008 - Randomly Accessed Memories

[captain_slinky]

1.  It was January 1989 in my home town at our only department store at the time ("The Islander") and I was looking at a rack full of T-shirts featuring this new cartoon character, Bart Simpson, saying either "Eat My Shorts", "Don't have a cow, man" or "Underachiever and proud of it" on each one. Two adults were commenting about how disrespectful these shirts were and how they needed to complain to the store manager, when a helpful employee informed them that it was a fad, nobody was buying the shirts, and this whole Simpsons thing would never last, especially since it was programmed opposite of The Cosby Show (which they all agreed was the best show ever, would never end and totally proved that they couldn't be racist because they enjoyed a show with black people on it). The adults nodded in agreement and went on with their shopping. I bought the Underachiever shirt.

2. I can't remember how old I was the year that my parents took me to my very first Comic Book Store in Oak Harbor, but every once in a while I get flashes of it in my senses. The Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson life-size cardboard cut-outs, the elevated salea floor leading to the new comics, the lighting, the smell, the sound of my own excitement being pushed down and suppressed because of the churchlike quietness that was only interrupted by the sermon going on at the cash register bemoaning the evils of Direct Market Sales...

Comments

[con-grazia.livejournal.com]

I remember watching the first Simpsons episode with my partner and saying, "This is never going to last. How can they make a full half-hour series out of a 3-minute schtick on the Tracy Ullman show?" Cue to me just a few months later buying every pair of Simpsons socks I could find in Portland. :)

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

I remember reading articles about all the animated shows that were coming to the airwaves because of the success of The Simpsons. RIP Fish Police, Capitol Critters, Bebe's Kids, Family Dog et al.... we shall never forget :(