IT'S FUNNY WHAT YOU REMEMBER

I had a birthday this past week. No major milestone, just another year marking the passing of time. I've reached my 56 year on this earth and it got me thinking of all the things I've stored away in my memory banks. 

This picture was taken in 1971 at Lake on the Mountain in Picton, apparently when jumpers were all the rage. I'm on the far left squinting horribly. And a few things have happened since then! 

For one thing technology has exploded. I remember returning to school after Christmas break. I was in Grade 10 at the time. The fella in front of me in Drama class (Chris Baker) had the strangest watch I had ever seen. It was digital! We went from a manual typewriter, to an electric one. You would be amazed how much clackety noise a classroom full of electric typewriters can make. Now here I am with a Laptop and an Apple watch! And Pong - I can't remember whose house I was at but somebody got an Atari for Christmas and we spent hours watching those two little lines ping that little white dot back and forth, back and forth. 

In the early 1980's Caesar Salads became popular. There was no dressing to be had in a jar, you had to make your own, which included a raw egg and lemon juice!

I remember when Pringles, Wunderbar and those miraculous things called "ATMs" showed up. 

And music - I went from little 45s to full on record albums, cassette tapes to CDs (I never went in for those 8-track tapes...). If I was trying to record a song on the radio, that meant racing into the living room and hitting the "record" button on the tape recorder if your song came the radio. 

I remember when Elvis died, waiting in line to watch the original Star Wars at the theatre, and a whole lotta hype around disco. 

Perhaps my memory banks are getting full. There's a lot in there and I suspect it may be getting selective about what it hands out, not to mention how long it takes to find it. 

But I think I'm OK. I can still sing word for word The Boys are Back In Town by Thin Lizzy (circa 1976). It's funny what you remember!