I love reading other people's blogs because you never know what you'll learn or what will get jogged in your memory. I dropped by Kevin Tipple's blog and he was talking about commercials for vans with TVs in them to occupy the kids on those long drives. He spoke of reading or looking out the window for amusement. My mind went directly to Burma Shave.
We had a four hour ride several times a year from Jersey to my grandparents home in PA (Thank god my father had the good sense to move back to PA! That ride was a killer, especially crammed in the back seat of the Henry J with my siblings.) One of our boredom relievers was the Burma Shave signs that decorated the roadsides. Wonderful, complete stories in the space of five signs. Here's a sample:
"If daisies
Are your
Favorite flower
Keep pushin' up those
Miles-per hour"
http://burma-shave.org/jingles
10 comments:
Wow, I haven't thought of those Burma Shave signs in quite some time. Are they still out here in some parts of the country?
When my kids were young and we had our annual vacation in Key Largo, we faced a 14 hour drive to get there. I have to admit, for a few years we had a van with a VCR player, but we used it in conjunction with: my wife reading a book out loud (many times Hemingway's OLD MAN AND THE SEA - a fave of ours), and the alphabet game using road side signs, and the license tag game. Great fun, all.
No, they're long gone, Frank, sad to say. They're mostly collector's items now. The Burma Shave site has pictures of them.
I remember the alphabet game and counting red cars, or who saw the first cow. It's amazing how many games you could up with to amuse yourself.
We did a twelve hour one with my kids every summer and it was agony with only the games our minds could conjure. It must be so much easier now.
There are so many more gadgets for the kids to play with now, I expect they don't have a problem amusing themselves. But I'll bet parents still hear, "Are we there yet?"
Oh, I remember coming up with ways to amuse myself. Especially since, horror of horrors, I was prone to car sickness while reading. =(
There was a set of signs like the Burma Shave ones for years (and this was in the late 80s-early 90s) on the way to my cousin's house. Don't remember what they said, but it was one of the landmarks along the way. Just like I knew when we passed the Vlasic pickle building, we were almost there!
I think the TV's in the car are too often used as a crutch. For long (3-4hr trips) I could see them used for part of it, but gosh, if the kid is always plugged in front of a TV, when do they learn to be creative or learn to amuse themselves? I've taught many, many teenagers that can't think of anything to do without a phone, computer, TV, or companion (or mood altering substance.) And when asked to be creative, most of them can't think of anything at all. Very sad to me.
What I find sad is that many people find no value in imagination unless they can make a buck off of it, Clair. And what I really find strange is that people can't stand to be alone with their own thoughts. They're always hooked up to an electronic gadget of some sort. How can you use your imagination if you're never alone with your thoughts?
And now your post brought a smile to my face.
Smiles are good, David!
First, thank you for reading my blog. I am honored.
Second, I remember the Burma Shave deals.There were those and the ones for Stuckys. Both provided amusement and markers for where we were. Back in the days where every place was different and not cookie cutter carbon copy of back home.
Places did have their own personalities back then, Kevin. Each town was unique because the diners and mom and pop stores reflected the tastes of their owners. And the houses were built to hold big families, not fit into a planned community. The differences were what made the journey interesting.
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