A Sad End To An Incredible Life

Rob Reiner
1947 - 2025
Writer, actor, and director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer were found dead yesterday as a result of stab wounds in their Los Angeles home.  His career spans seven decades which include his iconic role as Meathead in All In The Family, and a directorial resume that includes This Is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, A Few Good Men, and most recently Spinal Tap II which was just premiered three months ago.

World's Best Spaghetti

Carmen's Family Restaurant sign
Broad Street - Hazleton, PA
On the way to my dad's house yesterday, I noticed that the old sign painted on the side of the Lehigh Tire building is in the process of being covered up by aluminum siding.

Carmen's Family Restaurant opened in 1962 and remained a fixture of the Hazleton area for over forty years.  It was an excellent restaurant with delicious Italian food and a seafood buffet that was second to none.  My dad worked here in the late 70's when he was in college, and I worked here in the mid 90's when I was in high school.  It's also the place where my parents first met.

Carmen's Bakery & Deli remains in business across the street from where the restaurant once was.  They have incredible pitza that crushes both Senape's and Longo's.  They also make excellent breakfast sandwiches, pastries, and other baked goods.

Although the restaurant closed twenty years ago, this sign has remained visible ever since it was first painted, presumably in the early to mid 60's.  However, it appears that this too will be only a memory as soon as the siding is finished.

The Last Song And Dance Man

Dick Van Dyke
Born: December 13, 1925
Happy 100th birthday to the incredibly talented star of my favorite sitcom of all time.

A Token Gift

Birthday Gift Coupon
Aladdin's Castle
Oli Oliver of the Aladdin's Castle Arcade group discovered this card while working on a Spy Hunter pinball machine.

I Come From A Planet A Long Way From Here

I found this little guy at the bottom of a tote when I was packing up Christmas decorations last year.  It's a keychain that my grandmother gave me when I was a teenager.  Grandma could be a handful, but she was a generous woman with a good heart.  She knew that I liked aliens, so when she found something with an alien head, she's get it and put it away for me to give to me for Christmas, or my birthday, or just because she thought that I'd like it.

This also reminded me of one of my favorite Christmas songs.  It's not one that I hear on the radio too often, but it's has an ethereal and soothing sound that stops me in my tracks every time I hear it.  It was released by Chris de Burgh in 1975.  The singer/songwriter is probably best known for The Lady In Red and Don't Pay The Ferryman, but I think this is the song of his that I like the best.

A Spaceman Came Traveling

Chris de Burgh (1975)

A spaceman came traveling on his ship from afar

Twas light years of time since his mission did start

And over a village he halted his craft

And it hung in the sky like a star, just like a star

He followed a light and came down to a shed

Where a mother and child were lying there on a bed

A bright light of silver shone round his head

And he had the face of an angel, and they were afraid

Then the stranger spoke, he said "Do not fear

I come from a planet a long way from here

And I bring a message for mankind to hear,"

And suddenly the sweetest music filled the air

And it went

La la la la la la la la la la la

Peace and goodwill to all men, and love for the child

This lovely music went trembling through the ground

And many were wakened on hearing that sound

And travelers on the road, the village they found

By the light of that ship in the sky, which shone all round

And just before dawn at the paling of the sky

The stranger returned and said "Now I must fly

When two thousand years of your time has gone by

This song will begin once again, to a baby's cry"

And it was

La la la la la la la la la la la

Peace and goodwill to all men, and love for the child

Oh, the whole world is waiting

Waiting to hear the song again

There are thousands standing on the edge of the world

And a star is moving somewhere

Yuletide In The Shire

Yuletide In The Shire
Everstar (2003)
This is my favorite Christmas album.  I picked it up during Musikfest 2008 at a Celtic shop called Donegal Square, along with a few other similar CDs, and my wife and I have listened to it every holiday season ever since.

There's not a lot of information online about the recording artists.  The only thing I can find for sure is that they released one other album called Enchanted Journey in the same year.  The website for the label, Sequoia Records, is still online, but it's just a placeholder page with a message that the site is closed for maintenance, along with a few links to listen to the music that they have produced on various streaming services.

Yuletide In The Shire is available to stream on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon, Pandora, and many other sources.  It's a very mellow and peaceful holiday listening experience that I hope you enjoy as much as I do.

Sun-Loving Snowman

Snowman Suncatcher
Zayre

God Bless Us, Every Kernel

Mickey's Christmas Carol Coloring Book
Orville Redenbacher (1983)
During the holiday season of 1983, shoppers could pick up a free Mickey's Christmas Carol coloring book with the purchase of two jars of Orville Redenbacher popcorn.

These days, you can usually find these coloring books on eBay for ten dollars or less, but you'll have to supply your own popcorn.

I'm Bananas For This Coffee

Bananas Foster
Bones Coffee Company (2025)
This is the best flavored coffee I've ever had and they're getting rid of it soon.  Guess I'm going to have to clear out a few shelves in the cupboard.

Cooking Missouri

The Times Leader Cookbook
Times Leader (1985)
This cookbook was two dollars at the Slatington Marketplace.  I did a little research and found that I got it for three dollars less than it cost back in 1985.

Most of the recipes that I saw in here look pretty good, but one of them caught my interest.  My grandmother used to make a hearty ground beef and potato stew that she called Missouri that I especially enjoyed on cold days.  She'd make it in a pot that was big enough to feed the army, so we usually had it for at least two or three days any time that she made it.

I had never heard of any soup or stew called Missouri other than from her, so I always assumed that it was a concoction that she came up with at some point, but there it was in this recipe book.

My grandmother's Missouri had large chunks of potatoes, and I'm pretty sure she either used tomatoes or tomato paste in it too, but I could be wrong about that.  I'm going to have to give this a shot over the winter.

A Wearable Menu

Big League Hat Menu
Howard Johnson's (1963)
I found this children's menu at the Slatington Marketplace over the weekend.  It has a series of cuts that fold the menu out into a hat that could be worn.  My dad still raves about their fried clams to this day.  Everything else on the menu looks pretty good too, but shouldn't the Miss Muffet lunch be curds and whey?

Click here to enlarge the front and back.

More From The Toy Store In The Mall

Black Friday Circular
KayBee Toys (1990)
This advertisement for a sale that began on the day after Thanksgiving 35 years ago was shared on Twitter by Dinosaur Dracula.  Check out the early draft of box art from Super Mario Bros 3.

Santa Shops At The Mall Toy Store

Kay-Bee Dear Santa Sale
KayBee Toys (1989)
This advertisement for a sale that ended on this day in 1989 was shared on Instagram by Dinosaur Dracula.  I was nine years old when this flier was publishes so I was into pretty much all of this stuff except Cabbage Patch Kids.

The Only Important Thing These Days Is Rhythm And Melody

Prisencolinensinainciusol
Adriano Celentano (1972)
On this day in 1972, a song that was written by composer Adriano Celentano and performed by he and his wife, Claudia Mori, was released in Italy.  It would go on to chart in their native country, as well as Belgium, West Germany, and The Netherlands.

If you're having a difficult time understanding the lyrics, there's a pretty good reason for that.  He's not singing in English or in Italian.  The entire song is gibberish sung with an American accent.

ps: if you caught the Big Audio Dynamite reference in the title, you're my kind of people.

Spooky Season At Zayre

October Sales Circular
Zayre (1987)
This page from a Zayre sales circular was shared by Dinosaur Dracula last month.

The highlight for me is the ad at the bottom left corner for Friday The 13th, Deadly Friend, Fright Night, The Believer, A Nightmare On Elm Street 3, and Halloween on VHS for $16.99.

This is the candy that we all wanted to find in our bag after we were finished trick or treating... except maybe for the Smarties, which had about the same flavor as the packets of sugar on the table at the Blue Comet.  Also, I still say that Reese's Peanut Butter Cups tasted better when they came in a paper wrapper.

The Count Dracula Chocolate Flavored Candy at the top left of this part of the ad is the kind of thing that savvy kids would trade to their friends for their old boring Hershey and Snickers bars.  The package may be awesome, but they didn't usually taste very good.

Once in a while, there would be a seasonal goodie that you didn't want to give up, like these Alma Skull Crushers which oozed strawberry blood when you bit into them.  I don't think these are still sold in stores in the United States, but I was able to find them for sale on UK eBay and other online retailers under the name Hannah's Skull Crushers.

I was more of a rubber mask kid when it came to Halloween, but makeup was always a solid option.

These cardboard wall hangings sold for a buck and a half back in the 80's,  My grandmother used to wait and buy things like this when they went on sale after the holiday to put away for next year.  These old decorations are considerably more expensive when you can find them on eBay, especially if they're in good condition.

The last thing that caught my eye were these Halloween pinatas.  I can't say I ever remember seeing pinatas out for a Halloween party when I was a kid.  The witch in the center is giving off Viola Swamp vibes.

Frightful Fun

Halloween Body Stickers
Mello Smello (90's)
These were scanned and shared by Dinosaur Dracula earlier this year.

Hennibal Lecter

Chicken & Egg Dinner

Lucia Heffernan  (2024)
I'm mildly disturbed by this painting that was hanging in the chicken and rabbit building at the Bloomsburg Fair.

Spinning A Web On The Big Screen

Webs Of Horror: Tarantula / Arachnophobia
Mahoning Drive-In Theater - Lehighton, PA

Show banner designed by Andrew Kern

Before I get to last night's tribute to arachnids on the big screen at the Mahoning, the picture of Wes, Alex, and I at the top of this post was generated using AI.  Alex made it and sent it to Wes and I to commemorate our work as Team Spider to put the photo op together on the stage outside of the concession building.  Apparently, the robots think I'm far more attractive than I really am.

We went a little crazy with the spiders, but it was a lot of fun setting it up on Wednesday night.

The first movie of the night was a digital presentation of the 1955 sci-fi monster classic Tarantula.  I don't remember ever seeing this movie before last night, but it was a fun flick.

Tarantula also happens to be the first feature film performance of Clint Eastwood.  He's only in the film for a few seconds, and his face is covered by an aviation oxygen mask, but it's him.

There was a nice introduction by actor Stuart Pankin after the intermission between the two films.  He played Sheriff Lloyd Parsons in Arachnophobia and has had a long career with memorable roles in The Dirt Bike Kid, Fatal Attraction, Love At Stake, Mannequin 2, Congo, and Striptease, but his biggest role was probably when he voiced the main character, Earl Sinclair, in the ABC series Dinosaurs.

Arachnophobia was shown on 35mm as the second half of the double feature.  This movie premiered when I was ten years old, and I saw it for the first time when my grandfather and I rented it after it was released on home video.  It's a very cool film with a cozy vibe that you don't often see in horror movies, and it had the opposite of its intended effect on me as a child.  Instead of giving me a fear of spiders, it made me grow to appreciate them.  This reaction is entirely due to one line that Julian Sands (as Dr. James Atherton) says to Jeff Daniels (who stars as Dr. Ross Jennings) during a phone call about halfway through the film:

"Did you know, doctor, that on every suburban acre, there are at least 50 to 60 thousand spiders, and that each spider eats about 100 insects per year.  That means at least five million insects are consumed per acre annually.  Think about it, doctor.  Perhaps man might find the planet uninhabitable without spiders."

That line really stuck with me.  I was never really scared of spiders or insects, but I'm not too keen on the idea of a swarm of anything, so the fact that spiders keep the insect population in check this effectively is pretty awesome.  To this day, I won't kill a spider when I find one.

One of the other things that stuck with me about this film was the Jimmy Buffet song Don't Bug Me which plays over the end credits and is sung from the prospective of the spider.

After the double feature, there were spider-themed films played as secret features throughout the night.  I stayed for two of them, and headed out a few minutes into the third.  I would have stayed, but I was pretty tired after four films.

Do You Prefer "Fashion Victim" or "Ensembly Challenged"?

Mean Girls / Clueless
Mahoning Drive-In Theater - Lehighton, PA
One night after screening one of the goriest movies of the 21st century, the Mahoning takes a sharp turn to two iconic teen comedies.

Show banner designed by Andrew Kern

This was my first time seeing the 2004 film Mean Girls and I was pleasantly surprised.  I've always thought that Lindsay Lohan is a talented actress who doesn't get nearly as much credit as she deserves, but this film also has excellent performances from Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried, Lizzy Caplan, Tim Meadows, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler.  This is a genuinely funny movie that is more than worthy of its reputation.

The second feature of the night is a movie that I saw the week that it was released on home video; the 1995 comedy Clueless.  I had a crush on Alicia Silverstone since I saw her for the first time when I was 12 years old in the Cryin' music video.  She had two breakout film roles that showed off her range three years after she first worked with Aerosmith with Clueless premiering on July 19th, 1995 and The Babysitter on October 17th.  I don't think that I saw either of these two movies since they were on the new release wall at Blockbuster Video, but I enjoy them both, and I'm very glad to have gotten to see Clueless on 35mm.