Baby Boomers vs. GenXers Comfortable Shoes vs 42 inch Plasma TV

I’ll take a pair of comfortable Rockport shoes over a 40 inch flat panel tv.

What would you rather have, a huge plasma or LCD TV or a nice pair of walking shoes? I guess it depends on how old you are, right? In the 1970’s and 80’s, when I was in my twenties or thirties, I didn’t give much thought to shoe comfortability. And the big thing for me in those days was buying my first portable 16 inch color tv. All those tv shows that I had seen in boring black and white now came to life in “glorious living color”, as the promo ran on NBC.

When my favorite shows were in black and white, I concentrated on the plot. Nothing to distract me. With color, I spent more time looking at the clothes the actors wore and the background scenery on such shows as The Love Boat and Fantasy Island.

It didn’t matter to me about the size of the picture. But, to Gen-Xer’s or what ever they call the people who are supposed to give me their seat on bus, it’s a different story. That is, the tv story is not so important, it’s how they watch it. Like other unmentionable things, it’s all about size. This person has a 40 inch set, that one a 50 inch, and so on. Tv is no longer a bulky device that sits on a special table. It’s like a picture that hangs on the wall. Instead of looking down, you look straight out. Hmmm… maybe when the younger folk get to my age, they won’t have sagging chins.
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Garfield Goose vs. South Pacific

By Larry Teren

We were simple six year old boys looking to show off at our school talent show. Perry convinced me he had a great idea, and it did seem so at the time. I got my Andy Warhol abbreviated ten minutes minutes of fame imitating Frazier Thomas, the fat amiable host of a  very popular television show in Chicago for kids called Garfield Goose.

The goose was a puppet who could not talk but made a hard clomping noise by dropping his long beak down on the lower jaw. There were also double-take looks and other expressions that were well known to the viewing audience.  Continue reading “Garfield Goose vs. South Pacific”

Pulaski Road and Madison Street or a Trip to the Dentist

By Larry Teren

In the 1950’s as well as for a good part of the 60’s, the heart of the business district of West Garfield Park in Chicago is the corner of Pulaski Road and Madison Street. Madison Street is one long commercial strip inside the city limits running from Michigan Avenue at the lakefront all the way west to Austin Boulevard. From there, it becomes part of Oak Park and other suburbs further west. Pulaski Road is 4000 west or at the five mile mark from State Street in the heart of the loop. Madison Street today is still seven miles of mostly small storefronts, warehouses and office buildings.
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