A MOMENT BRIEF, BUT SCARY

One Sunday, my buddy Tex and I decided to stroll up to the corner store, and cop some beer; we both ran tabs with the owner, which was cool, as we were broke.

When we got there, we found the lady in charge was gone, and the dude she left behind the counter wasn't studying anyone's tabs, and was even a bit fly about it. So, we split.

As we were leavin', we heard our names called from the house attached to the rear of the store. Sitting on the porch were the owner's two teenage daughters, seventeen and fifteen. They wanted to know if we had any weed....as it turned out, both Tex and I had about a dime each, plus the usual hardware.

They said they'd buy a nickel from us, which would more than cover a 12-pack of Miller, and run us up to Lakeview Park, as they were thinking about going there themselves. That was cool with us, although we decided to buy the brew at another store a few blocks away. We piled into their Dodge wagon, as Tex's ride was down, and left, Tex driving.

We get to the other store, and Tex gets out, going inside. The girls are up front, and I'm sittin' in the back, sufferin' through whatever crap G-98 was playin', when my Spider-sense starts to tingle.

I look to the rear, and sure enough, like a blue and white shark cruisin' over the reef, was a Lorain Police car, doin' that SLOOOOWWWW glide, y'know what I mean.

I'm thinkin' to myself, "Lessee.... I'm in a car, with two underage white girls, holdin' weed, and the cops are right behind us....I'm in a WORLD'a s#@^"

Just as I was about to stash my bag somewhere in the car, the Eagle Cab goes past, not even slowing down....

Sheer trip, man.

DOES ANYONE REMEMBER

When Oakwood Park had a fountain?

Sliding down the pole on field trips to the fire station?

"Chameleons" on sale at the five and dime?

Watching "The FBI" late at night, and being scared when they talked about the dangerous criminals at large?

The smell of the Mister Softee truck sitting at the corner?

Finding marbles buried in the dirt?

The tunnel that opened onto Lakeview Park beach?

The Pure Oil Firebird?

The Halloween parade every October, down Broadway?

The Back-to-School Movie Show at the Palace each year?

Eski, the Eskimo, in the Journal each Christmas?

Chocolate milk from Lorain Creamery?

WELL....I do.

ALL-NIGHT TV

Like most of us, I grew up loving television, and so much of what I remember from my growing up I can relate to tv, when a particular show was on, where I was, etc.

In the mid-70's, I'd become an extreme version of myself, long-haired, an afficionado of euphoric substances, and a night-owl. Serendipitously enough, local television changed, almost as if to accomodate those such as myself.

Traditionally, the local affiliates signed off at about three am, signing back on at five-thirty or so. Then, like a present from the tv fairy, came all-night tv on the weekends. At first, the stations still signed off, albeit for only fifteen minutes. After a couple of months, they began to run truly all night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2dHp5FhjOE

Dig this....I could come toddling home at one or two, too....er....STIMULATED to go to bed, and just turn on the tv. WJKW, Channel 8, had 8 ALL NITE, or as Dave called it, "Eight 'til you cry", which generally had a double feature of cheesy horror and science-fiction, some films I'd never seen, or heard of

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvULjXQYbeA

others, films I hadn't seen since the beloved Ghoulardi went off the air ten years before

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0emuNT8F0-g

Great stuff, serious trip. At the same time, WEWS, Channel 5, had MOVIE 5, which morphed into JANE'S All-NIGHT MOVIE for a few months. They semed to specialize in obscure, off-the-wall, el cheapo movies, like these....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRzO4EESeQc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmMFqgXijv8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MlsWoI162I

Some of these films were so weird, I'd call someone, just to verify I was seeing what I was seeing.

If I got hungry, there was a wonderful pizza joint, Piccolo's, which stayed open until 4 am, and had really great pizza and subs for cheap.

Now, late night tv is generally infomercials, and there's no pizza places open that late.

Still, there ARE DVDs, and the nuker for leftover slices....