Archive for the ‘Memories’ Category

Yes, they still make Jiffy Pop.

Memories, Rants and Raves | Posted by Charles C. Cotton
Apr 25 2010

Jiffy PopNo, they haven’t improved it.  It still burns.

Everyone, at some time, has a Jiffy Pop moment. Who can forget the time when they saw the silver foil grow from a flat disk into a giant dome!  What innocence.

The only thing was that, as far as I could ever tell, it was virtually impossible to make the damn popcorn without burning it.

Guess what!  TIMES HAVEN’T CHANGED!

Did anyone EVER get GOOD POPCORN out of Jiffy Pop?

But times move on, I thought.  I figured, Orville Redenbacher has come and gone and has left us with near-perfect popcorn both on the stove and in the microwave (you could consider that an endorsement).  So, how complicated can corn be?  I mean, is there any shortage of MONEY in making processed corn that they couldn’t make it, well, GOOD?

Apparently so, because being otherwise required to relive my childhood through the eyes of my sons, I felt somewhat compelled to buy the way over-priced Jiffy Pop (really, $2.60 for what, 20 cents worth of popcorn and some foil?) and share “the experience” with them.

NOT DISAPPOINTED.  I expected something pretty bad and it delivered!

Jiffy Pop - It ALWAYS burnsMaybe the best childhood memories aren’t always the sweetest.  I remember trying to make Jiffy Pop when I was young but failing to make it look and taste as good as it looked on the TV commercial (as countless other toys and cereal promotions ended up disappointing me – damn you Lucky Charms!  You call THAT a “puppet”!??).  The circle is complete.  It was crap then and it’s still crap.

The good news: They still make Jiffy Pop the same way they’ve always made it.

The bad news: They always made it BAD.

Who says you can’t go back home.  Thanks to Jiffy Pop I was able to share at least one burned kernel of truth with my boys.

The Berlin Mart ain’t what it used to be…

Memories | Posted by Charles C. Cotton
Apr 07 2009

Maybe it was NEVER the way it used to be! People have told me that it used to be called The Berlin Auction, and they had actual auctions there, but that was before my day.  For me, I have many memories at The Berlin Mart in Berlin, New Jersey.  I’ve gone there, on and off, for many years, even in the Winter.  It’s managed to survive many decades now, and while some things have changed, many things remain.  I apologize in advance for not having taken any pictures on my last trip there with Carol and the boys, but I was saddened during my last trip enough to say that it’s going to be a long time before I make the trek out there again.

The Berlin Mart Sensory Overload Experience is STILL there!

Berlin Mart Donut

The last donut from the Berlin Mart from the batch we bought. STILL YUMMY!

TO BE FAIR, and because many people often don’t read further than the first few paragraphs, I’ll put the good news FIRST.

I am glad to see many of the ‘old’ stores and experiences are STILL THERE. After having gone up and down the isles of disappointing flea vendors, see below, we went toward the South entrance. Past an electronics shop in a barn affair, there is an apple cider vendor and the donut shop.  Now, this donut shop is the rinky-est, dinky-est little shack you’ve ever seen, but people STAND IN LINE for these donuts.  There’s quite a selection too!  Sugar Cinnamon and Glazed.  While they are BAD for your diet, (I’m guessing each donut has at LEAST 2 teaspoons of oil) they are HEAVENLY.

ENTERING THE BERLIN MART – The South Side Whammy!

But the apple cider stand and donut shack are the “up” side of the Berlin Mart sensory rollercoaster.  Because after you’ve had your apple cider in the paper cup that’s just a little too thin to hold comfortably and finish eating your incredibly delicious freshly made donut, you head through the doors to the mart you get the triple whammy. Read the rest of this entry »