Many males who are my age or older will remember that our first taste of employment was had by delivering the local newspaper. Being a paperboy was almost like a rite of passage that is sadly disappearing from today’s American culture. For young boys it could instill a sense of responsibility, pride of ownership (your route was YOUR route), and allowed us to develop many of the skillsets needed to be successful as we moved forward in life.

Whether delivering the daily paper or a weekly supplement, the process for the paperboy was pretty much the same. The papers were delivered to a common area where you would pick them up. You’d have to assemble the sections and fold them into a throwable form. You would then fill up your satchel or bag, sling it across your shoulder, hop on your bike and pedal through your route having memorized the houses that have subscribed to the paper. 

But, as in any profession, there are always some who manage to take it up a notch. Ed Kukst, my son’s grand-uncle, was one such “special delivery” carrier. He completed his route on a motorcycle. That’s him, in the center of the picture, with two other lads getting ready to deliver the Spokane Chronicle in the 1920s. Ed grew up to have a career in law enforcement. He retired from the Spokane Police Department as a lieutenant.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of film, videotapes, audio recordings, photos, negatives and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website. And be sure to watch our TEDxEustis talk at https://youtu.be/uYlTTHp_CO8.

I stumbled across this article which showcased an art exhibit where the artist Refik Anadol graphically illustrated the functions or patterns of the mind as it recalls memories. He calls the exhibit Melting Memories. Fascinating. Here’s a video that shows some visual examples:

Watching that video reminded me of a fad that kicked off back in the late 60s and early 70s. Almost everyone I knew had one of these somewhere in their house including us:

The lava lamp – it was easy to operate, did one thing and was mesmerizing to watch… for a while. Life when I was growing up was filled with such fads as marketers looked for that one thing that would capture the country’s attention and make them a gazillion dollars.  Like these:

Pet Rock – stupidest gift idea ever. I think I received three the year they came out. Had to keep them separated as I didn’t want them to have pebbles.

Chia Pet. I think the lamb was the most popular. They all looked rather stupid. I was recently reminded that I gifted each of my family members with one of these one Christmas.  It must have been the year I worked in a nursery. That’s a memory for another post.

Troll Dolls. These creepy things were everywhere. I never did understand why but you would see them hanging from rear view mirrors in cars, peeking out of shirt pockets, attached to purses, sitting atop of pencils. For a while, it seemed as though they would overrun the world.

Soap-on-a-Rope. This became something of a family joke. One year one of us got this for Christmas. Just as pictured it was a soap shaped like a microphone attached to a rope that could be hung over the showerhead. We all made fun of the gift because… well, it was stupid. The next year, the person who received the gift had re-wrapped it and re-gifted it to another person. It became a thing. I think it was re-gifted year after year for a decade. I can’t remember who ended up with it finally. I don’t think it was ever actually used for its designed purpose.

The Super Ball. OK, so this one was actually cool. The thing was alien-like, behaving like no other ball ever did. I wish I still had one.

There’s no rhyme or reason to what will captivate a culture. When one fad dies off, there will always be another one to take its place. Fidget spinners, anyone?

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories through the digitalization of films, videotapes, audio cassettes, photos and slides. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit our website.

I transferred a videotape yesterday that showcased a family’s trip to Rome, Italy. These always contain special memories for me as I’ve been to Rome on no less than three separate occasions (it is one of the benefits/drawbacks that comes from being married to an Italian woman.) The last trip was the most special for me. We brought our 12 year old granddaughter with us to introduce her to the many wonders of the region.

It was her first time beyond our American borders and we wanted to expose her to the history and artistic heritage of a culture that dates back multi-millennia.

It was a special time for both us and our granddaughter and we commemorated it in pictures. I then turned those pictures into a photo video keepsake that we gave it to her so she might always remember the time we spent together during that memorable week.

Here’s a snippet of that keepsake. The music is from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons which was my late father-in-law’s favorite piece of music and on our last night there, we were blessed to be able to go to a musical performance of the piece held in one of the most famous piazzas (city squares) in all of Rome – The Piazza Navona which was built in the 1st century AD.

Preserving memories is what we do at Home Video Studio. We’d love to help you preserve the ones you have made during your lifetime.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio of Mount Dora specialize in the preservation of family memories. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit www.homevideostudio.com/mtd.