 |
| |||||||||||
|
|
| |||||||||||
| Each week our Boomer-In-Charge, Hershel Chicowitz, has something to say about life, society, or what's going on... from the perspective of a baby boomer. This is what's on his mind the week of December 13: |
I know that Christmas is the time for giving, but the kid in me won't let me stop thinking of what I want for Christmas. Besides, the IRS has taken steps to ensure that I will remain way ahead on the giving side, well into the next century.
|
I was lucky as a kid; I usually got most everything on my list. Santa was
pretty good to me. One year I wanted a Firebird 99. It was a remote
controlled car. No batteries, though; you made it go by blowing over the
top of a soda bottle to make a whistling sound. (Remember that?) The
price for the Firebird 99 was about $49.95 - that's around a thousand
dollars by today's standards. So my dad decided I could live without a
Firebird 99. You know something? He was right. |
 |
One year, my sister proclaimed that she wanted an album by a new (and unheard of) country group called "Buck Owens and his Buckaroos." It was my job to go out and find it. That reminded me of my initiation into the Boy Scouts about the same time. On a weekend Jamboree, fellow tenderfoot Rick Saltzman and I were sent to another campsite to borrow some "white-lamp-black." They told us it was some kind of special fuel for a lantern. Well, that campsite didn't have any, but they directed us to another one - in the opposite direction. Three hours, a dozen campsites, and 12 miles later, we caught on. We'd been initiated.
Yes, I did manage to find Buck Owens for my sister. I figure she still owes me.
And dutifully, my sister always does ask me what I want for Christmas. But I've learned not to play that game. A couple years ago I said I'd be happy with anything from the Sharper Image. So she gave me a combination electric nose and ear hair clipper. "It's a Sharper Image exclusive!" she claimed proudly.
Mom always liked her best.
|
In return, the next year I bought her a book: "The Complete Idiot's Guide
to Amazing Sex." (You thought I was kidding, didn't you?) |
 |
 |
But she was one up on me. Last year, she sent me, "Dating for Dummies." (She got my father's brains; I got his crooked teeth.) |
This year I thought of asking her for a gift certificate for the Playboy Gift Catalog, but I just know that somehow that would come back to bite me in the keister. So instead, I went the practical route. I told her, "I want a Clark Bar." Remember those? My favorite candy bar.
Actually, I said I wanted a case of Clark Bars. Just my luck... the company went out of business earlier this year. But the Necco Company bought them out and, I imagine, will give them a suitable burial in the near future. You can still find them in some remote corners of the country... and, of course, on the Internet. Last time I checked eBay, you could pick them up for a dollar a bar. Too rich for my palate, thank you just the same. I donno'; it's kind of like blowing a million dollars to spend a night with Demi Moore. If I had a million bucks, I think I could find a better way to spend it.
Or maybe not.
A few days ago I saw a list of possible gifts for the man in your life. Number one is this: "When in doubt - buy him a cordless drill. It does not matter if he already has one. I have a friend who owns 17, and he has yet to complain. As a man, you can never have too many cordless drills. No one knows why."
Ain't it the truth?
And if you're looking for something just a tad more creative, please check our link to Amazon.com. You'll see it on the major pages here at BBHQ. We feature a couple dozen things I sure would like. Any time you use our link to Amazon.com to buy anything, it helps us... just a teeny, weenie bit.
And while I'm plugging everything under the sun here, let me also mention that the 12 Days of Christmas comes to BBHQ on Wednesday. Each day through Christmas, we'll have a special holiday memory of the boomer years. You'll want to check into our Home Page every day beginning Wednesday. It is our gift to you this holiday season.
In the meantime, I'll settle for a Clark Bar. But Demi, if you do happen to check in here... please know that I am available... 24/7.
If you want to write more, we're open to offerings from other boomers. If you have something to say of interest to boomers, write it as well as you can in 700-900 words, and send it to us. We can't guarantee we'll publish it, but we'll surely consider it.
For more of Hershel's essays, check the BBHQ Archives or the Boomer Essays.
Hershel will have something else to say on December 20; mark your calendar to come back to BBHQ every Monday.
If you like what we're doing here at BBHQ, please help us by buying stuff through our link to Amazon.com:
| The BBHQ Album of the Month is "Old Friends Live on Stage (Deluxe Edition) (2 CD/1 DVD)," by Simon & Garfunkel. If you were fortunate enough to see them in concert last year, I do not have to sell you. The concert was terrific! This album collection includes 55 songs, plus their new recording, "Citizen of the Planet," and one of the songs sung by the Everly Brothers during the concert. The DVD was recorded during their concert in Madison Square Garden in 2003. For any S&G fan, this is a must have! But then, you knew that already, didn't you? |
 |
|
The BBHQ Book of the Month is
"Vinyl Highway," by
Dee Dee Phelps. You remember her as Dee Dee, of Dick and Dee Dee.
Together, they took a decade long ride on the rock and roll roller
coaster. It was a heck of a ride! Dick Clark, Quincy Jones, the Beach
Boys, Glenn Campbell, Dionne Warwick, Bobby Vinton... Dick and Dee Dee
rubbed shoulders with all of them. This is her "behind the scenes" story.
It's pretty cool.
|
 | ||
 
|
|   |
Copyright © 1999 Baby Boomer HeadQuarters (BBHQ) All rights reserved.