Myrtle Beach 1996
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
After Lisa and I returned from the Sons of the Desert Convention Cruise on Friday, July 19, 1996, we had two weeks back at the Peppertree Apartments before we would be heading out again for another vacation. According to my Sunshine Pocket Planner, those two weeks were plenty busy doing things like playing softball (Lisa and I were on a family co-ed team; she was on a woman’s team), watching all kinds of WCW Wrestling, watching movies, going to out to eat, and returning to work – for at least some of the time. Read the rest of this entry »
I meandered into March, still reeling from the doldrums of February, but at least hopeful that things were going to lighten up now that I had at least entered the month during which vacation season would begin. Weather, although not yet at its optimal condition, would at least begin to get better. TV on DVD viewing remained a constant as I watched the entire series Arrested Development and the first season of Welcome Back Kotter. But most importantly, I was ready to begin my year of travel and adventure. 
If only…if only…if only they could all be like Willie Aames, life for the autograph collector and celebrity encounter freak would be so much easier. Although I wasn’t the biggest of fans of Eight Is Enough, it is one of those shows that I would typically catch if I was home in front of the TV when it came on during the late 1970′s. Willie Aames played Tommy, the middle of the three boys in the Bradford family. 
Despite the slow talking drawl, despite the incessant smile, despite the fact that in the real world he might be mistaken for a creepy pedophile, I’d still loved to have had Mr. Rogers as my neighbor. I grew up on the PBS staples of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, Sesame Street, The Electric Company, and Zoom – which each succeeding show for an older audicence than the one before. But even when I was ready for Zoom, I still secretly adored Mr. Rogers and the comforting make-believe surroundings he created. 
Sure, the joke eventually got a little old. But one of the highlights of some of the early Kevin Smith films involved the characters of Jay and Silent Bob – portrayed respectively by Jason Mewes and the director himself, Kevin Smith. They first made their appearance in Clerks, a black and white gem detailing a day in the life of two clerks in a convenience store and a video rental store. Jay and Silent Bob did virtually nothing but hang around. Jay babbled on and on incessantly, and you can guess what Silent Bob did.