The Retro Dad

by Darrin Vindiola This is Kolchak the Night Stalker.. Kolchak the Night Stalker was a television series that aired from 1974 to 1975. The show focused on a Chicago newspaper reporter (Carl Kolchak) played by Darren McGavin from "A Christmas Story" fame. Kolchak investigated strange and unsolved crimes.  Particularly those that law enforcement would not follow up on.  In many cases, the crimes had to do with supernatural elements that involved the occult, werewolves, witches, etc.  It was a great show, and scared the living crap out of me as an eight year old boy watching it in syndication.  The series is now a cult classic, spawned a new series in 2005, and has inspired several comic books and novels. Fast forward to 2016, and the special six episode revival of the X-Files.  Myself along with many other eagle eyed fans observed the following in the upcoming preview for next week's X-Files episode.. I mean come on.. this has got to be ...

I remember uttering the phrase "Chicka Boom Chicka Boom, Don't you just love it" in the early 70's when I was a very young boy.  In fact, I remember folks singing that tune for the entire decade of the 70's!  I remember my old man singing it whenever he was in a really good mood.  My brother, cousins, aunts, uncle's, friends, heck.. everyone I knew would sing that chorus! I think it's safe to say that after 1980, I never heard the phrase mentioned ever again until a couple of months ago.  I was out with my golfing buddies one afternoon, and when one of them sunk a twelve foot putt on the green, he enthusiastically exclaimed "Chicka Boom Chicka Boom.. Don'tcha just love it?"  Immediately the dusty file in my memory banks was opened, and I haven't been able to get it out of my head ever since. Now.. thanks to the wonders of the internet, I've not only learned the history of the song, but have found the single on You Tube!  The song ...

While converting some of my folks old slides to digital format recently, I stumbled upon these gems.  My brother and I were huge western enthusiasts as kids, so my old man got a kick out of taking us to anything western themed in California.  These were taken, at Hee Haw Valley in Vista California when I was about three years old. My brother and I excited for our train ride (I'm the one in the cowboy hat)  Dig the cat with the way cool beard!  Are the Amish allowed to drive trains? Look close and you'll see the cowboy engineer with his hand over his forehead, possibly nursing his headache from the screaming three year old sitting right behind him. Yes.. the darkness and noise was a little bit too much for me to handle at the age of three. Below you can see my loving brother comforting me as we exit the tunnel. Hee Haw Valley was great.  It was a nice little attraction that featured all kinds of animals you...

I saw this cap in the store the the other day and I realized I haven't seen a Dodge Demon on the road since I was a kid. One of the coolest car model logos of all time 1972 Dodge Demon GSS 340 cubic-inch supercharged V-8 , with  360 horsepower Dodge Demon's were special edition variants of the Dodge Dart made from 1971 to 1972.  Their future was doomed however, as gas guzzling high output Muscle cars became a thing of the past in 1973 with the advent of factory smog controls. I remember only occasionally seeing Dodge Demon's as a kid, and knew they were kind of rare, and I personally haven't seen one on the road since the mid eighties.  The last I heard, due to shoddy record keeping, no one knew exactly how many of these Demon's were produced or sold. The original price of these cars was about $3500.00.  Today you can count on spending anywhere from 21,000.00 to 41,000 depending on its condition.

In 1984 Wendy's ran with their "Where's the Beef?" advertising campaign that took the country by storm. The premise is as follows..  Three elderly gals are standing at a fast food counter examining a hamburger with a gigantic bun and tiny hamburger patty. The first two ladies discuss its appearance by saying.. "It certainly is a big bun.. It's a very big bun.. It's a big fluffy bun. It's a very big fluffy.. bun."  It's at that point when the third woman angrily shouts "WHERE'S THE BEEF?" The catchphrase was instantly embedded into American pop culture, and is still widely recognized to this day.  I personally remember seeing Where's the Beef? buttons, mugs, bumper stickers, shirts, hats, and posters. Due to this advertising campaign alone, Wendy's sales jumped 31% worldwide in 1985. The "Where's the Beef?" lady's name was Clara Peller, and for awhile in the 80s, she seemed to be everyw...

I remember my folks talking about a coffee called 'Chock full o'Nuts' when I was a kid.   On these walks down memory lane, I'd proceed to torture dear old Mom with a barrage of questions about the coffee like.. "Mom.. why do they call it Chock full o'Nuts?  Is the coffee made out of nuts?!?  The short answer of  "No" of course wouldn't satisfy any seven year old, so it was always immediately followed up with the question.. "Then WHY do they say it's Chock full of nuts?"  This inquisitive assault would usually continue until I was told to go away and do something like play with my Star Wars action figures, or watch 'Happy Days'. Make no mistake.. there are no nuts in this coffee! This coffee's name is a nod to the company founder William Black's New York based nut shops called 'Chock full o'Nuts' that were a smashing success in the late 1920s.  In 1932, his nut shops were con...