Now a big perk is our caffeinated acceptance that it’s a ‘bargain’ today spending a dollar for a cup of coffee! Those of us with a bit of a historical past, feel like Henry Hudson trying to make it through the Northwest Passage. Placed in a rowboat by the crew and told to paddle away. No Eatons, no Woodwards, no Sears, smack in the middle of Hudson’s Bay!
All those words, names and connections of years past, like The Star Weekly, Betty Kennedy, Gordon Wilson, Pierre Burton on Front Page Challenge, Maclean-Hunter. Kodachrome, Ektachrome, Mortifee Munshaw, how society used to manage. Then, along came new words such as hard drive, real time, hard copy, beta, VHS, eight track, ‘the future is friendly’ and ‘the medium is the message’.
Now a big perk is our caffeinated acceptance that it’s a ‘bargain’ today spending a dollar for a cup of coffee! Those of us with a bit of a historical past, feel like Henry Hudson trying to make it through the Northwest Passage. Placed in a rowboat by the crew and told to paddle away. No Eatons, no Woodwards, no Sears, smack in the middle of Hudson’s Bay!
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Donald O’Connor and his talking mule, Arthur Rank productions, with that guy hitting that huge Gong. There was that growling lion from Metro Goldwyn in Hollywood, so cool. If you see those old movies on reruns and DVD, they can provide some stability, away from today’s fast moving goings on. The Carry On Gang and that subtle, dry British humour. The Bowery Boys and their New York adventures. Maybe you watched them in your home BC town or on theatre row in Vancouver. Now many of us former kids are wearing dentures! I miss taking in a roll of Ektachrome and having it developed at Mortifee Munshaw. It was something to look forward to see ‘how things developed’, a few days later, I miss the old publications from Toronto and TV programs. FIND all Dan's books HERE! What actor was known for saying, “Yup”? That’s right, Gary Cooper. Do you recall having your first taste of a decaffeinated Sanka cup? Did you ever think in Vancouver, cab drivers would someday be competing with a new system called Uber? How about the first time you tasted Yami Yogurt? Wasn’t that an amazing product when we were young whippersnappers? Did you see the African Queen with Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart? Do you recall when an expression synonymous for raining was “pitter patters”? On what tv program did a character say, “wait for me Mr. Dillon”? Who was Matt’s lady friend? Of course, the show was called Gunsmoke. Remember expressions like “thanks a million”, back to the days of the Pepsi Generation and Things Go Better With Coke? On Our Miss Brooks, who played her role? That’s right, Eve Arden, and what theme song connected to Bob Hope? Thanks for the Memory. Do you remember the distinctive voice of Nat King Cole? What about through the suds of time, sponsors like Ivory and Lux soap? For seniors, rhythm and rhyme, life can snap, crackle and pop again. I still relish the first time I tasted shredded wheat. Also watching Ma and Pa Kettle at the local movie theatre with Marjorie Maine. Where have those years gone, heavens to Pete?!
Do you have fond memories of your favourite movie theatre back in the early nineteen fifties? All those cartoons, Movietone news reels, short features, then the main feature and even comic books for kids at matinees. It cost about thirty-five cents for everything! My favourite movies were the Bowery Boys, Donald O’Connor and his talking mule plus the Carry On films from jolly old England. FIND all Dan's books HERE! Recently, I went downtown Vancouver and couldn’t believe how much has changed and so fast. They were shooting a movie where the old courthouse used to be before it became the Vancouver Art Gallery with its beautiful fountain and green grass. Now it was a set for a courthouse again. Another shoot was with actor-lawyers on the steps and actor-police, “action”, “rolling” and Hollywood North. Trucks and equipment were all over the place, in and around where the fountain and green grass used to be. So much had vanished so quickly. Then, on Robson Street close to Bute, all those huge glass towers. Empty stores stood with “for lease” signs, and a few homeless people still slept close to them on the sidewalks. Everything looked like a movie set but was real. I sat down at a fast food restaurant and scribbled this song with an old fashioned pencil and a bit of scrap paper. VANISHING YESTERDAY
Wow, ‘Howe Hornby’ changed so fast, remembering at one time we could sure ‘Seymour’ on Hastings Street too. What Robson Street used to be sure didn’t last. It was truly a Bute on Georgia Street, experiencing today’s majestic view, and give my regards to old Broadway. I miss the wooden Cambie Bridge and now replaced with all that progress, what can one say. I long for the simpler times, remembering theatres like the Lux, Colonial and the Ridge, independent stores like The House of Stein and Arnolds Pawn Shop, The White Lunch, their huge baked custard pudding for two bits. In that era, back to the nineteen sixties, a fifty cent burger at White Spot and the old fashioned shows at the Showboat at Kits. FIND all Dan's books HERE! |
AuthorDan Propp's books are available on Amazon, Kindle, and other E-Book retailers' sites. To contact Dan please click HERE. Archives
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