War Heads

Lately there have been a lot of "You know you're from <<insert home town here>> when..." postings on Facebook.  I particularly like the "Long-guy-land" ones, well, because I am originally from Long Island.  I do notice all of these posts have commonalities though: respecting your elders, playing outside, street lights for curfew, etc.  It does make me a little sad to think what the youth of today will remember from their childhoods.  Playing indoors all summer on the PS3, family road trips that involved Hannah Montana on DVD as opposed to playing "I Spy," family reunions where instead of playing volleyball and socializing they  were lost in their own little world playing Nintendo DS... it's sad, really.  

In reminiscing on my childhood there are major things that stand out.  Yes, we had a Nintendo but there were TV time limits and if it was daylight and not raining Mom forced us to play outside.  I had to wear a watch (not a digital one) to make sure to check back in at the house every half hour or so.  I wore out the tires on my ten-speed (boy was I cool with my gray and pink Huffy ten-speed) and my cousins and the local kids played man-hunt, H-O-R-S-E, cops and robbers, stick ball, touch football, and anything else we could come up with until we had to go home for dinner.  We loved the ice cream truck (I think Italian Ices were like $0.50 back then) and War Heads were the candy of choice.

Does anyone remember War Heads? Lemon was my favorite. We used to trade them on the bus like currency.  We would double-dog dare each other to try to eat more than one at a time and not make a face. We would check out each others tongues to see if there was any burn marks because we couldn't believe such a lethal tasting hard candy didn't in fact do so.  For a while there, War Heads were more popular than Bubble Tape bubblegum.  Can you believe these two candies are practically considered antique?  Seriously, when I searched Bubble Tape the first site it was listed on was "www.oldtimecandy.com."  Insane.  When I think of "old time candy" I think of root beer barrels, rock candy on a stick, and shoe string licorice.  What has the world come to??

For "old time's sake" leave me a comment and let me know what you remember from your childhood and what was so great about it.

Furry Friday: Red Guy

Apache Chief Krueger

"Dog's are color blind."  I have a hard time believing this.  Since Riley was a puppy he has gravitated towards items which were blue or red.  Mostly red.  So we got him a collar, a harness, a leash, a chew bone, and a myriad of other items in red.  We refer to his toys by their color too.  You'll hear "Go get Red Guy" a lot in our house, and Riley knows just what we are talking about.  "Red Guy"  is Riley's favorite toy.  They have been inseperable since we'd cleaned out Justin's Dad's truck and found him in there.  So technically "Red Guy" is Apache's (Jay's parent's dog's) but Apache doesn't mind.  Apache is a mild mannered Golden Retriever who is three times the size of Riley, but lets Riley boss him around anyway.  

Napping with "Red Guy"

So, back to "Red Guy."  Where ever Riley is, "Red Guy" is not far from reach.  If Riley is hiding out in his fort, aka under the dining room table, "Red Guy" is there too.  If Riley is taking a nap... you guessed it, "Red Guy" is napping too.  And when I say to Riley "ready for bed?" he immediately picks up "Red Guy" and goes running for the bedroom.  It's adorable really.  "Red Guy" however is beginning to smell so he's going to be going through the wash shortly and no doubt Riley will be sitting in the back room waiting until he comes out of the dryer.

Off to the Races

Today I am off to Saratoga Race Track.  It has become an August tradition for a few friends of mine to spend the day together at the track.  We start with the breakfast buffet, wear sundresses and hats, and try our best to pick a winning horse each race.  We also consume a few Corona's out of cans since we're not permitted to bring glass bottles into the park.

I can pretty much sum up my betting principles into two three categories:

1. The horse has a cool name
2. The horse decided to take a #2 just before the race
3. The horse is #9 or #12 (both were jersey numbers of mine in school)

Although I don't bet big money (I take the safe route with Quinella Box bets), the last few times I have gone I have at least come home with the same amount I left with.  And breaking even is good enough for me. It's all about the experience.  The weather is usually gorgeous, the horses are fun to watch, and the time spent with friends is priceless.

Are you a gambler?  Have you gone to the races up in Saratoga?  Do you have any tips or tricks for me?