professor took a great risk and trusted that I wouldn’t be one of those children that disrupted the class. I took my coloring books and notebooks. I sat there drawing and writing stories every Wednesday and Thursday nights, for 16 weeks. It was so cool to hear a dozen students banging at keyboards and hearing the rhythm hum and beat of the IBMs typing away!

After the class was over, the professor marveled at my discipline (more like my shyness) and thanked my mother. I couldn’t wait until I could use the machine to write.

So, as I watched the documentary, I decided I want a typewriter again. I have the old manual one I was given as a child. Its lost to the archives of the garage but I will venture to dig it out and maybe clunk away at it once again.

Wish me luck!

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Last minute …. greatness!

Posted on by CV Whitfield

For as long as I can remember. I have been a procrastinator. I always say I’ll get an early start and if you work slowly there will be plenty of time to complete the project.

Sounds good on paper. Yet, I don’t think I’ve ever done that.

Then, suddenly, the deadline approaches. What seemed like an eternity just a few days ago, is now being questioned if it’s enough time at all. The rush is on. Every hour is now focused.

And so here I sit. Same ol’ same ol’. The script is due by the 15th. The project started sometime in November. Technically, I should finish a couple days earlier so it can be reviewed and one last edit. Is it a problem that about 40 pages shy of the needed amount? Wait, thats about 10 pages a day, right? I can do that.

As I said, this is typical for me — school papers, miniature painting competitions. Those stressful last minute pushes to get things done have worked well. I’ve always gotten good scores or awards. So perhaps I work best under pressure and in those last minute rushes, I succeed with greatness. Well, cross your fingers and wish me luck….

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Everything is Super!

Posted on by CV Whitfield

Growing up in a small town in southeast New Mexico, I knew only a simple life. There wasn’t much there.

I’m not sure how we heard about anything. As a child, I’m not sure how we knew what was cool or hip. Logically, we weren’t living in a Amish community. We had radio and television. We had a few big stores like SEARS and JCPenney. So perhaps this kept our little community in touch to the outside world. If we saw it on TV, we trusted the SEARS would bring it to us. This is where I showed my mother the Atari 2600 and the VCR.

Roswell was too small to have a Toys R Us. Nearly every toy I every owned was purchased from Kmart. I hold a sentimental hold on Kmart. This is where I saw my first Star Wars figure. This is where I saw Voltron toys for the first time. As I got older, this was where I bought my first phone and Walkman.

Kmart was the Walmart of my childhood. We did eventually get a Walmart when we got a real shopping mall. This was around 1984. Then sometime in 1989 we got a Target. Yet I always thought that I needed to leave the small town and live in a real city. So when given the opportunity I left for the big city of Denver. We got a hotel and right next door was a Super Kmart. I was amazed. I figured this city has the places we have but here they were super! Everything is Super! I knew my life going forward would be better!

I learned later that Super Kmart was the first in Colorado but it didn’t tarnish my new excitement and astonishment of my new home. It’s hard to believe this marks my 25th year living in this Super city. But you wanna know a secret….I now have dreams of returning to a small town — where it’s a bit quieter and where everyone isn’t moving so fast.

I think that would be Super….

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Toys are for Kids!

Posted on by CV Whitfield

As I write this, I am inspired to do the research but right now I’m just going to write my thoughts.

I wonder if children buy toys anymore? Specifically I’m curious if children buy Hot Wheels, Star Wars figures, or any of the Marvel Legends or DC Multiverse action figures. These are toy lines that have huge adult collector bases. And if they do, what is the percentage of those purchases vs. the adult collector.

I don’t collect any more yet old habits die hard (that’s right Mr. McClane!). When I enter a Target or Wal-mart, the first area I hit is the toy aisles. I don’t go there to buy but to peruse. I’m still intrigued and interested by toys. Both boy and girls focus. In some alternate timeline I became a toy designer. I think I would have been good at that. So, when I’m in the aisle I very rarely see children. It’s not during school hours. Usually on the weekend or evenings. I can’t recall the last time I saw a kid going through the Hot Wheels. But I do see adult men all the time.

Then I start wondering if Mattel just makes Hot Wheels for old guys. As if they gave up long ago that kids want to play with little metal cars on winding plastic tracks. The same thought process goes for Barbie. Over the holidays I saw the Christmas Barbie — just sitting on the shelves. I remember when grown women would fight (literally as in push and shove) for these dolls in the 1990s. These dolls were designed for the adult collector because they had a price point of $29.99 and up. The ones this year were marked $39.99 and no one was buying. And I’m sure parents wouldn’t spend that on a child — in any decade.

Toys are for kids so I hope they are still buying them!

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Yep, I’ve grown up!

Posted on by CV Whitfield

When I was a kid, the Toys R Us theme song was my motto. I refused to grow up. Unlike the stereotype, I was not a child that wished to grow up any faster than normal. Yeah, I sometimes thought it would be cool not to have to answer to parents but I didn’t necessarily want to be an adult either. If there was a way a 12 year old could rent an apartment, fill the refrigerator full of New York Seltzer and ice cream sandwiches, I would have been just fine. Besides being too young to get a job and no way to pay for my life style, I think it would have been rad.

I was the kid that had anxiety for the next school year. That meant I was growing and getting older. Although there was some anticipation for new Star War movies, new G.I. Joe figures and new episodes of He-Man, I enjoyed just living in the moment. Another year could mean change and not always for the good. I was traumatized when the cable company removed my favorite channel for afternoon cartoons. I refused to leave my room when I learned Knight Rider was cancelled.

My friends made fun of me because I still played with my G.I.Joe action figures in the 8th Grade. I continued to buy toys through High School. Kenner Batman figures, Micro Machines and the occasional G.I. Joe. By then, I “collected” them instead of “played” with them. This “collecting” would continue into adulthood. I can’t even fathom how much money was spent on toys in the 90s and early 2000s. I had a compulsion. I didn’t need them but I “had” to have them. My kids hated me because I had better toys than they did. I used my children to get the Wal-mart guy to take pity on us and go into the back and pull cases of new stuff. My wife became addicted to collecting too.

Then, one day, I realized I couldn’t buy it all. Heck, I was having trouble buying any of it. Toys had put me into debt. I had to make some hard decisions. The entire garage and spare bedroom was full of boxes of my collection. I decided I would sell some of it off. Over the years, I sold more and more. Eventually, I didn’t have much left. I actually got burnt out. The new stuff at the store just didn’t excite me. I got tired of buying something just to put it in a box and not enjoy it. This year will see nearly all of those toys sold off. I’ve decided to keep the Star Wars figures and G.I. Joe figures I had as a kid (the old 80s stuff). But everything else, gone. And you know what? It feels good.

I guess I have grown up. It just took me an additional 20 years….


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Are there still gullible people….

Posted on by CV Whitfield

I’ve been on the internet since the mid-90s. I remember when there were providers like AOL, Compuserv and Prodigy. It took 5 minutes just to log on (Dial number – type password – wait for beep – tolerate the screeching and boops and bleeps) to the internet. And since I was an AOL user, “you’ve got mail!”

Those days were so exciting and cool. The country – world – was connected for the first time ever. And it only cost $6.95 plus how many hours you used. Yeah, remember those days. The internet was like a 1-900 number. You could log on but you were smart with your time. You checked email. You maybe went into a chat room to talk to girls (or boys). You checked a bulletin board or a posting forum. And we used egg timers and log off. Like early cellphones, you used them but only for really important things. We weren’t so consumed by them. Well, until AOL did this: they offered “unlimited” internet for only $19.95!! At the incredible fast speed of 28.8 kbps!

Websites were very simple. The more photos and sparkles the longer it took to download. Internet video was nearly unavailable. I remember spending 3 hours in 1998 to down load the 2 minute The Phantom Menance trailer. And that was at a tiny QuickTime movie that was only about 3×4 inches on my screen. We are completely spoiled today because I can down load an entire movie in 1080p high definition in less than 2 minutes – 3 minutes if the internet is slow!

Things would come through your email that made you smile. Correspondence from old friends. Sometimes, you could talk your grandmother into using the computer at the library to send you an email instead of the old handwritten letters. For the first time, you could get on mailing lists from fan clubs, your favorite websites and stores – like Toys R Us and Kenner toys. (I was really into Star Wars in the 90s). And then there was the: “Congratulations you won Somalia lottery!” It would read: “hello sir, You won our Somalia lottery. i have been instructed to reach to you to get some important information.” Then, they would want your SSN, a bank account number – you know to send the money to – and your mothers maiden name and date of birth. Seems legit, right? Even back then I would ask myself how did I enter a lottery in a country I have never been? Or a country I didn’t even know where it is? So, I never fell for it. But I know many did. I always felt sorry for those gullible folks.

It’s been over 20 years since those days. That’s a lot of time to learn the scams and the tricks. I’ve seen some strange stuff out there. I’m pretty sure that some of the girls I talked to in chat rooms (when I was still a very young man) were really just hairy dudes in their basement trying mess with me or they were just sick and demented. So, why is it in 2019, I’m still getting emails that try and convince me I’ve won some lottery? Or had some money willed to me by some dying king and queen? Or that a trunk was found at the airport loaded with cash and gold? Really? Why don’t this people just keep the gold themselves? Do these scams still work? I mean I didn’t fall of the internet truck yesterday…..

Or did I?………

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World’s Finest: analysis.

Posted on by CV Whitfield

So, I wrote how history was different in the mid 90s and we had the awesome luck to have a Superman and Batman movie in 1995 with Christopher Reeve and Michael Keaton. The geek world would have truly rejoiced if that had happened nearly 25 years ago.

Yet, I also want to point out that the movie back then would have been completely different than what we finally got in 2016. It would have been a positive and heroic journey – a team-up in every sense of the term. Back then, we wanted movies that inspired. Movies to look up to. We wanted reassurance that the world is still great – where good defeated evil. Our super-heroes were symbols of hope and perfection. They were role-models. We wished we could be like them. Superman was super because he didn’t represent the stereotypes but instead represented righteousness. The character taught us morals and ethics. Then, this changed….

Somehow, the studio (publisher too) in charge of our favorite characters (more specifically my favorite character: Superman) needed to be part of the modern status quo. He/Them is/are flawed. Superman needed to have inner demons. He needed to question everything and everyone around him. Johnathan Kent thought him he couldn’t trust anyone so why would anyone trust him, and vice versa. We got a Superman in the post 9/11 world (you know, where parents sue the Kents because Clark could have endangered lives when he actually saved them. No one blames the tire. Or the guys at the garage for putting faulty tires on the bus. The parents should be thankful instead they call him out. It’s not a positive scene anyway you look at it.) This is a world where Superman should be feared. A Superman with all due respect was not super. This disappointed fans. They even tried to force feed us hope stating his S was Kryptonian for the very word. (Not just a family crest but a perfect time for some moral lessons). Superman wasn’t there to save kittens from trees and stop jewel thieves. Instead he was running from his destiny. How’s that sending a message of hope? Oh well.

Batman was now introduced not as a dark, lone vigilante but an aging cynical man that feared Superman. Not only fear him, but to blame him for the rain of destruction on Metropolis or more specifically the Wayne Building in Metropolos (say what? That’s convenient). The entire point of Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman was for everyone (not just the characters in the film but the audience) to fear Superman. Why? Is it just the time we’re in today or does someone think that he’s more interesting as flawed, unpredictable, scary, powerful alien. In Superman II (1980), Superman battled General Zod (and his henchman). That Metropolis had its citizens cheering Superman, supporting the fight even though it was causing millions in property damage. Heck, they even tried to take on Zod when they thought Zod had killed him. In the new version, citizens of Metropolis are blaming Superman for bringing evil to our planet. They blame him for wrecking the city – they demand justice. They are inconvenienced. They have no loyalty. Everyone seems out for themselves. It’s a world where they demand security but forgot that it takes people to risk their lives for it. They forget how Superman is there to unite – to save them. Now, it’s politics and pointing fingers. We can’t just have simple heroes anymore. No. We must be skeptical. We must reject the ideology. We have lost faith in truth, justice and the American way!

The 1980s (filmatically) was an era of hope and positive community. The movies were fun. They made us laugh. They made us cry. They were great movies because we’re still talking about them to this day. I just feel like the post 2010 movies are more about dividing and trying to direct blame at our faults than working together to over come them. Maybe its just me but I felt we’ve definitely lost something not only in society, our culture, but our pop-culture too. I’m curious if anyone in 20 plus years will be still talking about Man of Steel or Justice League. They may be it wont be the same….

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Worlds Finest.

Posted on by CV Whitfield

So, let’s pretend that history was slightly different.

It’s 1990. The world has just experienced Batman as a big budget (and dark) movie masterpiece. Fans are rejoicing and dancing in the streets. We’ve not been this excited since …. well, I don’t know…. but its BIG!

The intelligent minds and businessmen at Warner Brothers green light a sequel. Duh. Who wouldn’t, right? So work begins immediately on the next chapter. They call it Batman Returns. (Not sure why this was the title since its not like he went anywhere. Maybe they could have called it Batman Strikes Back. Nah, what’s he striking back at? It’s not like he lost at the end of the first movie. Maybe, Batman Again! Yeah, we get Batman AGAIN! That’s kinda dumb. It’s the title that doesn’t so much refer to the movie itself but to the audience to tell us, “hey! Batman RETURNS!!! Go buy tickets!”) [back on topic] The movie starts production but there’s one tiny difference….

Batman saves Gotham again. Bruce Wayne finds a stray black cat and he thinks of Catwoman with one life left. We pan up to see the Bat Signal and Catwoman pop her head up. Then the clouds of the signal are broken by something zooming through them. We cut to the credits. After a couple minutes the credits are interrupted – fade in to Wayne Manner. The Batmobile blasts out of the Batcave. A blur of red and blue flies into the frame and block the Batmobile – which slams on the bat brakes! We cut back to the thing blocking Batman’s path – It’s SUPERMAN! Christopher Reeve’s Superman. His blue eyes look down at the Batmobile as the roof slides open to see Batman poking his head out. Wide shot of Superman and Batman. Superman speaks, “Batman – or should I say Bruce Wayne (x-ray vision folks) – I need your help in Metropolis. I’ve got a problem right up your alley. See, there’s this little problem with an old Kryptonian computer….” Cut back to the credits. Fade out.

The style is beyond its time. But don’t discard it. Let’s also move forward on the assumption Superman III never happened in 1983 (or the bad Superman IV: Quest for Peace in 1987). Because the original story plot for Superman III was meant to be a story about Brainiac but due to budget constraints and a studio that demanded Richard Pryor be in a Superman film, we got what we…got. Warner Bros. begins production on the next block buster super-hero movie for release in 1995. The title: WORLD’S FINEST: Superman & Batman. Today, you could have just stuck to World’s Finest, but in the 80/90s you had to put the characters in the title or no one would know it was a Superman and Batman movie.

1995. World’s Finest opens starring Christopher Reeve and Michael Keaton in a double bill, and the fans go crazy. The movie breaks records. It destroys the 1993 record for Jurassic Park. Revolutionary special effects from Industiral Light & Magic creates a marvoulous Brainaic. Batman works to hack into the system and manipulate the ex-Kyptonian computer program. And Superman flies in just at the right moment to fling Brainaic and his ship toward the Sun! It sets up for a new status quo for super-hero films. And the world rejoices!

Oh I wish that were the way things went. Fanboys have always dreamt of a Reeve/Keaton team-up. It would have been stunning….it would have been legendary!

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1989.

Posted on by CV Whitfield

If you had the privilege of living in 1989, then you experienced the very first massive Block Buster summer. Being a kid, it was geek overload. And it was a historic event that should be talked about more often.

First, this was the summer of sequels: Ghostbusters II, Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade, Back to the Future II, Star Trek V, Lethal Weapon II, License to Kill (Bond 16), Karate Kid III, Friday the 13th VIII, and Nightmare on Elm Street 5! That’s a lot of sequels for any year.

Not to mention, we got great movies like: Batman, Dead Poets Society, When Harry Met Sally, The Abyss, and yes, Weekend at Bernies! That’s not even the entire list. Just my favorites.

There was no internet. No social media. The only way to get a heads up on things was to read Starlog magazine or Variety. Sometimes you could watch TV and catch an episode of Entertainment Tonight. Lastly, word of mouth – maybe you had a friend that had a cousin who’s roommate was working as a grip on the film production. Sometimes, when I think back to that time, I’m surprised I found out about anything.

It was Starlog magazine and comic fanzine called Comic Scene where I first heard of the film Batman. Seeing that first image of Michael Keaton in the batsuit in front of the Batmobile, I was mesmerized. I remember just staring at it for hours (literally). I was just so happy and excited at the same time. This definitely was not the old TV series. I just wanted to talk about it so I drove to the local comic book store. (And in a small town, I don’t remember too many folks that were geeks like me).

I remember that the casting was not accepted by fans. Many really were worried that although it looked dark, it was going to be another campy version of Batman (the casting of Michael Keaton – who was considered a comedic actor). Now that I think about it. It wasn’t that much different than today. We still voiced opinions. We still griped. We still complained. Yet, the only difference was: it was you and 4 of your friends not a sea of millions of digital voices. I do recall that I was quite positive the movie was going to be everything we could want. It was going to be just as good as Superman (1978) – which was my favorite super-hero film of all time – then and now. (I understand that up till 1989, there wasn’t many of them. But still…)

That was a summer of sounds too. It felt like no matter where you went you heard the song On Our Own by Bobby Brown or Batdance by Prince. I know it sounds odd when I say, when I hear those songs even today, I’m transported back to 1989. My body is connected to that year. Even crazier, I feel like I can perceive the year, smell it, touch it. It’s hard to explain. Yet, I see specific moments – as if part of me is still there.

If the 1980s had to end on a bang, I would say it did. Technically, it was more like an explosion – a death start-like explosion!

(More 80s to come….)

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Fender Bender for IBS

Posted on by CV Whitfield

The best part of television watching are those 2 minute shorts that happen in between the shows. Some are really funny. Some are really good. Some are really bad. And then there’s some that are really funny and clever.

When I was a kid, I recalled that most of the commercials told me there was a soda war — I guess Coke had a thing against Pepsi — and Lucky Charms were more magically delicious than Honey Nut Cheerios. If I was watching Saturday Morning Cartoons or After-School Cartoons, there were the commercials that told us why a toy was cooler than another. For me G.I. Joe was better than Star Wars figures because G.I. Joe could actually bend his elbows — that was a big deal when I was 12! I wasn’t so much concerned about the doll that could wet or the Bears that made us Care. Not for me.

Those little stories were very diverse and helped us find what we needed to make life great: we could find It’s All Inside at JC Penny and there was More For Your Life at SEARS, Ronald McDonald had Fry Guys, Mayor McCheese and the Hamburglar, Wendy’s wanted to know Where’s the Beef!, Kool Aid Man would punch through walls to make sure we knew there needed to be 2 cups of sugar mixed with that tiny packet, Super-Models told me not to Hate Them Because They Were Beautiful!, Indians (sorry Native Americans) cried over litter, a Bear told us We Can Prevent Forest Fires!, Ivory soap was 99.9% pure (not sure why they could never get that .1% to say 100?), and Colonel Sander’s Kentucky Fried Chicken (the sign really did say Kentucky Fried Chicken not sure why they went to KFC unless they knew Millennials were coming and needed an abbreviation for texting?) was Finger Licking Good! ( but that just isn’t PC anymore.)

Today, we are told that we don’t have enough insurance: State Farm (Fender Bender), AllState (Mayhem Happens), Geico (Little Pig Go Wee Wee All The Way Home and Humpday!), Progressive (Yo Flo!), Liberty (Statue in frame always) Farmers (We know a Thing or Two Because We’ve Seen a Thing or Two!), and Nationwide (Is on Your Side!)! Maybe my rates are so dang high is because all the money spent on advertising instead of paying claims (just wondering?). And if I don’t have enough insurance then I’m surely not medicated enough from everything from my eczema to my irritable bowel disorder — please disregard the 3 minutes of the side-effects. Lastly, if you can’t afford these medications than you need something like GoodRx, which I’m curious if a $87 drug can be reduced to $9 bucks because of a stupid coupon, why can’t that drug just be $9 for everyone?

I find more enjoyment over those commercials I can ridicule and yell at. But there’s some that just truly make me truly laugh– like the new State Farm Fender Bender commercial or the old Kmart ad I shipped my pants!. If you haven’t seen it, please search for it on youtube. Oh, I think I’ll go find some of those old 80s commercials….

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That and that and that!

Posted on by CV Whitfield

Going back isn’t an option. It took me years to stop worrying about what I didn’t accomplish. The worrying had turned to regret. I regretted not going down certain roads — turning right when maybe I should have turned left. I knew that I shouldn’t regret where I was. I was on this path because that is where my destiny took me. The regret may have caused anxiety of missed opportunities; the path dreamed of a better life.

Things may have not gone to plan but I’m still moving forward. I’ve learned so much. I’m stuck my foot in my mouth several times. There was a time where I would have told someone, I will always collect Star Wars toys. Well, I’ve not collected a Star Wars toy in a decade. (Golly! Has it been over ten years since the end of the Prequal Trilogy?) Then there was a time that I would have told someone, that I will forever keep my collectibles. I’ve sold most of them and I’m continuing you sell and purge the things I don’t need. (I’m really moving toward a life of simple and minimalism.)

As I child, I had a hand in so many geek things: playing D&D, collecting Star Wars and Star Trek, building plastic model kits of naval ships and World War II airplanes, and reading / hoarding comic books. Some of these hobbies have come and gone. As I head into the second half of my life, I’ve found that some of those hobbies have returned. At first, I criticized myself for not being more true to those past hobbies. Figuring that if I had been building model kits for the past 20 years, I’d be much better at it. Then, I realized that actually I have something I would have lost—the ability to enjoy the discovery. So, I’ve returned to building plastic model kits. Instead of stating, “I’ve built that and that and that. what’s left to do?” I can say, “I can’t wait to build that and that and that!”

Life takes us where we are meant to be. We don’t get a rewind button. Nor should we have one. Know that your core will always be true but the small details can and will change over time. Embrace it!

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The President’s On…Oh no!

Posted on by CV Whitfield

I’m old but not that …old. But I do remember a time when the President addressed the nation that your whole night of TV watching was ruined!

I don’t recall what kind of refrigerator or stove we had as I was growing up. But I do recall the television. I know that both the refrigerator and stove were vital for keeping me alive — with being key to food storage and preparation. That was kind of important. Yet, the television raised me. I’m surprised I didn’t call it Papa Television. It watched over me after school and on Saturdays. It was responsible for teaching me important life lessons — and informing me what cool new toys to want. Oh, and breakfast cereal. So, it was partly responsible for keeping me alive as how would I’ve known about Cookie Crisp and Honey Nut Bunch?

The television was a 1977 19 inch color Zenith with a dual dial. It wasn’t one of those TVs stuck into a furniture cabinet. We had a TV stand. Yet, like most TVs of the time, it was molded in a wood-grain plastic to appear more furniture like. It didn’t even have coaxial connectors. I remember we had to have UHF to VHF (transformer) adapter to use cable. The top dial had 13 VHF cable channels and the bottom dial had the 14 -83 UHF channels using it with an antenna. I find it odd that in the 70s and 80s TVs were referred to in advertisements as “color” (or “B&W”). This sounds absurd today because who’d want a 65 inch LED “Black and White” television? Yet back then, color in your TV was a premium and added a $100. I’m pretty sure my mother bought the TV from SEARS. Yet, I do remember we had the tuner replaced twice (yes kids, spinning the dial was indeed bad for the tuner). And I know we had a tube replaced too. It’s no lie. There were shops and people that actually repaired televisions. I think to fix a TV today is just buy a new one!

Papa Television was a key member of my family. He was responsible for entertaining me with Knight Rider, Dukes of Hazzard and Sunday Night Movies! These were all broadcast on the big THREE networks — ABC, CBS and NBC. Those were the only channels that aired new shows. We had a few other affiliates to enjoy but they only played old movies or reruns of I Love Lucy or F Troop. The worst thing that could happen to a kid — or me — was the night the President decided to address the nation.

Click. Click. Click. All the channels had the President! “Noooo! He’s on all channels!” For a kid, it just sucked. I remember sitting watching him, whispering, “hurry up.” Sitting there, I asked my mother, “is he done yet?” She was very patient and say “not yet.” Tapping fingers. Twitching feet. Hoping any second, he’d say, “Good night and God Bless America!” Wait! Did he just say it! He did. “God Bless America!” Now back to Six Million Dollar Man….


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Dr. Pepper.

Posted on by CV Whitfield

When I was 9 years old, I was very particular what I liked to eat and drink. One of those was Dr. Pepper. I’m not sure why. Perhaps I just loved its sweet flavor. I do know that I didn’t want to drink Pepsi as most everyone I knew was forced to drink it. So I picked something different.

[Backstory: Roswell was the site of a Pepsi Bottling Factory. Many of my friends had parents that in some way worked for the plant. Being employees of Pepsi, they were expected to drink Pepsi. And that trickled down to my friends. So, Pepsi was everywhere. The blue and red cans burned my retinas. My mother didn’t work for the bottling plant so I figured I could drink anything I wanted. So I drank Dr. Pepper. Funny thing, I found out many years later, once the plant closed and disappeared, the same Pepsi Bottling Plant was responsible for bottling Dr. Pepper in Southeast New Mexico.]

We lived in this apartment complex around that time. It was called Columbia Manor – like the name made it more luxurious than it really was. In the court yard, there were massive trees and lots of grass – lots of area to run and climb for a kid – and a swimming pool. Next to the pool was a small laundry room and right outside — a Dr. Pepper machine!

The machine was simple and smelling — dispensing Dr. Pepper in a can. It was those Dr. Pepper cans that I noticed they went from pull tabs to the tabs we see on cans today. Unfortunately, I was guilty of littering with those old pull tabs. I’m not proud but it was different times. And the price of a can of Dr. Pepper: only 25 cents! The next summer I remember it going up to 30 cents and I panicked that I would now need another nickel. Dr. Pepper may have been my very first addiction. I wanted it all the time. No, I needed it. I would drink it after school. Run to the machine on Saturday mornings in between Smurfs and Alvin and the Chipmunks. If I had no money, I would peddling my BMX bike in the parking lot of the Tastee Freeze and Long John Silvers hoping to find nickels and dimes.

At my mother’s work, there was another Dr. Pepper machine. Yet, this one was an old fashioned side-loader that dispensed Dr. Pepper in bottles. It was so fun using the bottle opener on the machine to pop the top off my Dr. Pepper. Nothing was better than ice cold Dr. Pepper in a bottle. I can remember the fizz tickling my nose. I nearly threw a tantrum when I learned they took the machine away. Rumor was that it was losing money and there was a ability to pull two bottles at one time confusing the machine and getting two drinks for one. (who would do that? It’s immoral and — okay it was me, okay! I really regret that.)

Today, after 30 years, I rarely drink Dr. Pepper. Not sure when and where I stopped drinking it. I know in Junior High, Cherry Coke hit the scene. It may have been then. I sometimes drink one, as I did this morning. My daughter loves it. She only drinks it and refuses to settle for any of its knock-offs like Mr. Pibb. And it’s due to her and her generosity to share a Dr. Pepper with me — triggering this flood of memories….

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Let’s Go to the Mall!

Posted on by CV Whitfield

Getting older has found me getting more and more nostalgic. I don’t think I would be so nostalgic – or pining for the past – if things were similar to days long ago.

When I was a kid – maybe 10 years old or so – I found the adventure of a road trip fun. We’d get in the car and drive into the unknown. I just looked out the car window and watched the world go by at 55 miles per hour. We didn’t have a lot of money; so if we went somewhere, it was by car – no plane (or train). There was always lot to see between here and the nearest relatives house.

The road trip was also an outcome of growing up in a small town. There was very little to do or see in Roswell. This included shopping. We had the SEARS and JC Penney – so anything in the catalog could be ordered or bought there. For a kid, toys were bought from the Kmart or ALCO. Yet, only 2 or 3 isles of toys was nothing like a Kay-Bee, where it was the whole store. And don’t get me started on my reaction as I saw my first Toys R Us!

So, one variant of the road trip was to journey to the Mall. This wasn’t a quick trip. See, Roswell didn’t have a mall. So, we’d drive hours – hundreds of miles – simply to go to a massive building with 100s of stores that specialized in belts, candles and sunglasses. As a kid, it was a massive world of fake trees and plants and amazing water fountains. We’d spend hours – make a day of it – inside the Mall.

I have some great memories from going to the mall. Our mall of choice was the Las Cruces Mall (Mesilla Valley Mall). It was a one-story megalopolis. Everything you needed was there. Maybe thats why everyone holds up in the mall during a zombie apocalypse? Eating in the food court – my favorite was a cafeteria named Duffy’s (I believe that was the name). I remember the aromas of roast beef and fried okra – the faint smell of cigarette smoke (see you could smoke in dining areas back then). Getting lost inside the Montgomery Wards – looking up and seeing only toasters and blenders. I just followed my nose to the toy section figuring my mother would find me sooner or later. Buying Star Wars figures from Kay-Bee – $2.99 marked out and selling for a $1.50! Perhaps I was unique, yet, I was fascinated at the water features and fountains. If I close my eyes, I can still smell the slightly chlorinated water and feel the mist that surround the brick lined planters, etc.

I would love to go to the mall again. Yet, those malls are long gone. Today’s shopping malls don’t bring the magic of shopping in them as did the 1980s. To be honest, I can’t recall the last time I was in the mall (maybe a year). But I woke up this morning just wanting to relive some of those old memories. I even pulled up mall videos on Youtube.

Oh what the heck! Let’s go to the Mall!! … today!

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