Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Things I miss from childhood

I was thinking about a few of the things that I miss from childhood or even the recent past and I decided to put together a short list of 15 things that I miss now that I am an adult.

Some of these things are no longer around, some of them I outgrew and some of them are very niche items. Note: Some of these items may be widely available where you live(particularly food items), so take some of these in the spirit in which they are written.


1. 2D Fighting games... 3D has some selling points, but I grew up on River City Ransom, Double Dragon, Street Fighter and Samurai Shodown.

2. Video stations that actually showed music videos. Canadian stations have followed MTV/VH1's example.

3. Tahiti Treat and strawberry flavored sodas. They both remind me of my grandmother.

4. The online soap operas of the 1995-7 era. The Spot, where art thou.

5. Radio programming not determined from a formula. DJ are supposed to be taste makers dammit.

6. New episodes of the recent Disney animated shows(Filmore, Recess, the Weekenders)

6a. The older Disney cartoon series based on their classic properties(Duck Tales, Talespin)

7. Frankenberry Cereal. I still remember the taste.


8. Little green plastic soldiers. I SO outgrew them.

9. Bags of Swedish Fish. I loved them as a kid as penny candies.

10. Puppets and models in movies... I recently watched Close Encounters again, and you know what... that ship still looks pretty damn good. And well done puppetry has an organic warmth to it that will always stay with me.

11. The old funny commercials for FedEx, Wendy's and Alaskan Airlines they used to show in the 1980's... and are largely the basis for Commercial Crazies

12. Good Teen comedies in the theatres. John Hughes, you made an era.

13. The period where Travolta was a punchline and not a leading man.

14. Cajun Spice Ruffles. I didn't appreciate them as much then as I would now. I can take the heat, and I want them back in my kitchen.

15. Action figures that are meant for kids to play with. What is with this keeping crap in the box? Toys are meant to be played with.

So, what do you miss from childhood?

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wait wait wait...you *grew up* on Street Fighter? Uhhhh, I played that along with Mario Kart in my early 20's! Geez, I am old ;).

MC said...

I was 14-16 in 1990-2 corridor, which means I wasn't an adult just then.

D. Prince said...

I definitely miss my big wheel, the smurfs, scratch 'n sniff stickers, using a lunch box and staying up to watch the Love Boat & Fantast Island on Friday nights!

Anonymous said...

Nice list! #8 has a place near and dear to my heart...

as for things i miss...eating bags of mixed lollies, playing board games, drawing with crayons...amongst many other things.

MC said...

D. Prince: Oh I forgot about Scratch and Sniff stickers... and stickers in general.

Tracey: I've never had the pleasure of mixed lollies...

J.D. said...

I miss Misty. Specifically and only her. [sniffles] I weep every night for her.

Anonymous said...

I was just having the conversation about keeping things in the box with someone the other day. I don't have any figurines in boxes - every single one gets opened. Great list!

Anonymous said...

oh and I miss a time when Optimus Prime just looked like Optimus Prime - classic flavour.

Cold Cut Ten said...

- Game & Watch -- I think it was one of the last things Nintendo made that had to do with telling time.

- Pacman snacks -- corn snacks with cheese flavoring, the shape of Pacman and the ghosts, not official, so no, it wasn't called "Pacman snacks" but everyone called them that. And they were quite colorful as I recalled, but I can't remember what the real name of the snack is.

- Hopscotch -- one of the few of the girly things that I liked.

- Plastic toy soldiers: they don't make them like they use to.

- good chocolate ice cream on a stick that only costs 40cents.

- Liz

Anonymous said...

Ah...2D fighting games. I still sneak off to the mall occasionally and plunk a few quarters into Marvel vs. Capcom 2. It's no substitute for Street Fighter II, but it's better than nothing.

MC said...

J.D.: Someone died on Pokemon? Wow, never saw that coming.

Lee: A toy's whole mission is to bring enjoyment to someone... and keeping them in a box is denying them that purpose.

Liz: I miss good fudgsicles and other assorted ice cream treats from childhood too.

Jess: I still whip out the Peace Keepers on my SNES when I want some 2D fighting action.

Anonymous said...

Ouch... I feel old now... Thanks for that...

SamuraiFrog said...

Yes! Where did all of the strawberry sodas go? When I was a kid, I'd go grocery shopping with my mom every Friday, and she's always buy me a Spider-Man comic, a generic Strawberry Soda, and a candy bar. I miss those generic Strawberry Sodas. They stopped making them and replaced it with something less good called Red Pop. Blecch.

And yes, wholeheartedly, on number 10!

MC said...

SF: Chicago is a Faygo town? I remember a lot of the generic/small brands from when I was a kid too... and I wonder if any of them still exist nowadays.

Dutchy: Don't feel like that. You ain't old.

Anonymous said...

I miss my mom and dad having to stress out and pay the bills. I miss my Mom's Ford Falcon.