35mm slide scans are wonderful, but I always have a soft spot in my heart for the humble photo prints that so many families accumulated by the boxful.
I like this warm late afternoon view looking up Main Street on a busy (but not too busy) day. Many folks are wearing sweaters, or at least long sleeves, so perhaps this was an Autumn day. Main Street looks beautiful.
I wonder if those kids in the foreground had ever seen a marching band before? Maybe a high school football games, I suppose; but still, it's not like they were everywhere. Unless you lived in Sousaville, in which case you needed earplugs so that you wouldn't go nuts. Notice the Sunkist Citrus House - gotta get me a frozen lemonade bar!
Someone turned the shadows off in pic #1.
ReplyDeleteOn the left, there's a kid doing something unmentionable to that horse-head hitching post. Or maybe he's always wanted a horse of his own, and this is as close as he can get.
It's kinda hard to count trashcans here. Things get a little blurry, and more crowded, in the distance. I get five.
In #2- Yellow shirt kid is wearing a cavalry hat with, I think, his name embroidered on it. Cameron, maybe?
All the band members have the same foot forward (and backward). It's like they practiced doing this, or something. ;-)
Thanks for the Main Street pics, Major.
Wastin' away again down in Sousaville,
ReplyDeleteSearchin' for my lost valve full o' spit.
Some people claim that John Philip's to blame,
But I know I'm the cause of it.
Yes, I'm...
Tootin' away again here in Sousaville,
Playin' my oompahs for Uncle Walt.
Some people think that it's our trumpets that stink,
But I know it's my own damn fault.
You know, now that you mention it, I'm not certain if I've ever seen a marching band in person. I love how the two kids' noggins bookend the shot.
It's good to see they keep the trees fenced in. You don't want them wandering off at night and getting into fights. This is Bob Bark, reminding you to spay and neuter your ornamental vegetation. Looks like Little Miss Pinkshorts is having a bit of a wedgie issue. Weird to think she's probably somebody's Grandma now. Is this the little girl I carried, is this the little boy at play...
It’s the Tencennial year! And it’s Disneyland! Beyond that, I got nothin’. Happy to see them just the same.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I’ve been at my parents’ house for a month, and for the past week I’ve been scanning family pictures before and after work (bless COVID for normalizing telework and building out the Government infrastructure to make it happen but curse it for everything else it’s done), partly for posterity but mostly for my mother’s upcoming memorial service. I am fighting that stupid song in my head every. Single. Day. Doesn’t help that both times I saw the film were with her.
Please excuse me for a moment. Why is this stupid room so darned dusty?
Chuck, I'm so sorry to have made things extra painful for you, when you're already going through so much. You're a good son. I've had the song stuck in my head since it was used in a TV show last week.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, I had already named her "Suzi Pinkpants!" Yep, that would be me. Caught scratching my hindquarters for all eternity.
ReplyDeleteOn a totally unrelated note, the forced perspective is just about perfect in that shot. It really looks like that huge castle is a couple of miles away. I think the fact that they forgot to switch on the shadows helps.
Marching bands....why does it always have to be marching bands....
It looks like Buster Keaton was visiting the park that day. He's standing in the doorway of the Sunkist Citrus House (photo #2).
ReplyDeleteMelissa, brilliant!
Chuck, I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your mom. I must have somehow missed that, if you have mentioned it here prior to this.
Major, photo 1 is one of my favorite views of Main Street, never get tired of that Parade of Trash Cans, just a hotdog chomp apart.
ReplyDeleteLike JB I can count 5 for sure, but I am comforted in the knowledge of at least five more I can’t see ahead and probably 7 or more beside and behind, to say nothing of the half dozen or so ringing the Hub.
Photo 2 apparently spans slightly less than a Hotdog Chomp (an official Disney Unit of Measurement, equal to one half of a Dole Whip) since no cans are visible. Marching bands bore me to death. There, I said it, sorry.
The young lady in Photo 1 is heading to the theater and she is already picking her seat. Perfect song reference, Melissa.
Chuck, prayers and condolences, the hardest days.
JG
Th
I love that everyone is staying on the sidewalk, maybe the Fire Wagon has been chasing stragglers off the street. Miss Pinkypants should beware.
ReplyDeleteActually, Melissa, those aren't trees, Walt hired Ents to clear the park at night. During the day they had to contain them.
Melissa, Since there were two song references in your post, and I meant to refer to the one about the kids. The first one was also perfect, but the second one brings a tear.
ReplyDeleteJG
JB, back in the late 60’s, there was a fad where kids would lick horsehitches. And since those were uncommon, they would go to Disneyland. See? It’s all very normal! The boy with his name embroidered on his hat was dubbed “Camaro” by his parents. Chevrolet stole his name for one of their new cars the following year.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, “valve full o’ spit”. Ah, what a great way to start the morning! ;-) I was having trouble figuring out the tune I should use to accompany your lyrics, until I got to the “it’s my own damn fault” part. Both my niece and nephew were in their school marching bands, so I saw them perform lots of times, they even went to Disneyland to do their thing! That’s a four hour bus ride (each way). “Bob Bark”! If you’re a tree, you look at dogs completely differently.
Chuck, I would like to know if the word “Tencennial” existed before Disney used it. I also wonder if Disney made up the word “castle”, I can find no record of it before 1955. Scanning family photos is a wonderful way (I have found from personal experience) of helping to deal with the grief of losing a loved one, I’m so sorry for your loss. I’m not sure what film you are referring to (that you saw with your mom)? Was there a “Margaritaville” movie?
Melissa, my cousins once came to visit, and they played our records (even my mom and dad’s records) constantly, but none more than the song “Margaritaville”. Like, 20 times in a row! I had to go outside. They also played Queen’s “A Night at the Opera” practically non-stop.
Stu29573, she was probably just reaching into her back pocket for her Diner’s Club card, and now everyone is making fun of her. “Hey, I’m reaching for MY Diner’s Club card too!”, I exclaim. I didn’t really think about the lack of strong shadows, I guess that sky is one of those pearly white, possibly slightly-overcast skies that act like a giant light box.
TokyoMagic!, whoa, I see Buster! I hope that building doesn’t fall down around him.
JG, instead of finally converting to the metric system, the US should make up a new “hotdog chomp” unit of measurement”. Sure, it might make some things a little more difficult, but we should do it anyway. “I’d like my new home to be six hotdog chomps high”. “Nathans? Or Oscar Mayer?”. Dole Whips, I love the idea more than the reality. I always wish they were more “pineapple-y”. They aren’t bad, just not as good as I want. But hey, they are cold and creamy.
MRaymond, it is fun to see how people treated Main Street like a “real” street back then. It might have helped that the park was generally not as crowded back then. I love the idea of Ents in Disneyland!
JG, TWO song references??
Major, Melissa is a veritable well of musical references;
ReplyDeletefirst was the brilliant doggerel version of "Margaritaville"...
...and then for the kids, a brief snippet of lyrics from "Sunrise, Sunset" from "Fiddler on the Roof",
"...Is this the little girl I carried, is this the little boy at play...".
That's the one that got me.
MRaymond, weren't there some walking trees in one of the Silly Symphonies?
Gotta go, there's something in my eye, dusty in here.
JG
Melissa, please don’t feel bad. Reading that cut loose a torrent of emotion that I had been (mostly) holding back for several weeks. I desperately needed that release. Thank you. It’s all an important part of the healing process.
ReplyDeleteTM!, you didn’t miss a prior announcement. I had an opportunity to talk about it a week or so ago when the comments went that direction, but I was just too raw to bring it up.
Major, JG correctly identified the second song from Fiddler on the Roof, which I believe was also written by Jimmy Buffett.
I appreciate everyone’s kind words above. This community is a guaranteed smile or seven every day, and you really do help many of us get through whatever personal tragedies we are all suffering from. None of us is individually as strong as all of us together. None of us is individually as goofy as all of us together, either, but that’s a different topic altogether.
Melissa, yes indeed. Lots of sunrises and sunsets since these photos were taken.
ReplyDeleteJG, trashcans are like a warm fuzzy blanket.
I'm not overly thrilled with marching bands, either. But I like the vibration in my innards when the bass drum goes booming by.
Major, if "Camaro" is a GBD reader , he's probably lawyering up for a slice of Chevrolet's pie as we speak.
JG, Sue emailed me to tell me about the “Fiddler on the Roof” reference… a film that I have never seen. I have a fear of heights! ;-) She even sent me a link to one version of the song that I guess I should know… all I can say is that maybe I have heard of it before, but it sure isn’t in my mental Rolodex of classics. And yes, the old “Flowers and Trees” Silly Symphony (the first full Technicolor cartoon) has those crazy walking trees.
ReplyDeleteChuck, I agree, at some point it is very cathartic to just let those emotions go. When my dad was dying, I actually had a pretty big meltdown while he was still alive (but we knew that it wouldn’t be long). The tears were “out of nowhere”, but I think it was good to get them out. Man, Jimmy Buffet probably wrote most of my favorite songs, including those of the Beatles. It’s always nice to know that GDB helps people in some small way, whether they are just feeling a bit blue, or if they are going through a real crisis; it’s not so much what I do, but what goes on in the comments.
JB, I always liked the Disneyland Band, with the bright costumes and cheerful songs. I don’t think I’d necessarily want to listen to marching band tunes for an hours, but on the other hand there are worse ways to spend one’s time.
Major, that song from "Fiddler" was hugely popular in it's day and was included on an enormous number of recordings and compilations. I probably have 6 or 7 versions of it across my collection, including the airliner and K-Mart muzak tapes. I've never seen the film either, but collecting mid-century music, it seemed to be everywhere for a few years in the early '70's. I rather like it, and now I'm old enough to "get it".
ReplyDeleteIt was also a popular song at weddings, usually sung by a long-haired guitarist wearing a poet shirt with an open collar, possibly with flowers in their hair.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03rzUoyq9K0
JG
Thanks for the "Fiddler" clip, JG. I enjoyed seeing it again. It's been a while since I saw the movie.
ReplyDeleteMarching bands are so 2015. It's all about the roller-skating bands now.
ReplyDeleteJG, I have no doubt that “Sunrise, Sunset” was a huge hit; somehow it escaped my orbit, which is odd, because I’ve heard plenty of songs from other hit musicals that I never saw. In school we did a program of songs from “Sound of Music” for our parents, so I learned all of those. Do-Re-Mi! Poor parents, having to sit through that. I used to go on various sites and download plenty of old music (back when it was there for the taking!), but I would have probably avoided show tunes, as a rule.
ReplyDeleteJB, what about “Fiddler on the Roof 2: Still Fiddling”?
Melissa, I thought they wore those rollie sneakers with the lights, like all the cool five year-olds are wearing.
I love the first image. The way I remember DL, back then.
ReplyDeleteJG, you aren't kidding(!) about the number of different recordings of Sunrise, Sunset. When I went to YouTube to find the song to send to our Major, I noticed that everybody sang that song. Everybody but, maybe, John Wayne.
I think what I always liked best about seeing Disneyland's marching bands is that they would just pop up somewhere, unexpectedly. The band was usually on the go and it was fun to catch an unannounced glimpse of them, flying by. The last time I was in Disneyland, about 5 years ago, I was walking fast down Main Street, heading towards the train station (maybe going back to the hotel to get something?) and it was a little crowded. Maybe halfway down Main Street, while walking near the edge of the street, the DL marching band startled me, as they began playing and dancing in a crazy formation in the middle of the street - unlike anything I've seen them do in the past. I didn't even realize they were there, until the music started and the band members were dancing all around. That was a fun surprise. Reminded me of the early years, when live music was always popping up everywhere, unexpectedly.
So many tender moments shared here today. It has been a sad few past weeks for our Chuck and Dean, but I'm glad they still spend time with us. GDB always helps lighten the load, and adds some smiles and laughter.
Thanks, Major.
JB Happy to help. It’s the GDB Way.
ReplyDeleteCheers!
JG