Memories Can't Wait
The other day my son asked me about cereal and who invented it. I had the answer to that one, telling him about W.K. Kellogg and his accidental invention of corn flakes, which was the first popular "milk and cereal" combination to change the way Americans ate breakfast.
That reminded me of the cereals I used to enjoy as a kid. My favorites were Cocoa Puffs, Captain Crunch, Boo Berry, Sugar Smacks, and Honeycomb. And whatever had the best stuff to read on the back of the box.
And thinking of those cereals made me realize that there are certain memories that can't, and shouldn't, be re-visited. It only leads to disappointment. Yes, I've sampled some of those cereals recently. Hard to believe I used to get all "cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs" when I was 8 years old. These days the mere thought of eating chocolate first thing in the morning makes me want to reach for the Tums.
It's like that with memories. Many of them are best left as just memories.
I was so excited to buy H.R. Pufnstuf on DVD to watch with my kids. In fact, they did enjoy the series just as much as I did when I was a kid. But the grown-up me was aghast that the little kid me could actually sit through the show. Same with old kid faves of mine like Lidsville, Wacky Races, Gilligan's Island, and Land of the Lost. I don't have the patience for stories like that anymore, and my happy childhood memories have been tainted by my grown-up judgements and critiques.
It's the same with certain movies from the past. As a kid, I loved Disney films like The Cat From Outer Space and Escape To Witch Mountain. But my palate has become too refined for the ancient special effects of those years. My own memories have been replaced by the ones of my kids laughing and enjoying those movies, so it's not necessarily a bad thing to re-visit those old loves. My kids don't notice the strings and fake blue-screen effects just as I didn't notice them way back when.
The memories that I'm most uneasy about re-visiting involve friends and family. My favorite images of childhood include playing hide-and-seek with my cousins on my Grandma's farm, building cardboard box forts with my neighborhood pals, playing kickball on the playground in 2nd grade, and making silly home movies with my best friend in elementary school. In recent years, I've met up with some of those old friends and relatives. And, for the most part, my cherished memories of them have been completely demolished. In the worst case, an old friend from junior high who always used to make me laugh grew up to become a director of gay porn. Now there's something I really didn't want to know.
I think I'm going to leave most of my old memories alone. And go make some new ones with my kids.
This post was originally published on June 25, 2005. Summer is a good time for reruns!
That reminded me of the cereals I used to enjoy as a kid. My favorites were Cocoa Puffs, Captain Crunch, Boo Berry, Sugar Smacks, and Honeycomb. And whatever had the best stuff to read on the back of the box.
And thinking of those cereals made me realize that there are certain memories that can't, and shouldn't, be re-visited. It only leads to disappointment. Yes, I've sampled some of those cereals recently. Hard to believe I used to get all "cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs" when I was 8 years old. These days the mere thought of eating chocolate first thing in the morning makes me want to reach for the Tums.
It's like that with memories. Many of them are best left as just memories.
I was so excited to buy H.R. Pufnstuf on DVD to watch with my kids. In fact, they did enjoy the series just as much as I did when I was a kid. But the grown-up me was aghast that the little kid me could actually sit through the show. Same with old kid faves of mine like Lidsville, Wacky Races, Gilligan's Island, and Land of the Lost. I don't have the patience for stories like that anymore, and my happy childhood memories have been tainted by my grown-up judgements and critiques.
It's the same with certain movies from the past. As a kid, I loved Disney films like The Cat From Outer Space and Escape To Witch Mountain. But my palate has become too refined for the ancient special effects of those years. My own memories have been replaced by the ones of my kids laughing and enjoying those movies, so it's not necessarily a bad thing to re-visit those old loves. My kids don't notice the strings and fake blue-screen effects just as I didn't notice them way back when.
The memories that I'm most uneasy about re-visiting involve friends and family. My favorite images of childhood include playing hide-and-seek with my cousins on my Grandma's farm, building cardboard box forts with my neighborhood pals, playing kickball on the playground in 2nd grade, and making silly home movies with my best friend in elementary school. In recent years, I've met up with some of those old friends and relatives. And, for the most part, my cherished memories of them have been completely demolished. In the worst case, an old friend from junior high who always used to make me laugh grew up to become a director of gay porn. Now there's something I really didn't want to know.
I think I'm going to leave most of my old memories alone. And go make some new ones with my kids.
This post was originally published on June 25, 2005. Summer is a good time for reruns!
Permalink posted by Idaho Dad at 1:08 PM
3 Comments:
It's fun for me when my son enjoys the same old things that I used to enjoy. H.R. Puffenstuff, for instance! He's also turned me onto lots of cool things like video games that I actually enjoy. But I only enjoy playing them with him...
When I was younger, I watched Starsky and Hutch religiously. A few months ago, I got to see it again and I was like, "Seriously?" and couldn't make it through it.
Emergency, now that's another story. I could watch it again and again.
H.R.Puffenstuff on DVD my life is COMPLETE!!!
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