Category: Childhood

Sesame Street's 40th anniversary is this week, which got me thinking about the other PBS show that influenced me as a child: The Electric Company.

I recall that it was geared for a slightly older audience than Sesame Street, but it was still full of educational short film clips and skits.

One thing I didn't realize at the time is that two of my favorite grammar videos were written and performed by satirist Tom Lehrer, who is best known for songs such as "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park," and "The Masochism Tango."

Lehrer was a favorite humorist of my grandparents and I was exposed to his albums early in life. I have the whole boxed set of his CDs that came out around 2000. In fact, it was my first purchase on one of my Amazon accounts.

Here are his classic Electric Company videos:

The LY Song

Silent E

Yes, there they are in all their groovy '70s glory.

As I've mentioned before, Tom Lehrer is also responsible for my passing high school chemistry class, thanks to his song, "The Elements." Here's a fun video of that song:

It's amazing how useful it was to have the majority of the periodic table memorized. The only thing that would have been better is if they'd been in order.

So that's my little walk down memory lane. Can you remember any songs from childhood that taught you something useful?

Here's my final batch of 1970s valentines. These four were the only ones in my scrapbook that featured recognizable characters. I'm sure you won't be surprised to see which corporate behemoth (that shall not be named here), was the pioneer in putting out branded valentines.

There is also an odd hierarchy of valentine sizes in this set, ranging from the huge one I've put first to the much smaller one at the bottom. I guess you could give the big, nice ones to your real friends and save the little ones for your classmates that you hardly knew.

The last one is not only the tiniest, but it's also printed on much thinner paper stock compared to the rest of them. Hmm.

So what are you planning for Valentine's Day? My husband and I have decided that we're going out to dinner and then going bowling, which is something we seldom do. It was his idea, but he's been going around telling people how much I love to bowl, which is not exactly how I would put it. I enjoy bowling to some extent despite the fact that I've always been a terrible bowler, but it's almost always a one-way ticket to the chiropractor's office for me. Clearly our communication skills could be better considering that this is at least our 16th Valentine's Day together.

But nevermind, I'm sure we'll have a great time and I was about due for an adjustment anyway.

Happy Valentine's Day!

One thing I found interesting about the valentines is that some of them have quintessentially '70s artwork:

While others appear to be throwbacks from previous decades:

Those are some pretty sassy fishnet gloves she's wearing. Or maybe she just has plaid cuffs on her dress sleeves – it's hard to tell.

This one even had printing on the back. When you turn it over, you can see that the bee on the front is a separate piece with a tab that has been inserted into a slot in the heart and taped in place.

It's apparent from my limited collection of valentine cards that my classmates and I did not have a large selection from which to choose. I don't know if you've looked at the valentine aisle at the drugstore lately, but every toy, teen idol and movie has at least one set of branded valentines. When I was a kid, valentines were mostly generic, with one exception that I'll be posting later in the week.

Here are three different cards that were obviously from the same set:

This one had a die-cut, folded part that was designed to allow you to stand the card up. The card stock is pretty flimsy, but it does actually work.


The only possible reason I can see for the big crease on this card is that it's larger than most of the valentines in the set, so it probably needed to be folded to fit in the envelope.

The valentine copywriters, as much as they clearly enjoy a good pun, were apparently at a loss with the dog cards. Doggone it.

It turns out I have more of these valentines than I thought, so I'm not only doing an extra post today, but I'll be putting more than one per post starting right now.

Part of the reason I'm doing an extra post right now is to encourage you – in the spirit of Valentine's Day – to consider supporting a couple of charitable endeavors.

First is Twestival, which is being held in cities all over the world this coming Thursday, February 12th. It's a group of Twitter users and other folks in support of Charity:Water, which provides clean water to impoverished communities. The Kansas City Twestival starts at 6:00 p.m. at Tower Tavern in Martini Corner off 31st Street. The cost is $25, all of which goes to Charity:Water. There will be food, drinks and live music provided by sponsors including Tower Tavern, Boulevard Brewing Company, Svedka, Two Seconds Away and Kyle Blake. Buy your tickets today at the KC Twestival site.

The second thing I'd like to talk about is the Third Annual Luncheon Benefiting SAFEHOME domestic violence shelter. It's sponsored by Soroptimist International of Kansas City (to which I belong) and hosted by the Outback Steakhouse in Mission, KS. It'll be held on Saturday, February 21st starting at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $25 each, which gets you an appetizer, salad, choice of entree and dessert. Best of all, 100% of the ticket price goes to SAFEHOME, along with proceeds from the silent auction that will also be held at the event. To purchase a ticket, download this order form, visit The Little Gallery Frame Shop at 5002 State Line Road in Mission, KS (ask for Dianne) or just talk to me when you see me – I have a bunch in my purse right now!

Thanks in advance for your support of either of these great causes.

Here's one from Beth, whom I do vaguely remember. It's clearly from the same set as the previous one, down to the quotation marks around the pun.

This week I'm going to feature a different 1970s Valentine each day. I apologize for the obvious yellowed Scotch tape marks on all of them. I didn't know any better when I was making my scrapbook in elementary school.

Today's Valentine says "From=Jenny" on the back. More than thirty years later, I have no memory of a Jenny from elementary school.

Dig the retro hand-lettering!

I was baking this morning and after I'd put the vanilla in the brownie batter, I touched the inside of the measuring spoon with my finger and dabbed some vanilla extract behind each ear.  As I did so, I could almost hear my grandmother's voice saying, "It's the cook's perfume."

It reminded me that I had already extended the "cook's perfume" tradition to my niece. When she comes over to my house, she loves to bake with me. Early on, I taught her about perfuming herself with vanilla while she baked and I remember how delighted she was at the idea.

I didn't think much about it at the time, but it makes me happy to know that at least three generations (and probably many more before that) have all taken part in such a charming little ritual.

I have a full day planned on Sunday. We’re having a family Easter get-together at my sister’s house and I’m making baked ziti, Italian bread, and salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing, and I’m considering making a cheesecake to be served with fresh strawberries.

At 6 o’clock, I’m taking my niece to Disney Princesses on Ice. I’m sure that’ll be an event to remember.

Here’s a photo of me at my grandparents’ house on Easter in the early ’70s. I’m not going to dress up that much this year.

But it does prove my otherwise unlikely-seeming assertion that I was blonde as a child!

And, yes, it’s a little early to be posting about Easter, but I’m not feeling very well today and it seemed like the easiest post I could write between coughs.

When I was born, one of the nurses at the hospital said of me, "She knows what food is and she likes it."

That still holds true today.

And just as shown in this photo, I’ll probably leave a stalk of celery behind in favor of some chocolate cake. It may not be right, but it’s the way things are.