Talk Down Memory Lane

It’s not uncommon when Mary O’Keefe and I are talking about an idea or a story that we veer off onto Memory Lane. Such was the case when this week we were talking about her column (which you can read across from my column).

We started by discussing the reuse versus the disposal of plastic bottles. This got us talking about days gone by when we had milk delivered to us in glass bottles. Her milkman in Iowa was about 6’8” and her father, who stood about 5’8”, would often verbally spar when Mary would check off chocolate milk on the list of items to deliver … and the milkman honored those wishes! Thankfully the two actually got along rather well and no “fisticuffs” were exchanged.

That led to Mary and me talking about egg delivery. Growing up here in Sun Valley, I remember Baldy the eggman coming to my house weekly in a big panel truck. He delivered eggs to our household.

 And do you remember the Helms Bakery truck? Oh, when we were kids how our eyes lit up when the Helms Bakery truck rounded the bend and came onto our street! You stopped him by waving your hands, much like the summertime ice cream truck. The Helms Bakery truck driver would pull over and open the back doors of the truck where there would be drawers filled with everything from baked goods to candy. What joy! My mouth waters at the memory.

Nowadays it’s a challenge to find milk in a glass bottle in the supermarket; most of it is in cartons. (Another memory – do you remember the pictures of missing kids on the cartons of milk? I don’t think that’s done anymore.)

And there’s no more Baldy the eggman; eggs aplenty can now be found in grocery stores.

As a side note, it’s hard to realize that these memories, vague as they might be, will die with me. My children, who have no concept of a time without a VCR/DVD player or streaming service, cable television (or the equivalent) or an ATM, will never know the joy of seeing the Helms Bakery truck come around the corner. These days, they (or in my case my grandchildren) would probably be absorbed on their phones anyway.

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Is it only me or is Christmas – or most accurately Christmas shopping –being shoved down our throats earlier and earlier? I understand from friends that many of the local “big box stores” already have Christmas displays up, perhaps enticing us to look past Halloween and Thanksgiving and jump right into Christmas shopping? I for one choose to slow down and enjoy Halloween and Thanksgiving before being slammed by Christmas.

And I won’t turn on KOST 103.5 until the day after Thanksgiving (even though the station plays 24 hours of Christmas music a day starting on Nov. 10).