An Especially Eerie Halloween

There are only two days until October 31st, and it's been a very strange Halloween season around here. I suppose that Halloween really SHOULD be eerie and strange, but this one is not eerie and strange because of witches, ghost, goblins and things that go bump in the night. All of those things would be welcome additions to the season. No, this Halloween has been odd for different reasons. It's kind of hard to explain. I guess it's odd mainly because of my old scary enemy...Time.

You see, I loved Halloween as a kid (who didn't?). I also have always enjoyed Halloween as a grown-up--though in sort of different ways. After we had The Little Monsters that old childlike feeling of Halloween as a fun and exciting (and maybe even just a bit scary) night was back. I could enjoy the season all over again through the eyes and experiences of The Little Monsters. From picking out what costumes they would wear, to decorating the house/apartment, to going trick-or-treating and getting all that great candy, it was great to be able to kind of vicariously soak in some of the fun and excitement they were feeling.

Halloween 2012

But a funny thing happened on the way to Halloween 2019. The Little Monsters were suddenly not so little anymore. The Little Monster will turn fourteen in a few weeks and the Tiny Creature is ten. They're at the point where they are kind of aging out of the holiday (The Little Monster more so than the Tiny Creature of course). Up until last year the magic still seemed to be there, even if The Little Monster was about to become a teenager. I remember that the planning for this Halloween started pretty much as soon as the trick-or-treating and sorting of the candy was done last year. The first ideas for this year's costumes were laid on November 1st.


Then Thanksgiving and Christmas rolled around and Halloween was kind of put on the back burner for a while. Once school started in September I reminded the Monsters that Halloween wasn't very far away. When September turned to October I let them know there was only one month left. Then...nothing much happened. The Tiny Creature had some vague costume ideas, but nothing ever really materialized. The Little Monster was too busy with school, activities and friends to really put much thought into Halloween.

Suddenly there was only one week left until the big day and we realized that nobody really had any solid idea what they were going to be on the 31st. The Tiny Creature wanted to purchase a costume--which has traditionally been somewhat verboten in our household. The Monsters have usually done a good job (with a little parental help) of putting together some interesting costumes with stuff we have around the house and a few purchased additions and accessories. But with time getting short the options were getting short as well.

Another difference between this year and Halloweens past is that The Little Monsters simply don't have much free time. We used to read all our Halloween books at bedtime and watch a bunch of Halloween or related shows and movies through the course of October. But between all their homework and activities, and the fact that we generally adhere to a no-screens-during-the-week policy, there simply hasn't been time to watch too much fun stuff to get ready for Halloween. We certainly haven't seen some of our old favorites like "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein" and "Young Frankenstein" in a long time (it's been years actually, and I'd dare say that they are not really among The Monsters' favorite titles anymore). When there IS some time to watch something they have plenty of other shows that they would prefer to see. And finding the time to watch movies is especially difficult.

But that's not to say that we haven't watched ANYTHING fun this fall. Over the course of the month I've managed to sneak in a few of the shows that have been old Halloween standbys of ours. Because of their schedules not all of these shows have been seen by both Monsters, but we're doing the best we can. Here's a rundown of most of what we've seen so far: The "Ship of Ghouls" episode of "The Love Boat" (with Vincent Price!), the "Trick or Treat" episode of "CHiPs", "The Hazzardville Horror" episode of "The Dukes of Hazzard", the "Fright Night" episode of "The Brady Bunch", the episode of "The Muppet Show" with Vincent Price, the "Treehouse of Horror VI" episode of "The Simpsons", "The Paul Lynde Halloween Special" (featuring KISS!), the cartoon "Spookley the Square Pumpkin" and, of course, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown". It hasn't been easy squeezing those shows in, and there's still a lot more I wish we could get to. There simply isn't enough time or opportunity to do so.

"CHiPs"

"The Love Boat"

Vincent Price in "The Love Boat"

Vincent Price in "The Muppet Show"

Watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"

While we haven't carved any pumpkins or done much decorating, we have managed to keep up a couple of other traditions. The first is more of a fall thing rather than anything specifically Halloween, but I like to take the Monsters to the grocery store to pick out a couple mini pumpkins to put on our dining room table. It's not a very impressive sight, but for whatever reason it's always a bit of a special thing that we try to do each year around this time. Well, it USED to be kind of special anyway. This year I simply never had an opportunity to take both Monsters, so The Tiny Creature and I went and picked out hers and one for The Little Monster, who had other plans that afternoon.

Our mini pumpkin/gourd dinner table centerpiece

Another activity that became a tradition a few years back (and has even been featured in a few blog posts of their own) is the annual purchase of the seasonal Halloween Oreos (see Halloween Oreos, 2018 Edition and The Overwhelming Onslaught of Oreos). Sweets in general and Oreos in particular are not things we get to bring into our house too often, so getting a package of Oreos kind of counts as a big event. When those Oreos are of the Halloween variety it becomes even more special. For some reason I've generally had a hard time finding Halloween Oreos just before Halloween. It's made for some interesting adventures as I've had to search high and low for them in an effort to not disappoint the Monsters (who am I kidding, I don't want to disappoint MYSELF!). Last year I think I was able to figure out the problem. They actually ship out and start selling the Halloween Oreos in August, a full two months before Halloween. By the time it seems appropriate to actually buy some they tend to be long gone--replaced by the holiday ones in advance of Christmas. This year I noticed the Halloween Oreos in our grocery store early. I waited until later in Spetember to pick up a package, but didn't want to wait too long. Wouldn't you know, this is the year they decided to keep them on the shelves right up until Halloween. Oh well.

Anyway, the finding and purchasing of Halloween Oreos is the first part of our little tradition. The second part is when I put on the aforementioned "Ship of Ghouls" episode of "The Love Boat" as I unveil the sweet treats to The Little Monsters. Just WHY this has become our tradition I'm not exactly sure, but it has. And I'm happy to report that we were able to get the tradition in (with both Monsters present) for at least one more year!

As I started writing this post on October 29th The Tiny Creature and The Wife were out shopping for last minute costume components at a thrift store. It now appears that the Monsters' costumes have finally been finalized. The Little Monster is going to be some sort of angel with wings and a white dress, while The Tiny Creature will be a bag of jelly beans. There's definitely still some work to be done, but hopefully they'll be able to get everything put together by the 31st. Time is getting very short. And it looks like the forecast is calling for rain on Halloween. We're crossing our fingers that we'll be able to get in a good one before we get too soaked. Who knows how many more Halloweens are going to be special ones in our household before everyone is too "grown-up" to enjoy them?

Checking out the new costume components

I mentioned earlier that we haven't done much decorating of our own. That's something I feel kind of bad about. The Little Monsters don't seem to be too bothered by it, but I do remember them enjoying making our apartment look more Halloween-y with fake spider webs and various other spooky decorations. We also have a neat witch door hanging that lights up, but it's in our storage unit and we haven't seen it for six or seven years. I think a nice way to end this post is by reporting that Mother Nature seems to have stepped in to help us out with our decorating and put us in more of a Halloween mood. Recently this giant spider spun a web and took up residence outside The Little Monsters' bedroom window. They were kind of freaked out by it (and it's hard to blame them, it IS a big spider!), but I kind of felt bad about taking the web down and/or killing the spider. It has remained and somehow survived a pretty big storm with a lot of wind and rain a few days ago. Looks like our new "friend" will be with us through Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Monster Dad Turns 50!

Incredibly appropriate button I picked up at a yard sale last week

 So, I was trying to think of some sort of deep, interesting, funny or pithy title for this post ("50 Happens!", "Half a Century of Monster Dad", "Monster Senior Citizen", "Monster Dad Joins AARP"...). But in the end, just stating the fact in a straightforward way seemed to be the best course of action. The title pretty much says it all.

Today's Google Doodle celebrating my birthday--thanks Google!

So, a year ago today I turned forty-nine. While I tried to comfort myself at the time by saying that I was still "in my forties", in reality it was the beginning of a year-long journey that I knew would culminate with me turning fifty. As the days and months slipped by that ending seemed to be approaching faster and faster. Today is that day. The day I turned fifty. The funny thing is that if it weren't for the human invention of the concept of time, today would be just another day. True, we all age, and I'd still be getting older and would indeed be the exact same fifty-year-old today (just without the number asociated with it)--even without our idea of "Time". But at least without clocks, calendars and the concept of time it would just be a continuous journey without the scary reminders of our aging that are birthdays. Every day would be just another day like the one before it--but just a teeny-tiny bit different. Instead we are reminded once each year that another number has been added to our age. Yesterday I was forty-nine. Today I feel the same as yesterday. But according to the calendar I have now entered a new decade of my life. I'm apparently vastly different than I was yesterday.

As a kid I enjoyed the fact that my age increased one number each year at my birthday. It meant I was getting closer to that magic world of adulthood and all the fun, money and freedom that it entailed. Then I actually did start getting into those adult years...and I wished that the numbers would stop being added to my age--or at least slow down! As the number continues to increase, and the number of years I have left decreases, it seems that the years keep going by faster and faster. One of those illogical paradoxes of time: when you're young time crawls, as you get older time flies.

Celebrating turning 40 with The Little Monster at our Back Yard Drive-In Party

Ten years ago I turned forty (an event chronicled in The Oak Street Drive-In back in 2011). That seemed like a big number at the time. I guess it's all in your perspective though. Forty seems so danged YOUNG to me now! You hear people all the time saying that "forty is the new thirty", "fifty is the new forty" and so on. It kind of seems to ring true to some extent. When I was a kid I thought people in high school looked like (and were) adults. People in their twenties were REALLY adults. And people in their thirties were...well...old. Once you got into the forties, fifties and beyond it all kind of melded together into a world of geezers with wrinkles, age spots, arthritis, thinning, grey or NO hair and a host of other symptoms of being old. When I actually got into my twenties people in their thirties didn't seem so "old". Now that I'm fifty, people in their thirties seem like kids.

And the funny thing is that, for the most part, I don't really FEEL like I'm fifty--or at least what my mind says I should be feeling like at fifty. Sure there have been a lot of changes over the years and I definitely feel a little different than I did as a kid. But I certainly don't FEEL like I'm OLD. And it seems that hitting the magic number fifty, "The Big Five-Oh", is really kind of hitting me hard. Going from the mid- to late-forties was sort of tough, but at least it was STILL the forties! I may have only entered the FIFTIES today...but I'm definitely there and there's no turning back!

I will say that, while I don't necessarily FEEL like I'm getting old, looking into the mirror has become an increasingly difficult and strange experience over the past twenty years or so. The person looking back at me in the mirror has DEFINITELY changed a lot. That person doesn't look anywhere near as young as I feel sometimes. Who IS that person and why won't he let me see the person I used to see when I looked in the mirror? Am I just in denial? Is this what everyone feels?

September 20th, 1969. That's the day I was born. I've written quite a bit about the 50th anniversary of the summer of 1969 over the past few months (the moon landing, Woodstock and all the other historic events that took place over that summer). In each post I mentioned that I wasn't actually BORN until after the summer of 1969. I think that was kind of a way to allow me to feel a little younger about myself. But in reality I was born just about a month after that summer ended (and technically I guess that September 20th is actually still considered to be part of the summer, according to the calendar). Even though I was only a newborn baby and only around for the last three months or so of the decade I've always been kind of proud to say that I was "born in the 60s". There's no doubt that I was a child of the 70s and a teenager in the 80s, but it was still true that I was BORN in the 60s. Lately I haven't been feeling quite so proud of that fact. I can say that I'm NOT a Baby Boomer. But the time has long passed since being a member of the generation that followed the Boomers, Generation X, was considered to be cool. There have been a couple more cool generations since then--Generation Y (the Millennials) and Generation Z--who have become the hip crowd. Now us Gen Xers have been relegated to old people status.

The sun rises on my fiftieth year

Well, whatever I think about it, I'm indeed fifty as of today. It's something I'll have to deal with and (hopefully) make peace with. The good news is that life still goes on. I'm still here. I still have the same interests. I still have my family. I'm still Monster Dad for our two girls (even if they're not such "Little" Monsters anymore). The bad news is that this is the year I need to schedule a colonoscopy. ...But, let's not think about that just now. For now, let's just keep thinking young. Let's just try to enjoy life--even if it starts getting harder to remember things. Even if it starts getting harder to see things. Even if it starts getting harder to hear things. Even if it starts to seem like it's getting easier and easier to act like a grumpy old man. I just have to keep the right frame of mind. I think Jimmy Durante might have said it best...

It Was The Summer of '69

I've kind of been stuck in the past for much of this summer. Not that being stuck in the past is anything out of the ordinary for me, but this summer has been something a little different. I've been giving the summer of 1969 a lot of thought--and I wasn't even born until that summer was over! But there were simply so many things that made the summer of 1969 something kind of special that it's been worth dwelling on.

The two biggest and best-known things that happened in the summer of 1969 (news- and history-wise) were the Apollo 11 moon landing in July and the three-day Woodstock music festival in August. The first thing I find interesting about that summer is the fact that these two iconic and historical events that happened within one month of each other are kind of linked by the simple fact that they were such polar opposites of each other. One was the technological highlight of the century up to that point, and the culmination of an incredibly challenging mission started by President Kennedy back at the beginning of the decade. The other was an amazing collection of musical acts that came together for a concert that would still be remembered and celebrated fifty years later. It was also kind of like the ultimate introduction to the hippie culture that had been developing for a few years. It was a counter-culture revolution occurring at the same time as a technological and scientific revolution. And the Birkenstocks (or dirty bare feet), headbands, sunglasses and flowing, rainbow-colored clothing of the hippies could hardly seem more different from the astronauts of Apollo 11 and technicians at NASA in their horn-rimmed glasses, short-sleeved white dress shirts and pocket protectors.

I've already written about the moon landing twice (Apollo 11: T-Plus Fifty Years and That's One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Monster Dad). To be honest, I could (and almost did) write at least another one or two posts about it. I felt two posts were probably enough for the average reader and kind of held back. But there was simply so much going on in that summer fifty years ago that I had to write about it again--and of course, by bringing up that summer I ended up bringing up the moon landing once again!

One kind of important thing to mention about the summer of 1969 and my connection to it is that I hadn't actually been born yet. So why is this anniversary so important to me? Well, while I wasn't BORN yet, I was indeed finishing up my development inside of my mother's womb and would be born on September 20th, just as the summer was fading into fall. So as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of all the events of the summer of 1969 I'm preparing to "celebrate" my own fiftieth anniversary (birthday) next month. While I'm very much a child of the 1970s and 80s (my early development, childhood, adolescence and the vast majority of the kinds of things I write about here at Monster Dad happened between the mid 70s and the early 80s), I've always been kind of proud to say that "I was born in the 60s!" Sure, there were only about three months left of the decade when I made my debut in the world, but it WAS still the 1960s regardless!

I think another important thing to note is the fact that 1969 was the last year of a pretty noteworthy and tumultuous decade. Every ten years we say goodbye to one decade and welcome a new one in. Rarely does that changeover amount to much more than having to get used to using a new number to note the year as we write checks (not that anyone still uses checks anymore, but you get my point). I remember celebrating New Year's Eve with friends in 1989. I had just recently gotten out of the Army and the Berlin Wall had just fallen. It seemed like we (myself and the world) were on the verge of major changes as we entered the brave new world of a new decade. Then...it was 1990. January first was just another day and life went on. My guess is that many, many decade changes have had a similar build-up and then let down as we realized that life just goes on. Ten years after my disappointment over the big reveal of the 1990s the world was about to witness the events of Y2K! Yes, 1999 was going to turn into the year 2000! These were two very iconic years in science fiction, and that kind of lent to the excitement of Y2K (at least for me anyway). 1999 was the year that the moon was supposed to be thrown out of orbit by a huge explosion (according to the 1970s show "Space:1999"). Of course, Prince had been singing about partying like it was 1999 since the early 80s. And 2000 was simply a year that always seemed SO far in the future (even in 1999!) that it was kind of hard to comprehend. And, while "2001: A Space Odyssey" (both the book and the movie) took place a year later, it was certainly using the future-power of the idea of the year 2000 in its title. But once we realized that nothing really bad happened after the clocks clicked over from 1999 to 2000 it ended up just being another number change between decades. The summer of 1969 really was one of the few times I can think of when a change of decades really meant something. All of the various memorable events of that summer can be seen as the heavens saying goodbye to the 60s and noting the changeover to the 1970s that would happen in just a few months. I could be overthinking this, but it really seems that 1969 changing to 1970 meant at least a little bit more than most decade ends.

If the moon landing and Woodstock were the only things that the summer of 1969 were remembered for it would be enough to make the 50th anniversary something worth noting. But there were other things that happened that summer to make it even more noteworthy and memorable. If Apollo 11 and Woodstock were the polar opposites of life in the 1960s, much of the news and entertainment of that summer kind of reflected that battle between culture and counter-culture that they represented. Vietnam was a long war that spanned the 1960s and 70s, so it wouldn't really be fair to say the summer of 1969 was remembered for the war more or less than any other time. But the counter-culture of the time (and pretty much the rest of the country as well) was really starting to get frustrated by what was happening in Vietnam by this time. The "homefront" had really changed from WWII (and even Korea). More and more people were becoming disenchanted (not sure if that's the right word to encapsulate the feelings of the time) with what was going on. And unfortunately the soldiers who were sent to fight in Vietnam really kind of took the brunt of that disenchantment. Instead of being thanked for their service and having their emotional scars treated with the same weight as their physical wounds, they were unfairly blamed for the war and not welcomed back home as they should have been. One specific event related to Vietnam that kind of encapsulates the growing anti-war movement of the time that did happen during the summer of 1969 was when Muhammad Ali was convicted of evading the draft, just four days after the euphoria of the moon landing.

While the war in Vietnam was raging on the other side of the world, wars over civil rights, equal rights and gay rights were raging in the United States. Less than two months before the "Three Days of Peace & Music" message of Woodstock the Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village brought a lot of attention to the gay rights movement. Needless to say, not everything newsworthy that happened during that summer was positive or fun stuff. I think the reason we have been celebrating the moon landing and Woodstock so much this summer, while not really mentioning some of the other events, has to do as much with their positive messages as their historical significance. It's a lot more fun to listen to the music of Woodstock and watch footage of Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon than it is to ruminate over riots and unrest. That's not to say that the other events were any less important to history, just that they are less fun and possibly more painful to reflect upon.

Speaking of less-than-fun, yet important newsworthy events, there's one more BIG event I want to mention from the summer of 1969. This one was probably as big of a story at the time as the moon landing and Woodstock. But it's not something we're really "celebrating" during this time of noting the 50th anniversary of that summer. It's something that (like everything else that summer) happened before I was born, but became a part of my life every bit as much as the other, more celebrated events. It actually happened between the moon landing and Woodstock (and for some reason that seems immensely appropriate and important for context). It was the Charles Manson murders. Over two nights Manson and his "family" (a very different take on the "hippie culture" from what would be represented at Woodstock) murdered actress Sharon Tate and seven other people. That story surely changed the tone of the summer of '69, and it would be one that would continue well into the 1970s and beyond. I wasn't really old enough to know about the story until Manson and other members of the family were already many years into their prison sentences. But those story lines were always reported on. I remember hearing about Manson's annual parole hearings (which ALWAYS seemed to get a lot of news coverage, even decades after the murders) and watching the film "Helter Skelter" (1976) on TV. Since I didn't have actual memories of the original time of the murders my feelings about Manson were colored by pop culture and the seemingly constant reporting on his "kookiness". When he finally passed away in 2017 I was a bit confused and possibly a bit disturbed to find myself feeling just a bit of sadness over the news. I had mourned the passing of celebrities whose works meant a lot to me, like David Bowie and Leonard Nimoy. They were famous people that I certainly didn't have any actual connection with, but they were nonetheless important people in my life. Why I felt a bit of that same feeling when Charles Manson passed probably had a lot to do with pop culture and maybe a little to do with the overwhelming amount of big stories that came out of the summer of 1969. And it really speaks for just how important that summer was and how appropriate it is to note the 50th anniversary of when it all happened.

And, now, let's finish up with something a little bit more fun than Charles Manson, and a bit less related to the summer of 1969. It's the song "The summer of '69" by Bryan Adams. This song is about that summer and the importance of it for a young Adams. It's less about all the worldwide news events I've mentioned here and more about the personal experiences of a kid growing up that summer. He got his first real guitar, he and his friends formed a band, he went to the drive-in and fell in love. The song came out in the 1980s and didn't even mention moon shots, important music festivals or anything else that happened in the summer of 1969 that we've already discussed. But it was ABOUT that summer, and it was obviously a very special and important time for him. And the song really meant a lot to me as a teenager. It could (and one day may) warrant its own blog post, but for now I'll just say that Bryan Adams' memories of the summer of '69 in that song coincided with and reflected my own experiences around the time the song came out. The connection I felt to the song was so strong that to this day I still love it, and secretly refer to it as "The Summer of '85". It's just one more celebration (even if on a much more personal level) of the summer of 1969, and it just seems like a nice way to wrap up this blog. True, finishing up with footage from the moon landing or an iconic performance by one of the acts at Woodstock (The Who? Jimi Hendrix? Jefferson Airplane? Crosby, Stills & Nash? The Grateful Dead? Creedence Clearwater Revival? The Band? Joan Baez? Janis Joplin?...) might make more sense, but here's "The Summer of '69" for you because, well, it makes sense to me:

MAKE LOVE

NOT WAR

That's One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Monster Dad

 

I've already written about the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission in Apollo 11: T-Plus Fifty Years. But today is THE day. It's July 20, 2019--the 50th anniversary of the day when man first walked on the moon! It's certainly something that's worth revisiting.

Not too surprisingly, Google has put up a special Google Doodle to mark the occasion. There appear to have been a couple different Google home page images put up in honor of the anniversary, but today's Doodle--which is actually a four-and-a-half minute animated piece about the first lunar landing--is one of my favorite ones ever. It's a wonderful reflection on the mission that's narrated by none other than Apollo 11 crew member and command module pilot Michael Collins! The video is actually available on YouTube, so I'll share it here for anyone that wants to watch it (I recommend doing so!). Hopefully this video will be around for a long time.

The funny thing is that I wasn't even born when the lunar module touched down and Neil Armstrong climbed down the ladder, stepped on the surface and declared "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." But it's such a monumental moment in our history that I almost feel I WAS there. I was born exactly two months after that first excursion on the moon. I guess you could say that technically I WAS around when it happened--except for the fact that I was INSIDE of my mother at the time and not yet "fully cooked", as it were. It does make me wonder if my fetus-self heard any of the news coverage among all the sounds one would hear inside of a womb? Who knows? I'd like to think so. Even if I couldn't understand those sounds it would be nice to think that, in addition to all of my nutrients, some small portion of the excitement and wonder that my mother must have been feeling at that moment might have traveled down the umbilical cord and became a part of me.

I was born into a world where man had walked on the surface of the moon. That's kind of an amazing thing to think about. Of course it was also the beginning of a short window of time where quite a few men would walk on the moon. It got to the point where it almost became routine. Eventually that window of time closed, the Apollo missions ceased and the moon once again became a forbidding and faraway place that was hard to imagine being able to visit (despite the fact that we had ALREADY gotten there!).

I think the reason we WERE able to do it fifty years ago (and potentially COULDN'T do it today) had a lot to do with a particular set of circumstances and the fact that they occurred at just the right time. I think we've all heard how it's said that we all carry around a LOT more computing power in the smart phones we keep in our pockets than the roomfuls of computers that put man into space and on the moon. But there's no doubt that technology was indeed improving on a daily basis, even fifty years ago. Transistors and computers had finally gotten to a point where it was actually realistic to think about going into space. But, why would we want to? Well, that's the other part of the equation. It's called the Cold War. The Cold War was actually started (in some ways) by technology. The atomic bombs that ended World War II also ushered in a new age of technological advances and the Cold War between the U.S. and Russia. The Cold War, and the desire by both parties to outdo their opposition in all things military and technological, led to many more technological breakthroughs. I'm sure it probably sped up many scientific advances that might have taken much longer to develop if they didn't have an angle that could potentially be seen as a benefit to one side of the Cold War over the other. If it weren't for that "unfriendly competition" would we have ever (or at least by July 20, 1969) reached the moon? It's certainly debatable.

Not too long after the end of the Apollo program and missions to the moon the Space Shuttle program took center stage. Despite ideas that I'm sure were in the backs of some (many?) people's minds, the Space Shuttle was never destined to become a jetliner to the moon or other planets. The moon kind of became a "been there, done that" sort of thing. I'm not trying to take anything away from the importance and impressiveness of what was accomplished. It's just that once John F. Kennedy's 1961 vision and mission ("I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth") was accomplished there simply wasn't a real need to go there anymore--or to continue to spend the kind of money it would take to keep going there.

I certainly have no idea what the future holds as far as human space travel. Will we eventually get back to the moon? Will man someday walk on the surface of Mars? Will commercial space travel really become something truly viable? Will there actually be a market for such a thing? Who knows what will happen in this post-moon exploration, post-Space Shuttle world we find ourselves in? Not being a very scientific person I really can't answer any of those questions. I don't think I could even if I WAS a very scientific person. But what I can say is this; today we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of an extraordinary accomplishment by NASA, by the United States of America and by humanity itself. Half a century has passed since then, but time has not diminished the fact that something that had been seemingly impossible just a few years earlier was made possible. It's definitely a day to celebrate, regardless of what is happening today and what tomorrow may of may not bring.

Apollo 11: T-Plus Fifty Years

It was fifty years ago today (July 16, 1969) that Apollo 11 lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The real big anniversary that everyone's waiting for is July 20th, which is the date that the lunar module, with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin aboard, landed on the moon. I have to say that this is an anniversary which has really been eagerly awaited by many people and has been covered heavily by mass media--and it actually makes me very happy. I'm glad to see that it really DOES seem to be a big deal to at least a chunk of the U.S. population and is getting the attention I feel it deserves.

It's STILL really kind of hard to comprehend just what was accomplished a half-century ago. While I'm no conspiracy theorist, I can actually understand where some of the rationale for people claiming the moon landing was faked. It was just such an incredible example of technology, smarts and willpower (among many other factors). To think that we were actually able to engineer a project that culminated with men walking on the moon! And it was done so often for a few years after that it almost became routine. Then it just stopped. And suddenly the idea of going to the moon seems like a pipe dream of fantasy now despite all the advances in technology AND the fact that it's already been done!

I think the other amazing thing about the moon landing (and possibly even more fuel for the doubters) is the fact that they were able to pull it off with a mere five months left of 1969. Why? Well because that also means there were only five months left of the 1960s. John F. Kennedy had set a goal in 1961: "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth." They couldn't have cut it much closer! I mean, one can only imagine all the factors, delays and setbacks that go into a project as huge as this. Even with tons of money from the government and a fervent desire to fulfill Kennedy's vision it would have been so simple to say "Well, we're pretty danged close, but...just to be safe we're going to set a new date for early in 1970. How does that sound?" It would still have been a monumental accomplishment, but it WOULDN'T have taken place in the 60s--which would have been a huge disappointment in many ways.

It's probably worth mentioning here that I wasn't actually born until after the moon landing. Technically I WAS around, as my mom was pregnant with me when it happened. But I didn't make my first appearance in the world (kind of like Armstrong jumping off the ladder onto the surface of the moon--well, maybe not) until two months later. Because of that fact I don't have first-hand memories or a real personal connection to the lunar landing that folks a few years older than me would have. But it's still certainly something that I can appreciate for what it was and is. It's an important moment in science and history that is still worth celebrating fifty years later and making a big deal out of.

And how is the world celebrating this anniversary? Well, in many ways it seems like it is THE event of 2019. I can't even begin to list all of the ways and places that it is being commemorated (how about the image of Apollo 11 projected onto the Washington Monument in Washington, DC?).

This humble blog post will be lost in a sea of more impressive and important retrospectives, accounts, stories and reflections of what happened in July of 1969. But, while this will probably seem extremely random (and possibly like a joke after all I've already written about how important I feel the anniversary is), I do want to highlight three of my favorite examples I've seen of fun and interesting ways to note the anniversary. They're all commercial product tie-ins and could probably be considered more like attempts to cash in on the excitement surrounding the anniversary than any sort of serious commemorations. But for whatever reason I really liked each of these when I randomly saw them in stores:

MOON PIES

This was probably the first commercial tie-in to the moon landing anniversary that I saw in person. A few months ago I was walking through our local grocery store and I saw a display of Moon Pies. But something about it caught my eye. It was a large display that wasn't in an area where you'd normally find snack cakes like Moon Pies and Hostess or Drake's products. It was in the middle of the floor at the end of an aisle and the large display mentioned the fiftieth anniversary of the moon landing. Do Moon Pies have anything to do with NASA or the moon landing? Not that I'm aware. But the simple fact that they have the word "Moon" in their name makes them a perfect product to put the 50th anniversary designation on! Plus there's the nostalgic factor that Moon Pies are an old-timey snack food that was actually around in 1969 (and even much earlier than that)!

I just checked the website for Moon Pies and saw that they are in fact making a bigger deal out of the tie-in than simply putting 50th anniversary displays in grocery stores. Apparently they have actually teamed with NASA to put a lot of interesting information about the Apollo 11 mission on the site.

And now I see in the Wikipedia page for Moon Pies that they apparently ARE connected to the mission in some small way. I guess you really DO learn something new every day!
 

OREOS

Another thing I spotted in the grocery store was a "Limited Edition" variety of Oreo cookies called "Marshmallow Moon" for the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. I've written before about both Halloween Oreos and the fact that there seems to be a mind-boggling number of new and different types and varieties of Oreos these days (going well beyond the early attempts to make something new out of Oreos with variants like Vanilla Oreos and "Double Stuf" Oreos). I still see new (and sometimes odd) varieties of Oreos popping up all the time and have been meaning to write a follow up to The Overwhelming Onslaught of Oreos for a few years. So I wasn't too surprised to see yet another new Limited Edition Oreo appear about a month ago. But I WAS surprised to see that it was yet another tie-in to the lunar landing anniversary. I still haven't actually bought or tried any of these "Marshmallow Moon" Oreos myself, but I do approve of this new variety! And, heck, the package even glows in the dark!

BUDWEISER DISCOVERY RESERVE

This one seems to be even more remotely related to the actual moon landing than the first two. But despite not REALLY seeming to have any real connection to the anniversary beyond trying to cash in on it (and apparently using an "archival recipe" from the same time period),  this "Limited Edition" version of Bud comes in those little throwback stubby bottles that I remember grown ups drinking from when I was a kid. And as I've mentioned many times before, if you want me to be interested in a product all you have to do is put it in some retro packaging. 1975 Narragansett Beer cans? I'll buy 'em! Throwback Pepsi and Mountain Dew cans? I'll but 'em! Old-school Doritos packaging? I'll buy it!

So, despite this one seeming to be a reach as far as having a legitimate connection to the moon landing, other than simply being "brewed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing", thanks to the little bottles I'm in!

I'd like to finish up with one more thought on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission and another possible reason why it still reverberates with the world. One of the more serious and impressive commemorations has been the coverage that CBS has been giving the anniversary. In addition to stories on CBS News, 60 Minutes and their websites, this morning they actually livestreamed the original TV footage of the launch of Apollo 11, just as it was seen in 1969 (including the commercials!).

Unfortunately I didn't realize this was happening until about fifteen minutes before the 9:32 launch time. I tuned in in time to see Walter Cronkite interviewing Arthur C. Clarke and to watch the launch. It was a pretty cool thing to see, but since my computer is so ancient (not 50 years old, but ancient by modern technology standards) I can't watch more than a minute or two of a livestream without it getting all bogged down and choppy and my laptop overheating. So I had to put it on my iPhone. Suddenly I remembered how they always say that the little smart phones we carry with us every day to post to social media, play video games and navigate our cars actually has more computing power than all the equipment NASA had in 1969 when they sent the first man to the moon. Well, here's the lasting image I hope you take away from this post. It's me watching the 1969 launch of Apollo 11 ("livestreamed" by CBS at the exact moment of the original liftoff) on, yes, my smart phone. How far we've come (for better or worse) in fifty years. What will the next fifty bring?

Happy Fourth of July! (aka Sparklers on the Fourth Part 4)

Today is July 4th. It's also called the Fourth of July. It's a holiday that has always held a special place in my heart--not only for its historical significance, but also because of all the great memories I have from Fourth of July celebrations of the past (especially from when I was a kid). This post is mainly meant to put out some past pieces I've written that have been related to the holiday, but there are also a few thoughts that I'd like to add too.

I've only written directly about this holiday three times before, and the posts have always had "Sparklers on the Fourth" as part of their titles. Hence the "aka" title of this one. The first two were way back in 2011 when I wrote about a memory I had from a Fourth of July celebration from my youth. That one was simply called "Sparklers on the Fourth of July!". After researching and writing that one I realized that my childhood memories were actually faulty and not quite historically accurate. It was a good lesson to learn and I was able to kind of make a new connection between my distant memories and reality. As a result I wrote "Sparklers on the Fourth: Upon Further Review" to kind of admit my mistake and set the record straight. The holiday didn't really make another appearance here until last year when I wrote what I suppose was the third installment of the "series", "Sparklers on the Fourth of July: The Next Generation". That one was written as a part of my attempt to get back into actively writing after a long stretch of inactivity. It was also a way to kind of get back to the roots of what I intended Monster Dad to be when it started--something akin to a "Mommy Blog" where I would write about the experience of being a stay-at-home dad trying to instill some of my love of old monster movies and such in the kids. While there have indeed been numerous such posts, I do tend to write more about MY own childhood memories and stuff like that. In that blog I was finally able to share news about The Little Monsters enjoying sparklers on the Fourth of July--just as I did as a kid way back when.

While the main point of this post was to put out the above list of previous July 4th blogs, I would also like to write a little more about the holiday and about today itself. I mentioned having many fond memories of past Fourth of July celebrations. But to be honest I don't really have a LOT of individual memories of those childhood celebrations. Instead it seems a bit more accurate to say that I have a kind of general feeling of what it was like to commemorate the 4th when I was a kid--and that general feeling is very good. I Recently wrote a similar account of my feelings about and memories of Memorial Day. Memorial Day was always special to me as a kid too. But, while it was a great time to have a three-day weekend as the weather was getting summer-like and we were nearing the end of the school year, there still WAS school that had to be attended for another few weeks. The Fourth of July occurs pretty close to the beginning of summer vacation (from school). So it really kind of felt like a huge celebration to welcome the true arrival of summer and all the wonderful and exciting possibilities that came with it. It was so close to the end of the school year that there was still a relatively long time before going back to school in September. Plenty of summer fun to be had! I think that has something to do with that "general overall feeling" about July 4th for me rather than a list of concrete memories.

I believe that The Little Monsters are big fans of July 4th, but am not really sure if it carries the same sentimental weight for them that it does for me. Perhaps that's something that develops later in life when childhood and all the magic associated with it starts to fade into the past. We (or at least I) tend to look back on those seemingly less complicated and simpler times and pine for "the good old days".

But every year the Fourth of July still rolls around, and we are given another chance to enjoy the holiday and create new memories. I think I'll finish this post with the most up to date information I can offer--what we're doing THIS Fourth of July. On Tuesday, the 2nd of July, we went into Boston to check out the Boston Harbor fireworks show (which we didn't realize also includes a boat parade on the harbor!). The photo at the top of this post is from that show. I believe this has been going on for many years, but it was our first time attending it. The Boston Pops orchestra puts on a VERY well-known concert on the Boston Esplanade every July 4th that concludes with a huge fireworks show over the Charles River. We've NEVER attended this show (as the crowds are gigantic and pretty daunting). But a couple years ago The Wife and I did attend the slightly less heavily attended rehearsal concert that they put on the night before the big show. It includes all of the concert elements of the show on the 4th, minus the fireworks. We went again last night. And today we are at The In-Laws' to celebrate the Fourth with family. We went to a very old-fashioned parade at a small town nearby, had hamburgers and BBQ chicken for lunch and dinner, and now are finishing up the holiday by watching the actual Boston Pops show live on TV, having a fire in the back yard, eating s'mores and letting the Little Monsters run around with, yes, Sparklers on the Fourth of July! Here's a few pics from the day...

Sparklers on the Fourth of July!