A "Trip" Down Memory Lane

I braved the Christmas shopping crowds and went to the mall this evening. Every row in the parking lot had dozens of empty spaces. I didn't wait in line in any store. In fact, I was the only customer in one store! I started to freak out that I'd actually slept through Christmas and it was now March. I mean, no crowds the Monday after Thanksgiving? Come to think of it, it's pretty warm outside for the end of November too. Getting a little scared that I really had somehow missed Christmas, I looked around the mall and saw the reassuring decorations. Garlands hung from the tall ceilings, snowflakes adorned stores windows, and Christmas music filled the air.
Has anyone else been out shopping the last couple days? Was it crowded by you? It was really eerily UNcrowded here.

After I finished my errands at the mall, I headed to the grocery store. You know how I shop when I'm by myself? However I darn well please, that's how! I take exorbitant amounts of time to walk up and down every single aisle. Very, very slowly. I see products I never knew existed when I shop by myself. I can easily get lost for hours if it's one of those super stores. The car maintenance aisle? Sure, why not? I don't need motor oil or tree shaped air fresheners, but I'll check it out anyway. Why? Because I don't have the kids with me and I'm not in a hurry to get back home. Baby food aisle? Bring it on! I don't have any little babies, but I'll check out what new flavors Gerber has come up with. Office supply aisle? I now know how many different types of pencils they sell.

Know another thing I do when I shop by myself? As I move the groceries from the cart to my van, I search for the cookies. Then, looking around to make sure no one is watching me (because that would be embarrassing) I sneak the cookies into the front seat with me. I just know there's a guy watching the parking lot surveillance cameras, laughing at me, and calling his security buddies over, saying, "Check this out! This woman is gonna chow down a whole package of cookies before she's even out of the parking lot! I bet you! Odds are five to one." All the security guards gather round the monitor and slap their money down. Of course I made sure I was out of the parking lot before tearing into the cookies just in case.

I showed my husband that Yo Gabba Gabba video last night. He didn't believe me that it was from an actual show that is on TV. Then we got to talking about old shows that we watched as kids. After digging up the following classics, we decided that Yo Gabba Gabba isn't quite as psychotic as the shows we watched when we were kids! If you have time and are interested, just click the titles of the shows and it'll take you to a YouTube video. Enjoy!

HR Pufnstuff is quite possibly the most warped show of the 70s. There's a kid who runs away from home with his magic flute. He steals a boat. A witch, appropriately name Witchiepoo, tries to get him. A very creepy looking thing (seriously what IS that thing? He's got a collar like Kermit the frog. He's got a tail- Maybe it's a dragon? A dinosaur? He has terrible bags under his eyes- Maybe it's a mom? I have no idea, but it's a wonder more kids of the 70s aren't seriously messed up.

Gigglesnort Hotel. Now here's a show that has everything! Strange crow puppets, a blob of clay that just makes strangled sounds, a puppet who thinks he's W.C. Fields, a dragon who smokes, and other assorted wacko puppets.

And who could forget The Great Space Coaster, Gary Gnu, and Goriddle Gorilla? And look at the end of this clip. There's yet another person dressed up in a creepy looking costume!

Sigmund and the Sea Monsters is another show that follows that simple rule for kids' shows in the 70s - you MUST have people dressed up in creepy costumes. And how can you go wrong when you've got Rip Taylor with green hair and some kid with five foot hair?

The Bugaloos is another great 70s show. It featured 4 kids (or were they bugs) and, of course, the requisite person in a creepy costume. Is anyone else getting the feeling that Sid & Marty Kroft were on some serious drugs when they created these shows?

The New Zoo Review is another show with, yes you guessed it - people dressed in creepy costumes! Check out the spectacular choreography in this clip.

Banana Splits is yet another show with creepy costumed characters. Apparently my generation really got into this. These guys are having fun at an amusement park though, so it's all ok.

The Land of the Lost didn't have any people dressed up like creepy things. Nope, this show had some grade A animation! A bunch of folks go for a river ride (down a very realistic river, I might add) and somehow wind up in a land of dinosaurs. What? It could happen.

And let's not forget all the educational cartoons we enjoyed as kids like Clutch Cargo who taught us that cartoons can be creepy too, what with their human mouths, Speed Racer who taught us that driving really, really fast and hanging out with monkeys is a good idea, Underdog, Magilla Gorilla, School House Rock, Zoom, Hong Kong Phooey, The Jetsons, TheFlintstones, Gilligan's Island, Scooby Doo, Fat Albert, Mr. Magoo, Bozo's Circus, Captain Kangaroo, Mr. Rogers, Shmoo, Popeye, The Adams Family, and The Munsters, and of course Tom and Jerry. What would cartoon violence be today if it weren't for groundbreaking shows like that?

I never thought Id say this, but Yo Gabba Gabba somehow doesn't look all that bad anymore.