CRaPUSA / Cynical Ridiculous and Pathetic, aka "A Bronx Boy" Why CRaPUSA ? This has been my platform for many years, writing about just fun and offbeat everything. I had a blast, until I got bored a year or so ago. Well, with the political climate, Covid, and general conditions world wide, I thought it was time to get back to my roots. I was born and raised in the Bronx, NY. Therefore, I am a Bronx Boy, which in my mind gives me the right to rant whenever I desire. So, hold on.
Don't be sad. Everything at some point ends. I usually write about things that piss me off, or bother me, or upset me, or make me wonder, but right now after a few too many drinks I have to concentrate on other stuff. I am thinking about things that are not Ridiculous, not cynical and certainly not pathetic...... Actually, all they really are.....................are gone.........or almost gone......
There are so many things in this category that I thought I would write about it every now and then. It really is something we don't think about every single day, but holy shit, when we do we say, "What The Fuck" that doesn't exist anymore....It seems like only yesterday there were phone booths everywhere and on every block in the city.. You put your dime or quarter in it and dialed your number. You never gave a second thought about the smell in the booth as that was part of the charm...There was no speaker so you jammed about 2 or 3 of your friends in there to hear the conversation... There was, however, a handful of cellphones around then....But try to find a phone booth now.
The Automat in NY was another great institution. (check out this blog all about it... http://crapusa.blogspot.com/search?q=AUTOMAT ) This was wonderful growing up in NY. I would love when my parents took me there...Put some nickels , dimes, or quarters in the slots and out came the food...This was the treat of treats....
Can you imagine how much fun it was doing this ? Oh well, another wonderful thing gone.
Drive in Movies....What boy or girl couldn't wait to get to the Drive In to make out. Maybe we didn't get laid then, but we certainly made out and made the windows fog up. How many of you remember that ? How many of us learned how to become the best kissers in the neighborhood thanks to the Drive In..........RIP dear Drive In Movies.
Bathing Caps......Who doesn't remember seeing their mothers wearing these ugly things in the summer if you were lucky enough to be by a pool or lake ? Actually, this is one thing that I think is wonderful that it is gone.
We all worked back in the day. Actually there were plenty of jobs and no-one ever blamed any political party for anything. Either in school, work or wherever there was this thing called carbon paper. I guess that is because there was no computer or anything electrical to copy stuff. We had no scanners or copiers to use. Oh, the good old days of having that fucking black ink from the carbon paper allover your hands....Yuk.......Anyway gone is carbon paper.
Ah....The good old national pastime....Baseball....... Does anyone remember when a baseball player signed with one team and retired still playing for that same team ? Oh, the good old days of loyalty when players played for the love of the game.....That is also gone.
Blue Laws ????? Anyone remember that ? Not so long ago when you couldn't shop on Sundays and especially buy any alcohol beverages.... I even remember there were no baseball games on Sunday night.....That has certainly changed.
What about being able to beat the shit out of your kid ? Can't do that anymore.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this little trip down memory lane about shit that is no more.....If you think it was fun, please let me know and I will do this every now and then.. I have to admit and give credit to this wonderful book called Going, Going , Gone....It has a bunch of stuff that is no longer around......
As I type on my keyboard I think of fountain pens with bottled ink......How did they manage spell check back then ?
After yesterdays blog about Jahn's, I began to get a little teary eyed about my youth, and most of the things I enjoyed that are now gone. Gone forever and never to be duplicated, or able to show or really explain to our kids and future generations. Sure, we can show pictures, tell a story, and even write a little about things like Jahn's or Horn & Hardart, but it's not the same. They will never be able to appreciate first hand what we experienced.
I guess I was very lucky. Being born and raised in New York, I was able to experience things that are unimaginable. I am not saying there are other places one can grow up and do everything, but there is no other place like NYC where you can grow up and do everything. (Those of you not from NY, calm down and give me a break). I am going to ramble a little tonight and not be Cynical, Ridiculous, and/or Pathetic in my subject. Automat's and Cafeteria's were a way of life in NY back in the day. Horn & Hardart was the leader and the video tells a pretty accurate story about it. I will never forget my parents taking my brother and me there and just having a blast. We were really young and just being able to go to the slots and put in the nickels, dimes, and quarters to get your food was a big thing for a kid. I remember the pies the best. I would walk up and down trying to decide which kind to get. I think it was 10 cents back then, but I am not sure.
The entire process of eating in the automat was a real treat for every kid. People were dressed in shirts and ties, dresses, and it was like the elite going out for lunch or dinner. My brother loved it because he always had a vegetable plate. I never understood how any kid would want to eat healthy like that ? I bet some of you can even remember what you liked and how you even enjoyed putting the coins in the slots.
For those of you that have no idea what I am talking about , look at the picture and imagine putting coins in the slot next to what you wanted, turning the knob, opening the glass door, and taking out what you paid for. Naturally the kitchen and everything was done behind this, and everything was spotless..... I guess that is not like the sanitary conditions of restaurants today. These were pretty, glitzy places and there were lots of them. Of course as I got older, H & H began closing a store at a time, and began having some retail take out places, as well as some items in super markets. But , like everything else, the real estate became too expensive and the demand decreased due to fast foods and who knows what else.
There were other cafeterias in NY during this period. Several in the garment center including Dubrows, and perhaps the most famous one being the Bellmore Cafeteria on Park Ave So. That was the number one hangout for cab drivers when on break. ( again, this was when there were white, Jewish, taxi drivers who spoke English ). In fact, the great movie Taxi Driver was filmed in part there. That was New York in the 70's, overrun by crime, drugs, filth, and fun.
Hope you enjoyed this little trip down NY memory lane. I know that I did.
Trying to remember certain things that are gone for good.......The Automat, Black and white movies, Blue laws, The Draft, Girdles, Marbles, Polio, Telegrams, Typewriters, Wedding night virgins, Regular Virgins, Vinyl records, Hotel keys, Gas station attendants, Rotary Phones, Leisure suits, Drive in Movies, Telephone booths, Men's Garters, The Milkman, Security Free Airports, ..........How many more can you come up with ?
Here is a blast from the past for all you New Yorkers. Yes, it's Jahn's Ice Cream. I bet you already are thinking one or two things to yourself ????? The Kitchen Sink, or the Awful Awful, or the Screwballs delight ???? Anyway to give you a little history of this great ice cream parlor that only made its own ice cream and was a destination for kids like myself who grew up in NY. We would go there with 4/5 guys and try to finish one of the Kitchen Sinks. Now the Kitchen Sink was a Little ice cream sundae with at least 30 scoops of ice cream, banana's, fruit, syrup, nuts,cherries, and who remembers what else. I seem to remember that if you completely finished one, you would get another one for free. Fat chance of ever finishing one, and if you did, who would want another one. Besides, in those days we were all so thin, no-one even knew what the word FAT was.... I really don't remember what was in some of the other specials, but they were all great.
Jahn's was in Richmond Hill, Queens, which was not too far from Jamaica. It also had a nickelodeon inside which was also quite old. From research it was opened in the 1930's and the last one closed in 2007. The one in Richmond Hill was the most famous and the one we always went too. Although I have to admit that once we learned what girls were, we went to the one in Forest Hills. It was larger and had more girls there. What can I tell you, I probably was shallow then as well. During the mid 1950's, I understand there were several opened throughout NY, but who knows ? In it's heyday the place was always mobbed. It was next door to a big RKO Kieth's movie .INFO on Jahn's Back in the day, a date was considered going to a movie and then either to a diner or ice cream place... Hey, I am only transposing what I have read. ( I was much too busy playing ball and trying to get laid. What did I know ? )
http://www.richmondhillhistory.org/Jahns.shtml This link really gives the history of Mr. Jahn, and all the close to accurate information about this NY landmark. Of course like the RKO Keith's movie which is also gone, it's a thing of the past never to return.
This is a sad picture of the Kieth's in Flushing that is now being made into Condos after years of neglect along with a later Jahn's next door. I would think these pictures are from the 70's, because the movie had already been closed.
There is really no meaning to this blog other than a little trip down memory lane for those of you that remember this. For you others............this was just some of the great things that Made NY that are once again no longer there..........Growing up as a kid, I remember lots of ice cream places like Krum's in the Bronx, Addie Valens,, . Then there was the bungalow bar ice cream trucks that came to your street daily.... A single single cone was 5 cents, a double 10 cents. ( I looked that up ). Now I am really getting nostalgic and am thinking about Horn and Hardart Automat........But That is for another trip down memory lane.........Guess even I can't be full of CRaP daily. But don't despair. Tomorrow I will be back bitching in full force.
