Tag Archives: Budweiser

Thursday Thoughts

Posted in Whimsies by

I’ll Have a Cold One Please
I was shopping for a piece of salmon the other day and couldn’t help but notice this sign in the fish case. I wonder what they used to refresh him? An ice cold Budweiser?
Refreshed Salmon

Man v. Tree
And since we’re in AZ, as I write this blog, Bill is of course outside battling his archenemy — the acacia tree. He just keeps cutting it back. Pretty soon it’s going to be nothing but a stump, which is what I think both he and Jen want. Then we will have to deal with what to do about a stump in your front yard. Maybe put a pot with a cactus in it and fight with the homeowner’s association later.

The Real Colorado Rockies
We have had nice weather here in AZ so far, though I think it’s supposed to turn a bit warmer as the days go by. Bill and I had already been enjoying our Denver backyard, and so we are glad that we can sit outside here as well. Cole was over one day while we were in Denver, and he was having an extraordinarily good time entertaining himself. He would take rocks from the side of our yard and move them. Simply move them someplace else. He found it quite a bit of fun. But I will tell you what happened the evening after he left. I have a rocking chair in the backyard, and during the early spring, the squirrels got ahold of it, made a hole in it, and began using the stuffing for a nest. I wasn’t too upset as the cushion was in need of being replaced anyway. I just hadn’t gotten around to it. But that evening, despite the hole, I sat down in the chair with my gin and tonic in hand. Hmmmm, I thought. This doesn’t feel very comfortable. I wonder why. I got up and looked at the cushion and what do I see but three or four rocks nestled into the hole. I wonder how they got there?

I love my nana

Let Me Explain
While in Denver, one afternoon I drove over to our nearaby Chick-Fil-A to get Bill and Alastair some lunch. Two Chick-Fil-A combos and an order of six nuggets. Now, let me explain something. The 2003 Volkswagen Beetle is an adorable little car. There are many things I love about my car. But one of the things that the Germans didn’t think through was the cup holder in the front seat. It swings out so that you can fit one normal sized drink as long as normal means a drink in a cup no larger than six inches high. As for the other cup holder – fugittaboutit. It’s, for all intents and purposes, useless. So, because my two combos included two drinks – and I only had one workable drink holder – I asked the cashier in the drive-thru for a drink holder. But I didn’t stop there. I began apologizing to her and explaining about my cars drink holding limitation. After already going into much more detail than I needed, I began wondering about what in the world makes me feel I need to explain everything. The truth of the matter is that the 16-year-old girl couldn’t possibly have cared less if or why I needed a drink holder. Oy vey.

I’m Counting Calories
And one final story that I will tell on myself. Bill and I made a trip to Winco today. Winco is a large economy-priced grocery store that is owned by the employees. (And once again I am explaining myself when it doesn’t matter what Winco is.) Anyway, one of the things we like about Winco is that they have bin after bin of bulk products, including such things as pastas and spices and candy and chips and pretzels and legumes. Think anything bulk and they have it. So Bill picked out a bunch of chocolate-covered peanuts and bananas and caramels and I picked out Jelly Belly jellybeans. A shameful amount of all, really. But we also bought some healthy things like milk and eggs. When we got to the check stand, I realized that I had bought 2% milk rather than fat free. I actually was considering giving up my place in line to go to the back of the store and exchange my milk. Suddenly I looked down at all of the candy and snacks we had purchased and told Bill, “Uh, never mind.” Sometimes I can only laugh at myself.

Sncacks

And I’m worried about 2% milk?

Ciao.

Jingles

Posted in Whimsies by

The other day I was making a gourmet lunch of hot dogs and Cheetos. Sure, some French person somewhere in Paris was eating a Croque Monsieur or Madame sandwich while sitting on a park bench outside of the Louvre, but I don’t envy him or her because I LOVE HOT DOGS.

There. I’ve said it. In fact, one of my favorite lunch treats is the buck fifty special at Costco that features a foot-long hot dog or polish sausage and a Diet Pepsi. A buck fifty. Considerably less expensive than your Croque Monsieur, monsieur!

Anyway, I had spent good money on the weenies. I don’t go for the generic brand. No Siree Bob. I put out good money to get all-beef Oscar Mayer weiners because that’s the kind that Bill used to eat at his favorite hot dog joint on the South Side of Chicago. (I know, but that is not a typo. His favorite hot dog place didn’t serve Vienna Beef hot diggities. It was Oscar Mayer all the way.)

All this is to say that our lunch fare got us to talking about advertising jingles through the years. And Oscar Mayer had two of the very best. C’mon Baby Boomers. You can sing them with me….

I wish I were an Oscar Mayer weiner
That is what I’d truly like to be-e-e
‘Cause if I were an Oscar Mayer weiner
Everyone would be in love with me.

That catchy tune aired in the mid-60s. It is not to be confused with the equally catchy

My bologna has a first name, It’s O-S-C-A-R
My bologna has a second name, it’s M-A-Y-E-R
Oh, I love to eat it every day
And if you ask me why, I’ll say
‘Cause Oscar Mayer has a way with B-O-L-O-G-N-A.

I am not ashamed to tell you that to this day I never ever misspell bologna. Of course I’ve probably only had to spell it out five times in my life and three of those five are in this blog post. Still….who couldn’t love this symbol of fine hot dog eating everywhere….

I took this photo of the Weinermobile outside of our neighborhood Walmart.

I took this photo of the Weinermobile outside of our neighborhood Walmart.

Another famous jingle that also featured hot dogs was offered by Armour Meats, also in the mid-60s.  Remember?

Hot dogs. Armour hot dogs.
What kind of kids eat Armour hot dogs?
Fat kids, skinny kids, kids who climb on rocks.
Tough kids, sissy kids even kids with chicken pox
love hot dogs, Armour hot dogs.
The dogs kids love to bite.

We must not have been too concerned with political correctness in the 60s. Maybe we were too worried about where all the flowers had gone. Because I can’t imagine a commercial today that would talk about fat kids during which they would feature a plump girl biting into a hot dog. And sissy kids? Wouldn’t happen.

But of course, catchy advertising jingles weren’t limited to hot dogs. Who can forget two-all-beef-patties-special-sauce-lettuce-cheese-pickles-onions-on-a-sesame-seed bun? Or hold the pickles hold the lettuce, special orders don’t upset us?

And after all of those hamburgers and hot dogs, you needed plop,plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is. And the next morning, once your stomach was settled, remember that the best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup. But perhaps the one easiest to remember was this: Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, and so forth. Meow Mix cat food.

All this made me think about a movie I recently watched on Netflix called The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, starring Julianne Moore. It was an interesting movie based on a true story of a woman who helped support her family of 10 kids by winning a variety of prizes – some monetary, some less helpful – for writing advertising jingles in the 1950s. Apparently companies used to hold contests to find the best jingles. I recommend the movie.

It makes me a bit sad that nowadays there are no jingles, only pop music as the background to commercials aimed at the 18-40 demographic. But just remember, when you say Bud, you’ve said it all.

This post linked to the GRAND Social