I Didn't Know the Gum Was Loaded! (Candy Culture)

I have fond memories of all of the sweet (and some salty) treats that I enjoyed as a boy during the 1970's. Candy and comic books were two of the essentials for a kid back then. So I'd spend my lazy summer afternoons thumbing through my Captain Marvel and Spiderman comics, chain-eating a pack of Popeye candy cigarettes. Isn't that what childhood is all about?

Once or twice a week, I'd pop open my Superman savings bank and scoop out a handful of coins for some treats. Pockets jingling, I'd walk or ride my bike down the street to the corner store. The colourful displays were enticing, always an adventure. What would my choices be today? Candies, chips, or pop? Or all of the above?

Here in Canada, we didn't have the same selection of candies and other junk food snacks as the United States. Some of the big names that were readily available in the States, like Mounds and Baby Ruth bars, Yorkie, and Clark bars.... these were nowhere to be found in my town. Probably a lot more than just those, too. 

My lists here will obviously exclude many products. The selection available, my personal preferences, and even my memory, determined my lists. For instance, I was never much of a fan of toffee, though I remember having that Macintosh stuff a few times. That was enough for me. Ech. Too much chewing, too.

As I sifted through the ideas in my head and the Google searches, I came upon a lot of instantly memorable goodies from my past. The most famous and my favourites will dominate my notes below. Nothing is ranked in order, though often my faves may appear uppermost in the listings. 

Sorry teach, I didn't know the gum was... loaded!

CHEWING GUM

Bazooka bubble gum.... the gum wasn't really very tasty, losing its so-so flavour fast, but I loved collecting those little Bazooka Joe comics inside each wrapper. I can't remember if I ever sent in my hoarded comics in exchange for a prize.
Dubble Bubble.... these had mini-comics, too, but I remember Bazooka Joe much better
Hubba Bubba Bubble Gum... big bubbles, no troubles. I loved that gunfighter TV ad.
Bubble Yum
Bubblicious
Big Red cinnamon-flavoured gum... remember that old lumberjack TV commercial?
Gold Nuggets Bubble Gum... not very tasty or bubbly but I loved that cloth drawstring bag!
Wrigley's spearmint... white and green packs
Chicklets
Freshen Up.... I didn't know the gum was loaded! A memorable catch-phrase from the past.
Trident Sugarless Gum
Juicy Fruit
Dentyne

Gold Nuggets came in a cool little drawstring bag, like  what an old,

grizzled prospector would carry his panned gold dust and nuggets in

CANDY

Rockets... all the way from England to Canada back in '63... one of my faves back then
Pep Peppermint Patty... no York patties here... yet. One of my favourites!
Pop Rocks
Bottlecaps, by Wonka
Blow Pops
Cracker Jack.... candied popcorn and nuts in a cardboard box, with a neat little prize (a toy) inside, unlike today's cheap little junky trinkets
Nibs Black Licorice
Cherry Twizzlers... still a movie theatre habit for me today
Popeye Candy Sticks
Sour Patch
Starburst
Cinnamon Toothpicks.... one of the weirdest concoctions ever, but I bought 'em anyway.
Pixy Stix
Razzles... and Razzles Fizzles
Sweetarts
Candy Charm Bracelet.... only for girls? Nope, boys would buy and eat them, too.
Jelly Belly
Rock Candy
Root Beer Floats
Tootsie Pop
Lifesavers

I also recall some weird stuff like wax lips, which you were supposed to chew on for flavour, but I never liked those. What was the point if you couldn't even eat it?

POTATO CHIPS and other bagged, salty snacks

Back in the 70's, there were few potato chip flavours, but the new ones were such a treat. Humpty Dumpty and Hostess were the big brands back then, and in my earliest years, I only recall plain or BBQ chips in our kitchen cupboards. During the 70's, salt and vinegar and sour cream & onion flavours were introduced... probably later in Canada than the States. My folks weren't hip to those tastes so it was up to me to experiment on my own.

I don't recall Doritos in my neighbourhood store when I was a youngster. That brand has been around since 1964, yet I never got around to trying my first Dorito until I was much older. All those lost years! Well, I've certainly made up for it the past two decades.... Doritos, especially the Zesty Cheese flavour, have become my go-to chip. 

Pringles - what a novelty! In a tube! I am pretty sure these were in my local store during my impressionable years. But I don't think I got around to eating them.... I can't remember, so I'm not sure. My folks never brought them home, and I guess I just wasn't willing to depart from the familiar bagged chips of other brands.

Bugles... not chips, but I absolutely loved those crispy, unhealthy things. If I was left alone in the house for even a few minutes, I'd plough through a box of those things so friggin' fast.... man, I got trouble for that!

I seem to recall flavoured popcorn hitting the snack racks at some point in the late 70's. I can't remember the brand, but I do know there were flavours like salt and vinegar, and sour cream and onion... maybe some others. Delicious and oh, so gorge-able. 

Jiffy Pop popcorn was the snack food you'd make at home over your stove's hot element. When I got a bit older, I was allowed to make that stuff myself. It was a fun part of "movie night" with the family. Soft drinks and popcorn and James Bond... or something like that. 

CHOCOLATE 

I don't think I bought chocolate bars all that often back then, perhaps because of the higher cost. I could get more for my money by instead buying a pile of smaller candies. I remember the many funny Reese's Peanut Butter Cup TV commercials on U.S. networks, but I do not recall Reese being available in Canada during my youth. Maybe in the 80s? Regardless, Reese cups have for many years been my absolute favourite chocolate (and peanut butter) treat... even today. 

Cherry Blossom... my absolute favourite junk food back in the day. Still a guilty pleasure.
Sweet Marie... also a fave during my younger years
Chunky.... and yet another... those massive mouthwatering hunks of chocolate... gaaaaaa....
3 Musketeers
Rolo
Smarties
Marathon Bar
After Eight.... only a Christmas-time treat, for some reason, but hey, they were cool sweets
Turtles... also a seasonal goodie, but man, they were so good, I could eat them every day
Goodies Licorice 
Glossette Raisins
Maltesers

My best soft drink experiences revolved around The Pop Shoppe. Hot 70's

summer days... guzzling one pop after another. Boy, did mom ever get mad!

SOFT DRINKS

I was never a huge fan of Coca-Cola or Pepsi. It was the more adventurous flavours that satisfied my young taste buds, Some favourites at the time were:

The Pop Shoppe was a popular spot in my hometown back in the 70's. You'd get a case of assorted pop flavours - in returnable bottles! Orange, Cream Soda, & root beer were best.
Fanta... grape and orange
Orange Crush
C-Plus
Fresca.... I still love it!
Cream Soda

Root beer was my favourite soft drink for many years, especially as a kid, and maybe once in a long while - just as a treat - these days.  I'm not sure what brands were available in my area in the 70's, but possibilities are Hires and maybe Mug? I know my fave was A&W Root Beer.... only at the restaurants back then, I think. And I loved the drive-in concept way back, when you could park your car under an awning and servers would come out, take your order, bring you your food on a tray, and collect payment... all while you sat in your car. A cool service that seemed an extension of the 50's and 60's, but sadly disappeared over time. 

Okay, enough of all this food talk... er, junk food talk. This is making me hungry. More later!

Summertime's Here: Van Halen and Fellow Partiers

When the days turn hot and sunny, like right now, I can't help but crank up the good-time music like Van Halen and Kim Mitchell, the stuff of my youth. During my mid-to-late teens especially, I remember steamy beautiful summer nights when my friends and I would blast heavy music like Def Leppard (Photograph, Foolin', and Rock of Ages come to mind), ZZ Top (Cheap Sunglasses, La Grange, and Party On the Patio, obviously) and AC/DC (Let's Get It Up and I Put the Finger on You) as we sipped our beverages and mocked the crappy videos we rented on Friday nights. Fridays were usually the "quiet" nights, then on Saturdays we'd conspire to crash a party or two. 

The key, though, was the music. As we all know, music is a mystical and magical link to our old memories. Like I remember that early-start party I hit as a teen, 12-pack in hand, at the house of a high school "acquaintance". Not really close friends with any of that gang, but they accepted me with surprised smiles. I stashed my drinks behind a couch and hung out, listening to Men at Work and Dire Straits for a little while. Not exactly my scene. I think I cut out early and headed to another friend's place for some jamming on guitar. Something like that. This was the early 80's, so my memory isn't razor sharp on those events. 

Since I used to live just a few minutes walk away from my high school, I'd go home for a sandwich and some Max Webster - their A Million Vacations album - on the 8-track on my lunch breaks. Tunes like Paradise Skies, Research (at Beach Resorts), and the title track were must-listens to help get me through the coming grind of afternoon math and science classes. 

There was that Century Club night at a buddy's place.... I won't go into gory detail about that, but it was messy. There were issues now and then with keeping down the booze, as you can imagine. I don't think anybody there reached the 100 mark. But I it was a balmy summer evening of good rockin' tunes on the stereo, Van Halen and Rush among them. 

There were some strange house parties here and there. Like that one where I ran into fellow high schoolers who I sort of knew, but had never befriended. Over several beers and some Iron Maiden music that night, we bonded a bit, I guess. 

And there was that time when a few of us rolled a car on the way to a gathering, talked our way out of the situation with the cops, then grabbed a ride with someone else - and hit the party anyway. I even had a few scratches to impress the girls with.

Oh, and that crazy bush party where a band was going to play for us, but that entertainment cancelled on us at the last minute. Luckily, one of my pals had a good stereo in his car, so he pumped up the volume and gave new life to the bash. I have no other memories of that night. Seriously.

The early 80's saw the disbanding of Canadian rock band Max Webster, but lead singer and guitarist Kim Mitchell set off on a solo career that brought him to my hometown more than a few times. There was a weird and raucous night when bunch of friends and I ventured out to see Mitchell at a ramshackle bar at the edge of town. Man, what a blast. 

Kim Mitchell's first solo effort, an EP, included Big Best Summer and Kids In Action, a couple of excellent seasonal favourites. His next album boasted huge radio hits Lager and Ale and Go For Soda. A little later, equally cool songs like Patio Lanterns, Rock and Roll Duty, and I Am a Wild Party brought us even more warm weather musical accompaniment. That fun and wacky guy really knew how to get a party going and keep it going. I've seen him many times live in concert, but just having a Kim Mitchell record, tape or CD playing in the background at a house party made all the difference in the world. 

Hamilton, Canada punk rockers Teenage Head were a rowdy blast, too. I saw them at my high school at a tender teen age, and have retained a love of some of their early hits. One of my buddies back then was a fan, so our little gang enjoyed his Head tape in the car stereo on many beer runs. 

Since my tastes ran more to heavier rock, I was drawn toward American hard-hitters Van Halen more than others in my peer group. They'd listen, but weren't as enamoured with guitar ace Eddie VH as I was. With David Lee Roth (the only Van Halen singer who ever mattered) at the mic, those first six albums were essential for rock'n'roll listening year round. Somehow, the band effortlessly penned a pile of terrific summer-oriented songs, including Beautiful Girls, Dance the Night Away, Bottoms Up, Jump, Panama, and their covers of Ice Cream Man and Dancing In the Street. All great, fun toons to bring friends together and quench their thirst.

I still have a soft spot for David Lee Roth's early solo work, too, like his bright and happy version of California Girls. How can anyone not love this? Whenever I hear it I am transported back to the summer of '85... hanging with my buds on a patio, sipping brews and chowing down on fish'n'chips. Hot Dog and a Shake, another Diamond Dave fave of mine, appeared a few albums later. I picture a boardwalk, a snack stand, and surfers hitting the waves under azure skies.

In a lighter vein, there was Echo Beach (1980) by Martha and the Muffins, which I quite liked. Along the same lines, there was Walking on Sunshine (1983) by Katrina and the Waves, a track that still brings a smile to my face. Naturally, some Beach Boys is expected in any summertime playlist. Just about anything by that band.... Good Vibrations is one of my personal faves. The Boys of Summer by Don Henley is among my favourite songs of all time, period, but it also serves as one of the best to accompany a party, beach or BBQ outing. 

I always felt that the music of the GoGo's was perfect for sandals and shorts weather. We Got the Beat and Our Lips Are Sealed are a couple I particularly like. Oh, and Tom Petty's entire Full Moon Fever album exudes the steamy, palm tree-lined roads and beaches of California. Free Fallin' and Runnin' Down a Dream especially evoke that lazy and exotic locale. 

These are just a few of my favourite summertime songs, and to this day, I love revisiting such oldies when the sun is shining and the mercury is rising. Cheers!

"I never trust a man who doesn't drink." John Wayne Remembered

Just one of the many manly quotes left to us by the Duke himself. 

Today I am remembering the late great John Wayne, star actor of westerns, war epics, and assorted other movies. Wayne passed away this day in 1979. Of his one hundred and forty-two screen appearances, eighty-three of them were westerns. Yes, old Duke liked his horsie pictures. 

When I was a kid, and even a teenager, I saw nothing interesting in westerns whenever I'd trip upon one on TV. I'd skip them without a second thought. I think I watched a few of Clint Eastwood's spaghetti westerns when I was in my mid-to-late teens, but they didn't really make an impression. For me, Clint was Dirty Harry, the cop with a cannon in his holster, just waiting to blow away some street punk. 

It took me a good long time to truly enjoy a western. This sort of movie wasn't always very prominent in the cinemas anyway, and good ones were tough to come by. The genre had fizzled after the 70's. Audiences simply weren't interested in The Old West any more. We just wanted space battles and robots. But '85 saw a minor resurgence with the Hollywood release of Pale Rider (with the reliably squinty-eyed Eastwood) and Silverado (with Kevin Costner backed by a fine supporting cast). A few years later, Young Guns made a bit of a splash with its assembly of hunky cowboy actors. Not a big deal to me, but it was a start. 

I remember seeing commercials for the TV mini-series Lonesome Dove back in '89, but it didn't look like my kind of thing. More on that later.

When an aging Eastwood produced, directed, and starred in 1992's Unforgiven, I snapped to attention. Here was something different, something dark and moody, not exactly the formulaic cowboy and Indian flick of yore... you know, circle the wagons, kill the bad guys dressed in black, then ride off into the sunset. Unforgiven boasted an all-star cast that helped bring the film great success and accolades. And I was totally on board. 

The late great Robert Duvall as lovable old Gus McCrae

in the original Lonesome Dove TV mini-series

In the mid-90's, I tackled the huge novel Lonesome Dove and totally loved it. And that was the first time I shed a tear while reading a book... that sad, sad scene near the end was a killer. And that book led me to the continuing series of novels, all of which I bought and read as quickly as I could. This was masterful storytelling by author Larry McMurtry, perhaps the best epic tale I'd ever read (sorry, Mr. Tolkien). 

Then I remembered that TV mini-series based on McMurtry's books. I found all of the Lonesome Dove movies in a well-stocked rarities video store, and added them to my collection. Being a movie fan just getting started building my own personal film library, I loved adding such treasures to my shelves.

Not long after, one weekend morning, I discovered a Lonesome Dove spin-off series, The Outlaw Years, on TV. Whoa - just what the doctor (Doc Holliday?) ordered! I ended up recording every episode off the tube, watching and re-watching them voraciously. Then yet another Dove series showed up on TV, a sort of prequel series... same deal there. Great stuff. 

As I began to realize I had a real thing for this genre, I finally got down to seeing other modern classics, or what would become modern classics. Like the stunning 1990 epic, Dances With Wolves. There was also a sequel to Young Guns, which I skipped since it was so evident this was not quality Old West material. Quigley Down Under was a bit underwhelming, though City Slickers was a favourite with its comedic star, Billy Crystal. The Last of the Mohicans was an impressive American historical drama that sort of fell within the western category. The stylish low-budgeter El Mariachi was a fun flick, while Thunderheart took a more sober approach as it told a western murder mystery set on an American Native Indian reservation. 

Now here's a different kind of Jimmy Stewart...

my kind... in Winchester '73

I also began to find joy in watching the early cinematic westerns: Red River, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, My Darling Clementine, High Noon, Winchester '73 (probably my fave of the genre), The Big Country, Stagecoach, The Searchers, and Rio Bravo. John Wayne figured into many of the old classics. I noted the stylish spaghetti westerns, but even ol' Clint couldn't draw me in very far. These felt a bit empty to me, lacking in the acting and story departments, relying more on quiet symbolism in the visuals: dusty boots and cloaks and cigarillos. Oh, and the violence, which was amped up when this new breed of western emerged in the 60's. I did enjoy the minimalism of revisionist fare like The Wild Bunch, Heaven's Gate, and The Long Riders... a little more substance to go with the style, perhaps?

I continued to monitor the current Hollywood scene for anything of worth. The 90's film version of Geronimo left me wanting more. Tombstone was a bit better with its big-name cast, including Kurt Russell, in its re-telling of the gunfight at O.K. Corral. Based on the relative popularity of these modern westerns, Hollywood pumped out more and more films, including comedies like City Slickers 2, Maverick, and The Cowboy Way. But way too much horsing around for my taste.

Wyatt Earp was okay-ish, while Johnny Depp's Dead Man earned some respect for its weird and imaginative tone. Desperado looked far too desperate for box-office returns, eschewing the grit of its "prequel" El Mariachi for a glamorous, modern action hero kind of flick. One viewing was enough for me. The Quick and the Dead also aimed for the big bucks with sex (Sharon Stone) and silly action thrills... so I stayed far, far away from that one. 

Amid the numerous weak attempts at cowboy adventures, the occasional gem popped to the surface. Lone Star, with Chris Cooper, was one of those better pictures. 

I don't claim to have seen very many of the newer westerns, and I'm guilty of intentionally steering away from many of them. These modern films and remakes so rarely get it right. How can do-overs of High Noon and The Virginian come anywhere close to the originals, the definitive versions that could never be matched, let alone bested. 

Hey, now wait just a gol-durn minute thar....

isn't that Gus (Duvall from Lonesome Dove)

alongside Costner in Open Range? Yep.

Kevin Costner's Open Range was an exception, paying sincere homage to the glory days of epic frontier adventures. One of my favourites. The remake of 3:10 to Yuma was okay, but I much prefer the seminal 1957 version. Appaloosa was a god-awful mess, in my opinion... I blame Zellweger's annoying performance and Ed Harris' lack of vision for this failure. 

Not much else comes to mind these days. My heart belongs to the oldies, as far back as the films of John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Randolph Scott, Henry Fonda, and Glenn Ford (just to name a few of the biggest stars). 

Since good new westerns - movies, that is - are tough to come by, I dig back in time for the stuff that made the genre what every boy used to dream about... chasing down and shooting bad guys on horseback and sleeping by a campfire under the stars. 

And I have become a bit of a western novel reader, too. Lonesome Dove got me started years ago, but even nowadays, I like the odd Louis L'Amour and I love the works of Cormack McCarthy. So whether I'm reading or viewing a film, I'm keeping up the cowboy way.

Giddy-up! Move along!

We Mourn "The Greatest" Muhammad Ali

We have lost "The Greatest". Muhammad Ali, the heavyweight boxing sensation and social activist, has passed away at age 74. Ali was known as much for his non-boxing exploits as his fighting prowess in the ring. He overcame many setbacks in his personal life and career, always raging back to win the respect and hearts of fans everywhere. Unfortunately, his battle with health issues finally came to an end yesterday. 

As kids, we looked to those who seemed larger than life for inspiration and excitement and even entertainment. There are different sorts of heroes. As a boy, I loved to read the exploits of Superman, Captain Marvel, and Shang Chi: Master of Kung Fu in comic books. They were heroes to me. So were the protagonists in all of the science fiction movies and TV shows that I devoured at the time... I suppose Captain James T. Kirk would qualify as a hero? A leader of men, and brave in the face of danger. I'd say I also admired and even worshipped The Beatles, who may not have been heroic in the traditional sense, but they were musical and creative role models who influenced me mightily. 

Ali made the covers of countless magazines, he inspired and appeared in movies, books, comics, and music - even recording some of his own.

Really? Hey, check out the bat ears in the crowd....

"Hero" is defined as one who faces adversity and danger from a position of weakness. I guess movie and comic book characters qualify, then, right? But heroes don't have to wear capes and have super-powers. Nor does danger or self-sacrifice necessarily have to figure into the equation. 

When I was a bit older, watching The Wide World of Sports on TV on Sunday afternoons, I often caught boxing matches featuring a talented and often outrageous fighter named Muhammad Ali. I quickly became a fan. Watching him bob and weave, "float like a butterfly and sting like a bee"... his style was poetry in motion. Ali's verbal banter was as captivating as his boxing moves. He perfected his "trash talk" to mentally unnerve his opponents prior to fights. Hey, even if it didn't always work, his chatter was entertaining and memorable. I loved Ali's colourful persona and intense attitude both pre-fight and in the ring.

Ali was right up there with Bruce Lee and Arnold Schwarzenneger as one of my heroes and role-models when I was a youngster growing into a teenager. I never aspired to be a boxer, but I admired Ali's ability and personality and work ethic. Bruce Lee was the more intellectual philosopher, but Ali put those same ideas into a language that even kids from the street would understand and appreciate. 

A few examples of Ali's hilariously genius verbal self-aggrandizing:

"I'm so mean, I make medicine sick."
"If you even dream of beating me, you'd better wake up and apologize."
"I've wrestled with alligators. I've tussled with a whale. I done handcuffed lightning. And thrown thunder in jail."

You can read more of Ali's quotes at MSN Sports.

A famous moment in sport history: the Ali vs Sonny Liston fight of '65

Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Clay, became a hero to many the world over during his prolific boxing career. He remained a hero to the day he died. The man embodied strength of spirit, outspoken in his views on war, and proud of his racial background and religious beliefs. Ali fought adversity out of the ring with the same tenacity. His storied professional and personal life is nearly unrivaled by anyone else. Ali biographies are many on the web, so I won't go into detail about his life here. But do search out more info after finishing this article. 

I'd say Ali has gone the distance, and then some. Now I think it's time I re-watched Thrilla In Manila, the classic boxing fight captured on film... Ali at his best!