Perfect Day for Monsterkids of the 60's in Monster Kid Memories Forum

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Perfect Day for Monsterkids of the 60's

Author	Comment
Jaybo		#41	[-]
Sep 14 09 8:59 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Joe Karlosi wrote: Ah, 1950 ---- perfect time, seems to me, to be born! ---------------------- "It's MORE ... than a hobby!" But if you're a guy born in 1950, you're also just the "right" age to be drafted during the Viet-Nam conflict and have your ass shot off in a Cambodian rice paddy. No thanks!
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rvoyttbots		#42	[-]
Sep 15 09 4:22 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I was born in 1953. I lucked out big time when I got a high number during the draft of 1972. And then I go and join the Marines in 1974. Go figure.
davlghry		#43	[-]
Sep 18 09 10:40 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	One of the big excitements for me in the mid-60's was sending off for back issues of SCREEN THRILLS ILLUSTRATED as advertised in the back pages of FM. Until then I had no idea that my comic book heroes like Batman, Captain America and the Phantom had actually been in movies!
Geezermonster		#44	[-]
Sep 18 09 11:22 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I was born in 1950, so here's my perfect Monsterkid day in my old home town back in Ohio. I wake up on Saturday morning and my Mom & Dad remind me that it's Saturday and I will be spending the day as usual with my grandparents in their very, very old house across town. Mom & Dad drop me off and I say hello to the old blind man, Roy, who is sitting on the porch next door. I call up my good friend Joe and he comes over so we can sit in front of the TV and watch Ramar of the Jungle, Fury, Circus Boy, and an old Tarzan movie with Johnny Weissmuller or Lex Barker on the black & white TV. Joe and I tune in the old shortwave radio in a wooden cabinet built like a cathedral to listen to "How Much is That Doggie In The Window". Meanwhile, Grandma and Aunt Carrie (born in 1868!) are snarling at each other in German as usual. Joe and I take our 50 cents apiece and get on the bus, heading for downtown. It's an early Fall day, crisp and clear, free of the summer humidity but not yet blustery. We get off on High Street and walk down to the old Paramount Theater in the middle of the block. It's time for the 25 cent Saturday Matinee! Today the Paramount is showing a reissue of "War of the Worlds"! The show starts with a Warner brothers cartoon, then a newsreel showing one of the British royal family jumping horses in some competition. Then the main feature! Joe and I are amazed when the Martian machines rise up out of the gully, and terrified when they destroy Los Angeles. It all seems so real, like it's truly happening. We return to my grandparents place, still hyped up and excited from the movie. By this time Grandma is fixing my favorite dish, Maul Tasche, which is an old Swabian recipe. I hungrily devour it for dinner, then sit sated on the arm of Grandpa's chair as we watch TV. The trailer for "It Came From Beneath The Sea" is playing often, and every time the big sextopus shows up Grandpa and I squeal with uncontrollable laughter -- why, I can't really say to this day. After the TV is turned off Grandpa and I sit in the semidarkness of an Ohio Fall evening and he shows me his hardbound 1908 presidential campaign guide and tells me about why he voted for the great champion of the common people, William Jennings Bryan. Then I climb the long, steep stairway to the second floor, past the old mirror/hatrack/chair combination at the head of the stairs. I glance into Aunt Carrie's room and see the big ceramic chamber pot with flowers painted on it underneath her bed. I climb into Grandma's big old dark wooden bed and she tucks me in with a kiss. Then I drift off to sleep, listening to the mournful, unforgettable wail of a steam locomotive's whistle from the nearby railroad tracks. I look out the window and see the moonlight shining on the street and the street light by the corner, lighting up the other old, old houses in the neighborhood. Then I'm asleep.
Cadaverino		#45	[-]
Sep 19 09 1:46 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The perfect Monster Kid day for me is a summer day in Milwaukee in the early '70s. I get up in the morning and at nine I start to mow the front and back lawn, which gives me spending money. A friend and I go biking around the shaded streets of Wauwatosa, to the swimming pool in Hoyt Park, and we cool off. On the way home we stop at two pharmacies to peruse the magazine and comic book racks, where I pick up horror comics and the latest FM knock-off. Home again in time for the matinee movie on TV, this time The Day the Earth Stood Still, which I watch in the basement lying on my stomach in front of the big Magnavox TV-radio-record player console that used to be upstairs. Dad gets off work early today, and he invites my brother and me out to Storm's driving range to hit a bucket of golf balls with him, or to bowl a quick game at Bowlero. As we drive home we listen to a Brewers game on the radio, and notice the dark clouds gathering in the north sky. The radio station interrupts to tell us that a tornado watch is in effect for all of southeast Wisconsin until 10 o'clock that evening; it's the third tornado watch so far this summer, so we're not too alarmed. We have to be back home by 7, because my parents are throwing a cocktail party that night. Dad changes his clothes and shaves the five o'clock shadow, and Mom sprays on her favorite perfume, a sure sign that company's coming. As the living room air conditioner is turned up to high cool, Mom prepares the hors d'oeuvres and Dad sets up the bar, and I organize my retreat in the den: a bag of potato chips, some onion dip, and a bottle of 7 Up. I close the sliding doors to the den and ensconce myself in the brown Naugahyde reclining chair with the footrest up, as I hear the doorbell ring and the first guests arrive to laughter and loud talk. Shock Theater begins at 8 o'clock, with a tarantula walking across an old book by a photo of Glenn Strange's monster as lightning flashes. The picture dissolves to the black & white image of an airplane circling the Universal globe, and The Black Cat begins. I literally rub my hands together with glee at seeing both Karloff and Lugosi together for the first time. Every once in a while one of my parents' friends will slide open the den door to say hello and ask what I'm watching. "Oh, spooky stuff! Well, you enjoy!" When that movie ends, and a brief newscast runs, I go to the kitchen to get another 7 Up and chat with guests who are in there. The air has a nice blend of fine liquor, cigarette smoke, and hot crab dip. Then it's time for the second feature, maybe a '50s giant creature movie. My analytical brother discusses the scientific improbabilities of the story, but what the hell, I just enjoy it as it is. Why not, it's been a perfect day for this monster kid.
TheAmazingLarry		#46	[-]
Sep 19 09 11:05 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I was born in '59. My perfect '60s day would start with waking up early on a summer Saturday and watching some old Warner Brothers cartoons and a Marvel Super Heroes cartoon (Captain America and Iron Man were my favorites, but I loved 'em all). Then, breakfast, some sugary cereal--any one would do as long as it wasn't Super Sugar Crisp. blecch--, and back to the TV for SPIDER-MAN and THE FANTASTIC FOUR cartoons. Then it's out to the back yard swing set where I get going as high as I can before leaping off onto a large cardboard refrigerator box. I do this over and over. Robin, the girl from down the block comes over to play for awhile. I think I'm the epitome of cool by singing the FIREBALL XL-5 theme to her. My mom comes out to hang the laundry, and I head into the house to accost my dad for allowance now that he's had a chance to read the paper. Armed with a dollar I head to the local mom 'n pop grocery where I find a new series of Batman bubble-gum cards is out! I buy a couple packs and then go through the piles of coverless comic books that are plastic-bagged together, three comics for ten cents. I find a pack with a Fantastic Four comic, "The Gentleman's Name is Gorgon!" on one side and a Judo-Master on the other. Never heard of him, and hey--he's got a ponytail! What the hell?! Keeping one eye on the lady who runs the store I break little holes into the plastic to try to see what the middle comic is in the bag. Holy cow, it's a Batman! Done deal! And I still have allowance left! It's back home to the front porch to look through my swag. As I lie on the floor looking through the Batman cards and the comics my cat Smokey jumps on my back, purring away. Lunch is an Underwood Deviled Ham sandwich and a glass of milk. A Hostess Cupcake for dessert.. Could the Kennedys (God bless their souls) have it any better? I turn on the TV at noon to see what the afternoon movie is, and after way too many Saturdays in a row of Blondie movies (although i do enjoy them) it's a monster movie! FROM HELL IT CAME! This is gonna be great! It even has HELL right there in the title! Come and get me, monster! I said come and get me...! Monster...? Okay, so it takes some time to get going and I admit that for awhile there my Legos get more of my attention than the movie does, the tree monster (from HELL, you know!) finally makes an appearance. Man, I wouldn't want that thing after me! After the movie I grab my Stingray (with the leopard-spot banana seat) and bike around the neighborhood. As almost always happens after a monster movie, there's at least one of two of the neighborhood kids outside doing just what I'm doing. Today it's Gary and Bob. "Did you see it?"Gary asks. "Of course! That tree monster was so cool!" "Ahh, he's as lame as the mummy," Bob says. "You could run circles around it!" What does he know? We bike up to the woods behind the indian burial mounds and pretend the trees are after us. Using U.N.C.L.E. rifles andTREK phasers, we manage to survive. Home again, and dad gives me money to pick up some subm'rine sandwiches at the downtown Woolworths. I take the Mattel Vroom off my bike, put on the wire basket, and head out. But before Woolworths I stop in at Downtown Book and head right for the comics. The Marvel Annuals are beginning to come out! I pick up THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN annual with Spidey fighting the Human Torch on the cover. I'd like to look through the paperbacks, but no time. I'm off to Woolworths for three subm'rines (the best in town, my dad says) and then make my way home, getting in just in time for ALL-STAR WRESTLING. Rasslin', store-bought sandwiches, and ice-cold Pepsi. Life was good. And about to get better, because channel 9 was showing three monster movies that evening back-to-back! Even our usual Saturday night HORROR, INCORPORATED (which I was rarely allowed to stay up for) only showed two! Three! And it was three movies I'd never even heard of: CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF, BRIDES OF DRACULA and NIGHT CREATURES. My young monster kid life was about to change. I made it through all three offerings that night, and came away thinking I'd just seen three of the greatest movies ever made, especially BRIDES OF DRACULA. The scene where Van Helsing burns away the vampire's bite was the most jaw-droppingly cool thing I'd ever seen in a movie! From that moment on, Peter Cushing joined Karloff, Lugosi and Chaney Jr. in my Horror Hall of Fame. I went to bed that night a happy, happy monster kid.
Jaybo		#47	[-]
Sep 20 09 9:17 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Geezermonster wrote: I was born in 1950, so here's my perfect Monsterkid day in my old home town back in Ohio. I wake up on Saturday morning and my Mom & Dad remind me that it's Saturday and I will be spending the day as usual with my grandparents in their very, very old house across town. Mom & Dad drop me off and I say hello to the old blind man, Roy, who is sitting on the porch next door. I call up my good friend Joe and he comes over so we can sit in front of the TV and watch Ramar of the Jungle, Fury, Circus Boy, and an old Tarzan movie with Johnny Weissmuller or Lex Barker on the black & white TV. Joe and I tune in the old shortwave radio in a wooden cabinet built like a cathedral to listen to "How Much is That Doggie In The Window". Meanwhile, Grandma and Aunt Carrie (born in 1868!) are snarling at each other in German as usual. Joe and I take our 50 cents apiece and get on the bus, heading for downtown. It's an early Fall day, crisp and clear, free of the summer humidity but not yet blustery. We get off on High Street and walk down to the old Paramount Theater in the middle of the block. It's time for the 25 cent Saturday Matinee! Today the Paramount is showing a reissue of "War of the Worlds"! The show starts with a Warner brothers cartoon, then a newsreel showing one of the British royal family jumping horses in some competition. Then the main feature! Joe and I are amazed when the Martian machines rise up out of the gully, and terrified when they destroy Los Angeles. It all seems so real, like it's truly happening. We return to my grandparents place, still hyped up and excited from the movie. By this time Grandma is fixing my favorite dish, Maul Tasche, which is an old Swabian recipe. I hungrily devour it for dinner, then sit sated on the arm of Grandpa's chair as we watch TV. The trailer for "It Came From Beneath The Sea" is playing often, and every time the big sextopus shows up Grandpa and I squeal with uncontrollable laughter -- why, I can't really say to this day. After the TV is turned off Grandpa and I sit in the semidarkness of an Ohio Fall evening and he shows me his hardbound 1908 presidential campaign guide and tells me about why he voted for the great champion of the common people, William Jennings Bryan. Then I climb the long, steep stairway to the second floor, past the old mirror/hatrack/chair combination at the head of the stairs. I glance into Aunt Carrie's room and see the big ceramic chamber pot with flowers painted on it underneath her bed. I climb into Grandma's big old dark wooden bed and she tucks me in with a kiss. Then I drift off to sleep, listening to the mournful, unforgettable wail of a steam locomotive's whistle from the nearby railroad tracks. I look out the window and see the moonlight shining on the street and the street light by the corner, lighting up the other old, old houses in the neighborhood. Then I'm asleep. I wasn't born until March 1974, but I gotta say, your "perfect day" brought a tear to my eye and a serious lump to my throat. Thanks for that incredible memory!
rvoyttbots		#48	[-]
Sep 20 09 2:27 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Jaybo wrote: Geezermonster wrote: I was born in 1950, so here's my perfect Monsterkid day in my old home town back in Ohio. I wake up on Saturday morning and my Mom & Dad remind me that it's Saturday and I will be spending the day as usual with my grandparents in their very, very old house across town. Mom & Dad drop me off and I say hello to the old blind man, Roy, who is sitting on the porch next door. I call up my good friend Joe and he comes over so we can sit in front of the TV and watch Ramar of the Jungle, Fury, Circus Boy, and an old Tarzan movie with Johnny Weissmuller or Lex Barker on the black & white TV. Joe and I tune in the old shortwave radio in a wooden cabinet built like a cathedral to listen to "How Much is That Doggie In The Window". Meanwhile, Grandma and Aunt Carrie (born in 1868!) are snarling at each other in German as usual. Joe and I take our 50 cents apiece and get on the bus, heading for downtown. It's an early Fall day, crisp and clear, free of the summer humidity but not yet blustery. We get off on High Street and walk down to the old Paramount Theater in the middle of the block. It's time for the 25 cent Saturday Matinee! Today the Paramount is showing a reissue of "War of the Worlds"! The show starts with a Warner brothers cartoon, then a newsreel showing one of the British royal family jumping horses in some competition. Then the main feature! Joe and I are amazed when the Martian machines rise up out of the gully, and terrified when they destroy Los Angeles. It all seems so real, like it's truly happening. We return to my grandparents place, still hyped up and excited from the movie. By this time Grandma is fixing my favorite dish, Maul Tasche, which is an old Swabian recipe. I hungrily devour it for dinner, then sit sated on the arm of Grandpa's chair as we watch TV. The trailer for "It Came From Beneath The Sea" is playing often, and every time the big sextopus shows up Grandpa and I squeal with uncontrollable laughter -- why, I can't really say to this day. After the TV is turned off Grandpa and I sit in the semidarkness of an Ohio Fall evening and he shows me his hardbound 1908 presidential campaign guide and tells me about why he voted for the great champion of the common people, William Jennings Bryan. Then I climb the long, steep stairway to the second floor, past the old mirror/hatrack/chair combination at the head of the stairs. I glance into Aunt Carrie's room and see the big ceramic chamber pot with flowers painted on it underneath her bed. I climb into Grandma's big old dark wooden bed and she tucks me in with a kiss. Then I drift off to sleep, listening to the mournful, unforgettable wail of a steam locomotive's whistle from the nearby railroad tracks. I look out the window and see the moonlight shining on the street and the street light by the corner, lighting up the other old, old houses in the neighborhood. Then I'm asleep. I wasn't born until March 1974, but I gotta say, your "perfect day" brought a tear to my eye and a serious lump to my throat. Thanks for that incredible memory! My grandparents, both sides, graduated from the "spare the rod, spoil the child" school so I wish I could have experienced this when I grew up.
opticalguy	Almost Perfect Day	#49	[-]
Sep 20 09 5:33 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I just about had the perfect weekend. In the South you look forward to autumn and the cool air so you could feel alive and human. So Autumn came and the air was full of the smell of cool, moist earth and green grass with a little touch of burning leaves. Halloween had been good that year. On one Friday night I spent the night with one of my best friends and his parents were permissive enough to let us stay up and watch Shock Theater on WVEC channel 13 and they were playing The Wolfman. Pretty good already. We were to see the Ray Harryhausen film The First Men IN the Moon at the Riverside Theater. I had the Dell comic book version of The First Men IN the Moon and was more than ready to see the flick. Alas, a freak, early snow storm moved in that night and the Norfolk area was blanketed with snow. I didn't see The First Men IN the Moon in 'scope until I was almost 50 … damn it. On the plus side we had quite a few snow days off that week. I guess I already did have the perfect day since I saw the Harryhausen film Mysterious Island in Richmond with my cousin Jack and the guys from the ZIV syndicated TV show Whirlybirds flew in in a helicopter to greet the fans. That was a great day! opticalguy1954@yahoo.com (Spencer Gill)
Geezermonster		#50	[-]
Sep 20 09 11:36 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Jaybo wrote: Geezermonster wrote: I was born in 1950, so here's my perfect Monsterkid day in my old home town back in Ohio. I wake up on Saturday morning and my Mom & Dad remind me that it's Saturday and I will be spending the day as usual with my grandparents in their very, very old house across town. Mom & Dad drop me off and I say hello to the old blind man, Roy, who is sitting on the porch next door. I call up my good friend Joe and he comes over so we can sit in front of the TV and watch Ramar of the Jungle, Fury, Circus Boy, and an old Tarzan movie with Johnny Weissmuller or Lex Barker on the black & white TV. Joe and I tune in the old shortwave radio in a wooden cabinet built like a cathedral to listen to "How Much is That Doggie In The Window". Meanwhile, Grandma and Aunt Carrie (born in 1868!) are snarling at each other in German as usual. Joe and I take our 50 cents apiece and get on the bus, heading for downtown. It's an early Fall day, crisp and clear, free of the summer humidity but not yet blustery. We get off on High Street and walk down to the old Paramount Theater in the middle of the block. It's time for the 25 cent Saturday Matinee! Today the Paramount is showing a reissue of "War of the Worlds"! The show starts with a Warner brothers cartoon, then a newsreel showing one of the British royal family jumping horses in some competition. Then the main feature! Joe and I are amazed when the Martian machines rise up out of the gully, and terrified when they destroy Los Angeles. It all seems so real, like it's truly happening. We return to my grandparents place, still hyped up and excited from the movie. By this time Grandma is fixing my favorite dish, Maul Tasche, which is an old Swabian recipe. I hungrily devour it for dinner, then sit sated on the arm of Grandpa's chair as we watch TV. The trailer for "It Came From Beneath The Sea" is playing often, and every time the big sextopus shows up Grandpa and I squeal with uncontrollable laughter -- why, I can't really say to this day. After the TV is turned off Grandpa and I sit in the semidarkness of an Ohio Fall evening and he shows me his hardbound 1908 presidential campaign guide and tells me about why he voted for the great champion of the common people, William Jennings Bryan. Then I climb the long, steep stairway to the second floor, past the old mirror/hatrack/chair combination at the head of the stairs. I glance into Aunt Carrie's room and see the big ceramic chamber pot with flowers painted on it underneath her bed. I climb into Grandma's big old dark wooden bed and she tucks me in with a kiss. Then I drift off to sleep, listening to the mournful, unforgettable wail of a steam locomotive's whistle from the nearby railroad tracks. I look out the window and see the moonlight shining on the street and the street light by the corner, lighting up the other old, old houses in the neighborhood. Then I'm asleep. I wasn't born until March 1974, but I gotta say, your "perfect day" brought a tear to my eye and a serious lump to my throat. Thanks for that incredible memory! Geez, Jaybo! I'm flattered that my little story was appreciated. I had a lot of fun writing it and remembering the great childhood I had back in the old Buckeye State. Thanks for your kind thoughts!
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cadmandd		#51	[-]
May 30 10 1:09 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It's the early 60's and I walk into the old Rohr's 5 & 10 and there is the Aurora factory built up of Dracula which I cannot help but drool over whenever I'm there. Lily, the kindly store manager asks me if I want to take it home with me. Could there be a more perfect day than that? PS I revived this thread because I just found out recently that she is still alive and in her 70's. I got her address and wrote her and she called to tell me she still remembers me being crazy over all the monster stuff in the store. She never married or had children so all of us "monster kids" were sort of adopted by her. Cadmandd
MyDarkSide		#52	[-]
Jun 5 10 1:25 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	If the afterlife doesn't contain combined elements of many of these posts for all of us.....well......eternity is really gonna suck. And not in the good Monster-type way, either!
Rick		#53	[-]
Jun 5 10 1:32 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Ah, 1950 ---- perfect time, seems to me, to be born! In 1980 I would have agreed with you. But in 2010, as I rest my tired back, brush my gray hair away from my face, and adjust my reading glasses, 1950 seems like much too long ago.
Saturday8pm		#54	[-]
Jun 5 10 6:45 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	yendor1152 wrote: Later that afternoon, my older sister takes us to the movies, where we see "Let's Kill Uncle. A perfect afternoon actually would be killing Uncle. j/k "Lord I love Spring! The birds, the fair weather, the new flowers. It doesn't get any better than this. HOLY CRAP! what's THAT?!?"
phantasmo mysterio		#55	[-]
Sep 26 10 9:14 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	My perfect day was when I was in the third grade, it was in the Spring of 1969, which of course meant that summer vacation was coming soon. It was Friday, which meant the week was over and it meant that Chiller Theater was on that night. Friday also meant that it was allowance day, I went up town and bought a kite, it was a light blue plastic kite, the first time I ever seen a plastic kite, and it had a line drawing of a dragon on it. Me and one of my best friends went up to the school to fly our kites, we were having a great time then the person who I loved more than annoying and I think loved me more than anyone showed up, my Grandma. She drove me home and it was heaven. I remember having a book out of the school library about praying mantises, which had lots of pictures. That night I watched Chiller with my Grandma sleeping in our recliner, the first movie was Atragon. I loved horror movies and war movis, so this movie was perfect. For about a year after that I was constantly drawing Atragon. In retrospect it was the movie I loved the most on Chiller. The second movie was Black Sunday, which was another favorite of mine. A great day from a magical time in my life.
dracsback		#56	[-]
Sep 27 10 1:26 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Easy. Getting my order of 3 back issues of FAMOUS MONSTERS of FILMLAND in the mail and having all afternoon and evening to digest them. It didn't get much better than that. Sigh. "I saw what I saw when I saw it!"
cadmandd		#57	[-]
Sep 27 10 11:47 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	True, it does not get better than seeing that large manila folder in the old mail box. Cadmandd
Rick		#58	[-]
Sep 27 10 9:23 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Ain't that the truth. I had one of those days. I think it was FM #s 2, 3, and 5, or maybe just two of those. It was a warm Saturday and my friends and I spent most of the day passing the issues back and forth. Part of the time we were actually perched up on the branches of a cherry tree, reading about the monstuhs. That was an incredibly great day.
shotgun101		#59	[-]
Oct 10 10 1:40 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	My perfect day was finding these posts. They brought back a lot of memories of Friday Nights and Saturdays with monster movies and sci fi. Used to enjoy Gamera, giant monster (TOHO) movies, more classic monster flicks and space pics. What I really appreciate is the reminiscing with the descriptions of your day, the weather, and the costs of things (me-born 1963). One of the things we have lost in the age of CGI, incivility, and crass politics is the simple joy of a good movie, the concept of a late night movie, and the genre of hosted movies on the small screen.
Squashpants		#60	[-]
Oct 10 10 10:42 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Just wanted to chime in on this thread. And thank you guys for a wonderfully nostalgic narrative. I am still trying to get up the gumption to write my own (I was a MonsterKid by 1960). I hope that if there are any of you guys having the same struggle, that you will overcome it, coz I can't get enough of this. "Men, there's a drive-in movie full of juicy people! Wow! " - PIC Mosquito Coil Ad
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