Casualties of Modern Technology (11 of 12)_ Slide Projectors

Back in the 1970s, while other families

were watching "The Love Boat," my late father Mehmet Gokbudak would get out the slide projector and we would watch slide shows featuring images of backyard family trips (we lived in Roanoke, Va) of Highland County and from the two European trips we took. One famous slide was of me posing besides a street sign for Attila Josef Street in Budapest, Hungary, in a Dallas Cowboys hat and jacket. Since Attila is my name, this seemed very cool to my dad. And, I had no idea who Attila Josef was until today (a legendary Hungarian poet who died at age 32 in 1937).

Another famous slide was one of a crocidile at a restaurant in Warsaw, Poland- of all places. The croc was a gift from Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. We have no idea what the croc's name is, but we learned from Google that the croc came to the establishment in 1972. He may well still be the only crocidile in Poland.

As for the slide projector, it was very popular and hip from the 1950s to the 1970s, as it allowed slide prints to be displayed on a screen. But, today, many manufaturers have quit making both the prints and the machines.

http://www.highlandcountyva.org/

Special Quote of the Week- Gilda Radner

Today, we feature a quote from the late comedian/actress Gilda Radner (1946-1989) who succumbed to cancer at a young age in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Radner was best known for her variety of "Saturday Night Live" characters, including Roseanne Rossannadanna (pictured here), during the original years of the show in the mid and late 1970s.

Here is Radner's quote:

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now, I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, or ending."

Silly Picture to Fill Space- Smokey the Bear

I just realized that I'm not sure if this '70s PSA icon who said: "Only you can prevent forest fires" is spelled Smoky the Bear or Smokey the Bear.

Thankfully, I am no longer working for a smalltown newspaper and we don't need to actually verify such things to make some chain-smoking, Dunkin' Donuts-eating managing editor happy.

Amazingly enough, a small-town newspaper I once interviewed for, "The Bristol Herald-Courier" won a Pulitzer Prize for reporting yesterday! I believe their offices are actually in Bristol, Va., but the newspaper also covers Bristol, Tenn. Before this, they were known for being one of the few newspapers in the country that belonged to two different state press associations. Bristol, Va/Tenn., is best known for hosting an annual NASCAR race, and perhaps one day that racetrack (located in Tenn.) will be the host of a Republican convention.

True Confessions (11 of 11 Final Entry)- The Forbidden Fonz

Recently, I sat down to write my memoir of growing up as the son of a Turkish immigrant (my father Mehmet Gokbudak died on my 13th birthday in 1983) in Salem, Va., during the 1970s.

Much of my writing focused on some dark chapters including how my father died of a sudden, abrupt heart attack while I was preparing to go to my junior high school.

But, there were some lighter moments I rediscovered.

Like many immigrant fathers (as well as perhaps Southern Baptists), my father was a bit uptight about how American pop culture was influencing his children. He did not like the way I would 'talk back' to him.

He attributed this to "Happy Days." While there were other shows that we watched which he hated like "Different Strokes," this coming-of-age comedy was public enemy nunmero uno. He really hated Fonzie's catch phrase: "sit on it."

He also saw Tom Bosley's character as a weak, pushover father figure.

So, some time circa 1981, we were actually forbidden to watch "Happy Days" (I wonder if Dick Cheney did this to his children as well).

But, alas my father couldn't win for the show aired in reruns during the afternoons, and of course since it was 'banned,' I was eager to watch it even more. I must have seen the episode where Fonzie jumps the shark six or seven times.

Alas, "Happy Days" has not really stood the test of time though in my view "That '70s Show" was essentially a remake of it, and by no means is it nearly as 'cool' as the original.