Shoe Column: Kid stuff, and the cool cashier at Save-A-Lot
By Tim “Shoe” Sullivan
They say that I have a pretty good memory.
So let’s put it to the test.
I’m trying to think of stuff I had as a kid. You know, like toys and games.
I had a happy childhood.
- The basketball game. You put it on the floor or on a table and then you “play” a game of basketball. It came with a toy basketball and a “court” with baskets and everything. The ball would land in one of the holes. The thing was spring-operated. You pulled a lever, and the ball actually went flying! Sometimes it even made it into the basket.I always played the Lakers vs. the Boston Celtics of the day. Like Red Auerbach’s Celtics. Cousy. Sharman. Russell. Heinsohn. Ramsey.My Celtics always won. Always. Several of my neighborhood kids also had that game. We would play it for hours and hours every day. Great fun.
- The electric football game. You put it on the floor and plugged it in. The football “field” had yard lines and was made out of some kind of metal.The game came with lots of “players.” You lined up the players in various formations. Then you turned the game on. The field vibrated, and the “players” moved all over the place.A kid never knew where the players would move on the field, and it was a blast playing the game. You could also kick field goals, but nobody ever tried one.Sadly, one fateful day my brother Casey and I were playing the football game when one of us accidentally stepped on the “field.” Put a big dent in it. After that, every play was the same thing. All of the players would slide into the middle of the field, no matter what. Then it was no fun anymore.
- The small record player. Everyone had one. The best way to describe it is to say that the item was small. You plugged it in. You turned it on, and it would play your record. Not very loud, but the thing did work.I played lots of “45s.” My first records were “The Wanderer” by Dion and The Belmonts and “Rag Doll” by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.I still have that record player. Thought I stashed it under the sofa years ago, but I looked for it today and couldn’t find it. Now I ask you, how can you lose a record player?
- A yo-yo. I never had a yo-yo. Could never figure out how one worked. Some people are really good at things, though. Like a few kids in the neighborhood who were great at doing tricks with yo-yos.
Mike Johannes and Angie Bell. (Contributed) Or another example is a kind lady called Angie. Angie is a cashier at the local Save-A-Lot grocery store, and she is good at being a great person.
Everyone who shops there seems to like her. Angie is smart, funny, caring, and super down-to-earth—and she even sings. Simply put, Angie brightens up everyone’s day.
Mike Johannes, her store manager, said: “Angie is the best! She’s just a wonderful person.”
By the way, that grocery store has awesome people working there, including Diana Domka, Mark Czech, and Mr. Johannes.
And I don’t think they sell yo-yos. But maybe Ho-Hos.
- I had a hula hoop as a kid and maybe played with it for two minutes.
- And I had a “slinky.” You placed it on the steps and watched it slither down the stairs. Great fun if your electric football field was broken.
- I enjoyed playing marbles with Jack Ellenz and Tommy Jensen, and I don’t think kids play them these days.
- Never had a pogo stick.
- By the way, in that basketball game, if the Lakers scored a basket, I’d wave it off and call some violation on their team. The Celtics had a “home-court advantage” in my house.
As I got older, we’d play “Hide and Seek” in the many “forts” we built in the neighborhood. I enjoyed going to “Crazy Days” downtown, bowling at Wanta’s, and fishing for bullheads in the river behind Pagel Mill on Water St.
The A&W root beer stand was a must, along with getting comic books from Garber’s and buying baseball cards from Cigels and Knudsen’s. Never did get a Mickey Mantle but I was never short on Gus Triandos or Eli Grba.
Man, what I would give to be a kid again.
I’m sure if you’re reading this, you also can remember the things you had as a kid.
And now I gotta go look for that dang record player again. I know it’s around here somewhere.