November 2010 - Mark Kaplowitz

12 November 2010

Remember When There Was a New Post Here Every Day?

Remember when there was a new post here every day? I do. But the new posts will have to wait until the end of National Novel Writing Month. In the meantime, check out the archives!

Sabbatical Notices Comments: 0

10 November 2010

Remember When People Ate Apples?

Remember when people ate apples and pears instead of pomegranates and star fruit? I do. There used to be like four fruits. Apples, oranges, pears…um, bananas. I don’t know. Maybe there were more. Oh, in the summer there were peaches and nectarines and plums. I liked them all. Except pears. And anything with a brown spot. I would open the...

Eating and Drinking Comments: 0

9 November 2010

Remember When Only Infants Had to Ride in Car Seats?

Remember when only infants had to ride in those specially-made car seats? I do. Actually, what I remember is riding in a car. I have no memory of riding in a car seat. That is because only infants had to ride in car seats. By the time you were old enough to remember something so humiliating, you no longer had...

Safety Comments: 0

8 November 2010

Remember When Playgrounds Were Not Made of Plastic?

Remember when playgrounds were not made entirely of plastic? I do. The playground at my elementary school was made of wood and metal and old tires. It had a number of sections. There was a multi-story maze made entirely of wooden planks. Many of these planks were splintered and charred as if someone had tried to burn them. The charred...

Safety Comments: 0

7 November 2010

Remember When Computer Printers Printed on That Paper That Had Perforated Edges With Holes?

Remember when computer printers used that paper with the perforated edges with the holes? I do. The inside of a printer was a mystery to me but I imagined that the paper was threaded through spokes, and that was what the holes were for. All I know is that these edges made a big mess when they were ripped off...

Technology Comments: 0

6 November 2010

Remember When “You Can’t Do That On Television” Was On Television?

Remember when that show You Can’t Do That On Television was on Nickelodeon? I do. There have been shows where kids make fun of their parents. There have been shows where kids put on comedy sketches. There have been shows where kids are supposed to be in “reality”. But there has never been another show where green slime fell on...

Television and Movies Comments: 0

5 November 2010

Remember When People Listened to CDs?

Remember when people listened to their music on compact discs? I do. The compact disc, called a “CD” for convenience purposes, was actually an improvement from an older technology, called tapes. The tapes were, well, a bunch of tape spooled inside a little plastic cartridge. If you did not like what you were listening to, the tape had to be...

Technology Comments: 0

4 November 2010

Remember When You Didn’t See Christmas Decorations Until After Thanksgiving?

Remember when you did not see any Christmas decorations in stores until after Thanksgiving? I do. There were limitations to the shopping seasons. No red hearts until February 1. No pastel colors and chocolate bunnies until April 1. Red, white and blue began last week of June. October was all about Halloween. Then the Thanksgiving stuff came out as the...

Holidays Comments: 0

3 November 2010

Remember When We Got Dittos Instead of Photocopies?

Remember when the teacher handed out “dittos” instead of xerox copies? I do. They never explained why the dittos were in purple ink. It was just another one of the many things you have to accept as a child without question. They also never explained why it was called a ditto. I guess that’s easier for kids to learn than...

School Comments: 0

2 November 2010

Remember When Plain Cream Cheese Was the Only Cream Cheese?

Remember when there was only one flavor of cream cheese? I do. When I was growing up we got bagels every Sunday morning. My favorite bagel was cinnamon raisin. For spreads our choices were butter and cream cheese. Cream cheese came in only one flavor—plain. The plain cream cheese came in two types of consistency: the smooth “Philadelphia” kind and...