Birthday time!
Hey, did you know that it's our pal Stu's birthday? Well it is! And Sue B. provided us with yet another great vintage birthday photo (date unknown). Presumably the boy wielding the fork is the honoree, and judging by the candles he is turning 39. A great time in any boy's life! The kid to the right is upset that it isn't his birthday. Too bad, clone, you don't even have a birthday! The name on the cake appears to be "BOA", which, let's face it, is a pretty badass name.
And now, onto some LEFTUGGIES™! There's always room for them. First up is this nice photo of Main Street Station. It's undated, but Daveland has a photo or two with those same flags of the world on display, and he says his date from August, 1959. Just a month or so after the "New Tomorrowland" made its debut, though I don't know if the flags had anything to do with that.
Next is this beautiful shot looking north on Main Street as people relax on benches in Town Square. Bunting courtesy of The Bunting Boys. The Castle is sort of hidden behind a few strategically-placed leaves, you'd hardly know it was there. Why this could just be an exceptionally neat and tidy real main street!
O little drinking fountain, dost thou dream? For whence and whyfor? Man, I'm poetic as heck. I enjoy seeing those 48-star flags on the lamp posts. Why would any country need more than 48 States, I ask you? Notice the three men in white shirts in ties heading toward us as if they were meeting up with the other Reservoir Dogs.
21 comments:
Oh, Sue - more birthday splendor - and belt splendor, too. That's a wild belt on our junior Miss-!
Major-
"...his date from August, 1959. Just a month or so after the "New Tomorrowland" made its debut..."
Hmmm... I get what you mean, but, it does sound like "Déjà vu all over again", to quote a great "philosopher".
That image of Town Square captures perfectly the 1950's in all its splendor.
Thanks, Major & Sue.
Happy 39th Birthday, Stu!
That girl looks a bit like a young Christina Crawford. Little does she know that the cake is raw inside, and she and her brothers are going to have to eat every single last bite.
That cake might be turned around (for us), and the kids name might be "VOB."
Thank you for sharing these, Major and Sue!
Hey, did the person who baked that cake, drop it on the ground? Or was that dramatic slant intentional?
Happy birthday, Stu(numbers)! I always enjoy reading your off-kilter comments.
I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that this is another case of "flopped image" syndrome. If you flip it, it looks like the "writing" (I'm using the term loosely) on the cake says "ROB" (maybe).
Flipping the image didn't help that cake though. It is beyond help. I could be generous and say that the cake is supposed to be twice as high on one side than the other (like TM! surmised). But I don't think so. And what the heck is that green blob? Did a dinosaur puke on it? Kids like dinosaurs, so maybe dino puke is a good thing. And I gave up trying to determine the gender of the kid in the coral-colored shirt. I suppose it depends on whether he/she is wearing a pair of groovy pants or a groovy skirt.
Thanks, Sue. Another "weird" one today. No booze or cigs. And those candles! I don't think there are 39 of them like Major said, but... ?
Someone is gonna have fun identifying all those attraction posters. And Major's watermark is gonna make it more challenging.
"Why would any country need more than 48 States". I think Alaska and Hawaii would agree with you, Major. I get the impression they would just as well remain independent countries/kingdoms/territories.
Leftuggies hot
Leftuggies cold
Leftuggies in the pot
Nine days old
Leftuggies are best when they have aged a bit. Thanks, Major.
Happy birthday to Stu,
Happy birthday to Stu.
Let's all raise a ruckus
And a hullabaloo!
The lopsidedness of the cake, the randomly-chucked frosting design, and the candle overkill makes me suspect the kids had a hand in the baking and decorating. I'm sure it was delicious, though! Like Mom always said, it all ends up in the same place. My Grandma was a Jack Benny fan, and she had a 39th birthday cake forty-some years in a row. Maybe this kid is getting an early start on lying about his age.
The Disneyland pics may be left, but I wouldn't call them uggy. You don't see those angles of the Train Station and Main Street every day
I think maybe the lettering on the cake is supposed to read "MOM," written by inexperienced juvenile cake decorators. That would explain the overall dishevelment of the cake as well as the exorbitant number of candles.
"Just a month or so after the 'New Tomorrowland' made its debut, though I don't know if the flags had anything to do with that." Flags can be powerful symbols, but I doubt that they created the "New Tomorrowland" (Matterhorn, subs, and monorail?) of 1959.
I understand why they put the decorative column around that water fountain. There's no way it could have held up a full bag of sugar like that.
Ahhhhh, the "MOM" theory makes a lot of sense. The kids probably did gang up to help decorate the cake. We always made elaborate cakes for our mother and aunt's shared birthday, and some of them came out better than others, if you know what I mean. Their birthday was at the end of August, right before Labor Day and the start of school, and the whole extended family would gather at Grandma's cabin on the lake for a big party. I felt so grown up when we were old enough to sleep on the beach. I miss those times; I only ever see most of them at funerals nowadays.
Whoops...
Happy Birthday, Stu.
Happy. birthday Stu! Many Happy Returns of the Day!
I thought the cake had a map of the world, a topographic map…
We have seen those industrial drinking fountains before, relics of the “hard facts” of opening day construction budgets. Functional but charm-free.
And so few trash cans, but fancy painted ones, so that’s good.
Thanks Major and Sue!
JG
Happy 39th Birthday Stu! Oh, to be young again. Have a great one today!
I always thought of the 1959 expansion as "Disneyland '59". Funny how they had a song for "Disneyland '61", but not "Disneyland '59" which I thought was the greatest expansion in the park's history.
The authenticity of Main Street has always been a bit questionable. Why at the early age of electricity are there no powerlines and power poles? Isn't the age being portrayed of when gas lamps gave way to electricity? Of course, along with everything else in Disneyland all is based on idealization and fantasy.
Love these Main Stret pics. Especially the pic with Main Street Station, multiple flags and tops of the attraction posters. Thanks, Major.
Thanks, everybody!
I thought it was a huge coincidence that Sue found a kid that actually kind of looks like I did as a kid, but then I realised she's seen me as a kid in my blog. Maybe still a coincidence, but more explainable now. Cancel Unexplained Mysteries episode... Thanks Sue!
There is also no truth to that rumor that I went nuts with that fork and ate that whole cake by myself. None.
Ah, nice tasty leftuggies! I always like "you are there" pictures and these are some! If only we really were there! That would be the perfect birthday!
And the Virgo parade continues. Happy Birthday Stu! That cake reminds me of a number of failed attempts through the years when it came to birthday cakes. We always made the best of them after having a good laugh. You know, they tasted just as good...if not better too! Perhaps the cake is for the Dad in the picture? KS
Nanook, of course I screwed up (AGAIN), since the actual “New Tomorrowland” wasn’t until 1967. The 1959 iteration was just the improved Tomorrowland. Argh.
TokyoMagic!, I’ve never seen that Faye Dunaway movie, it sounded so trashy. Is there a scene where Christina has to eat a raw… something (probably not a cake)? “VOB” is clearly an alien name, and that kid is from Orepticon 293.
TokyoMagic!, the cake was baked based on imperfect Japanese pottery. You must find the beauty in the imperfections!
JB, at this point I guess I should always be on the lookout for flopped images, but it rarely occurs to me unless it is obvious. Hey, I once baked a cake and the layers puffed up differently in the oven, sometimes you just don’t know. However, I cut off the highest parts, which makes me awesome and a genius. Even with the watermark I can ID the posters, but I’ll let somebody else do it (not because I’m lazy, oh no, not that).
Melissa, I applaud letting the kids get involved in cake decorating. Let it be lopsided! Where does the cake wind up, anyway? I need to know. Fresno? (You’re welcome for my not making another Oxnard crack). Anybody who is a Jack Benny fan is OK in my book.
Chuck, I mean, maybe? I’m having a hard time getting “MOM” out of those lumpy letters. Fork Boy looks like the center of attention, but maybe that’s just accidental composition.
Melissa, I’m sticking with my own theory, because I will cry otherwise!
Nanook, he knew it was implied earlier.
JG, I definitely recognize Greenland (the fact that it is green is a coincidence). I wonder about those drinking fountains - did Walt not like the way these skeletal versions looked? Or did some other designer take it upon himself to improve things?
K. Martinez, if there is a song for “Disneyland ’61”, I sure don’t know it. Or maybe I do? Main Street is definitely a fantasy version, there’s no trash, no cracked sidewalks, and yes, no power lines (because Walt didn’t want them making his park ugly).
Stu29573, I hope you have a very happy day! But be sure to eat some vegetables. You’re a grownup now and need to be responsible.
A very happy birthday wish for you Stu; may your day be as glorious as the one those love birds in photo 2 are enjoying.
Shout out to the inclusive flag display! Always welcome.
MS
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STU! I hope you ditched school today and are having fun!
That dad is wearing his wedding ring on the correct finger, if the slide is not flopped. But, knowing my track record, this slide probably is flopped.
I'm positive the cake says "B O N" for bonfire. The kids just didn't judge the letter-spacing very well.
In the last image, I love how the teeny drinking fountain stands proudly opposite a big, beautiful castle.
I meant to comment on yesterday's GDB post that I loved all the comments and music selections. What a blast!
Thanks, Major.
"And the Virgo parade continues."
Guess whose parents had a happy New Year?
"That dad is wearing his wedding ring on the correct finger, if the slide is not flopped."
Unless he's Russian Orthodox. That would also explain the indecipherable lettering on the cake!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY STU!! If you go to FARREL’S and the ZOO BIRTHDAY SUNDAE , be sure to remove the translucent plastic animal sitting on top ( if it’s the monkey , he hangs from the side of the dish by his tail ) I heard a whole birthday party of kids all died after choking to death on the plastic animal decorations !!! - that of course was a urban legend told to birthday party kids awaiting their FARREL’S ice cream.
On one of my long commutes last week there was a poll revealed about men’s wedding knowledge …. And amongst the many things men couldn’t remember if they were married was the wedding date. In general men were mostly unable tell you what was the the finger wedding rings were suppose to be on. ( I’m assuming if they were married they could have just looked!) but maybe our vintage birthday dad was wearing a ring in the wrong finger lol!
@ JG-
'Charmless', you say-?? I suppose so, but there was a time when a very-thick, heavily-glazed vitreous china plumbing fixture indicated quality and cleanliness. Maybe that sort of thing was popular in the 'best town squares' back at the turn of the [previous] century... But they do turn up elsewhere in the Park; so scratch that thought.
It looks like the kids in that picture spent so long trying to figure out what is written on it that the candles melted on the cake.
I know that Walt got a lot of grief for the lack of water fountains on opening day, but it seems odd to give one pride of place on Main Street. You'd think it would be off to the side.
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