The Retro Dad

by Darrin Vindiola Fleeting thoughts of the way things used to be, has got me thinking about things I miss seeing.  Here are just a handful of those things.. Phone Booths What an invention!  If you needed quick access to a phone and you weren't at home, you simply needed ten cents to make a phone call.  The booth made for a quiet, private area to speak, and it even shielded you from the elements! Shoe Repair shops If you have a pair of shoes needing repair, finding someone to fix them for you has become a bit harder to do nowadays. My old man had several pairs of shoes when I was a kid that he would always get re-soled and re-heeled.  Visiting the cobbler in addition to regular shoe shines, kept his shoes usable and good looking for decades!  My how times have changed! Drugstore cafe's and soda fountains On more than one occasion, I enjoyed a freshly made soda, or food hot off the grill whilst my mother shopped in Walgreen's or Woolworth's drugstores...

They're out there.. creepy and demented looking advertising mascots.  Everybody has seen advertising campaigns and mascots that make them scratch their heads and wonder.. Why? Here's a few that bug the heck out of me. Check out the Burger King's De-evolution into the likeness that so many consumers were freaked out by in recent years. In retrospect.. I guess that the 1980s King was kind of creepy.  But how about the King from the 90's and 2000's? The most recent incarnation of "The Burger King".. Were the new Burger King commercials amusing?  Sometimes.  Do they get your attention?  Absolutely.  But why a soulless dummy? Surely a good actor could bring the mascot to life and make him entertaining (even if he never spoke).  Is employing a creepy, dialogue free King, cheaper than hiring a live action King? Is the creep factor worth it?  Apparently it must've been, because he was the face of Burger King for nearly a decade un...

In this day and age, it seems like more and more folks are becoming ever more efficient in twisting perfectly innocent phrases into double entendres. Case in point.. musical lyrics and song titles. These tend to be big targets for jokers, but also inadvertently manifest double meanings with younger people. The song titles I've listed below are ones that I've personally seen take on a whole new meaning since their inception way back in the day. I've seen people joke about them, and young people unfamiliar with the songs, being shocked upon hearing them. Enjoy.. "Rocky Mountain High" by John Denver Since the legalization of marijuana, Colorado is fast becoming the butt for all kinds of jokes and puns nationwide. This song title doesn't help. "Messin' With the Kid" by The Blues Brothers A younger co-worker of mine couldn't believe his ears when another Blues Brothers fan and I shared that 'Messin' with the kid' was one ...

Those who know me sometimes refer to me as a "Manchild" or "Kidult" , and I proudly wear those badges with honor.  That being said, it should come as no surprise that I peruse the toy aisles every chance I get.  Over the last year, I've noticed a trend of mega sized action figures hitting the toy shelves at an astounding rate. Below are some snapshots of these action figures I've seen in the wild.. 30" STAR WARS Darth Vader This is the first super sized action figure I saw on toy shelves about a year or so ago.  The figure albeit devoid of a light saber, is incredibly detailed and impressive.   20" STAR WARS Chewbacca I'm still troubled to this day that I never owned a 15" Chewbacca action figure back when I was 8 years old.  However, this toy blows the old one out of the water.  It's got a moveable head, removable Bandolier, and the paint is done quite nicely with multiple shades of brown.  The only th...

Have you purchased any kids cereal lately? If so, have you noticed the lack of cool in box prizes? Being a kid at heart, I certainly have. Kids cereals of today seldom offer in box prizes, and even if they do, the premiums are nowhere near as good as they were back in the day! If you're a kid in this day and age, you hope and pray that your parents buy three to five boxes of the same brand cereal. That way, you can mail away the UPC's along with a check or money order for $5.99 to get a toy. Or, you can enjoy minutes of fun with a maze, or word games printed on the back of the cereal box. I'm sorry, but kids of this generation got the short end of the stick in regards to cereal prizes. When I was a kid, I used to run to the cereal aisle while my mom was shopping. I would scour the entire aisle to find the boxes with the best toys. Yes, it was more about the toys than the cereal itself. This was the hook that the cereal companies used to persuade buyers (Mothers) to buy...

That's my VW Bug in front of a gift shop in Kissimmee Florida in 1992.  We lived in Virginia Beach Virginia at the time, and my wife and I drove this little bug all the way down to Orlando to take my son to Disney World. I will never forget that trip in November we took to see ''The Mouse".  Even though we were tight on cash, the trip didn't cost all that much by today's standards.  Back then gas was about $1.20 a gallon, admission to Disney World was under $30.00 per day, and you could get a double room at a decent hotel for under $40.00. We barely had enough money for gas, a one night stay in a hotel, park tickets, and food.  What's more, it was cold and rained for most of the day that we were at the Magic Kingdom.  We didn't have much money, the weather was less than optimal, and the 1520 mile round trip in an old VW was anything but comfortable.  That being said, it turned out being one of the most memorable and fulfilling Disney trips ...

Here's yet another example of how things just aren't made as good as they used to be. While there's a very good chance that this Swingline stapler is older than yours truly, it still works as if it were new. Doesn't this look like something you'd see on a desk in the television series Mad Men? I just used this old Swingline to perform a repair on a handbag for my daughter.  A small square of Velcro which held the flap securely in place fell off, and the stapler had no problem fastening a new piece to the thick plastic material.  I camouflaged the staples with a little black paint, and voila.. the result was a good looking repair that will keep the velcro in place longer than any glue would. I can't tell you how many staplers I've had to replace at work in the last year and a half.  The staplers I use on a daily basis are constructed with about 90% plastic, and usually aren't used to staple any more than three sheets at a time. Like my father ...

by Darrin Vindiola This year I completed a recent bike project.. a 1972 John Deere 10-speed that my old man handed down to me.  These bikes were only made for three years, and were sold exclusively at John Deere retailers.  At 71 years young, Dad is easing away from tinkering on bicycles a bit, and is making good use of his time cruising around on his Gary Fisher racing mountain bike.  He knew I would restore the old John Deere bike to its former glory, and in turn get good use out of it, so he gifted it to me last year. As you can see from the picture above, this bike looked more like a mountain bike hybrid than a vintage 1970s 10-speed, and with good reason.  The forward riding posture that the typical road bike requires wasn't conducive to my Dads age and style of riding that he has grown accustomed to.  Therefore, a comfort bike seat and cruiser style bars were added to acquire his desired upright riding style. I had stripped the bike dow...

Ingenious advertising mascots really have a way of working themselves into consumers hearts. Today I'm listing a few of my favorite advertising icons from my youth, and how they appeared back then.. and now. The Pillsbury Dough boy circa 1970s Pillsbury Dough boy today.. Like so many other mascots these days, the Dough boy of years past is now computer animated.  I know good old Poppin' fresh was only a lump of clay brought to life by stop animation, but for some reason.. the new Dough boy seems to have lost some of his realness (if that makes sense). Jack the Clown circa 1976 Jack today.. While the new Jack is definitely funny and entertaining, I miss the old Jack and everything associated with him.  From the big rotating clown heads atop the restaurants, and of course the old ordering stations with the clown head you could talk into, I miss it all. Snap, Crackle and Pop   (circa 1960s) Snap, Crackle and Pop today...