Monday, March 22, 2021

You Can't Take It with You

Wow, that was a long gap, but here I am again, popping up when least expected.  Well, it keeps you on your toes, doesn't it?

This will be a little bit different Garage Sale post in that its about something that didn't come home with me.  But it was something that struck a personal chord and triggered fond memories.

I was at an estate sale this weekend (a particularly good one, I might add, but that will be for later).  As I walked into one of the bedrooms, I immediately noticed the door, or more specifically, what was on it.

I've previously written about my own bedroom door and the stickers I adorned it with, so you can understand how I related.  Even the door itself is of the same style as my own bedroom door.  My mother always called them "Hollywood" style, although I'm not sure if that's a thing, but the style dates from the 1950's.

Looking at this door, I immediately recognized the Wacky Packages.  I've written several times on those as well, so clearly a kindred spirit had lived here.  Evidently, at some point, either out of embarrassment like myself or hoping to save them, (or maybe just a parent trying to clean up) someone tried to remove them.  As I know from personal experience, 1970's stickers were made from a now unknown permanent adhesive, it's formula long since lost to history.  Removal attempts are futile.

Mixed among the Wacky Packages were some DC Superhero stickers, some local elementary school stickers and one for KWK, a local St. Louis 1980's rock station.

The house was busy, but I did my best to take some close-ups of the various stickers. I wish I had removed the door hanger for the pictures, but like I said, it was kind of busy and didn't want to block the flow of traffic.

Kentucky Fried Fingers. "Better than biting your nails"

Ajerx. "You gotta be a jerk to use it.

Hawaiian Punks. "Beats you to a fruit juicy pulp."

Neveready.  "Keeps you in the dark."

I'll admit, I had to Google 1970's shaving creams to determine the product it was parodying.  Apparently, it is for Palmolive "Rapid Shave":

Rabid Shave. "Foaming".

This is the closest version of an actual can:


Broomo Seltzer. "For Crumby Tummies"

At the bottom of the previous shot, you can see a "Busted Finger" sticker:


Poor Foolball. "You'll never collect 'em all."

That shot was a little blurry, so here's a better picture of the actual sticker:



Bum Broken Oven Beggar Beans. "They're a gas!"

In addition to the tear, some flash glare makes this one hard to see, so here's the actual sticker.


STD Oil Shortage.  "Stops Traffic Dead".  
Surely the creative team was having a little inside joke with that name...

Another blurry shot, but a classic "Condemned: This Room Unfit for Humans" sticker. I couldn't find any examples of it on the internet.

"No Grown-Ups Beyond This Point".  Another classic.

And finally, some DC Superhero stickers.  I'm not sure what these were from (I was a Marvel Comics kid), but I would guess another Topps-like line of cards and stickers.



A ghost remnant of a sticker can be seen to the right of Superman. I wonder what it was.

I wonder what happened to the kid who lived in this bedroom.  I wonder if he remembers his stickers.  Maybe he did attempt to peel them off in an effort to preserve them, but found like so many things from childhood, you can't take them with you.



7 comments:

  1. as soon as i saw the photo of the door, i knew what you were going to be writing about. i still call Eveready batteries "Neveready" to this day, and i do have some actual Wacky Pack stickers here. Not sure what to do with them, but i am definitely not going to stick them on anything.

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    1. I still have the batch you and I found at the antique mall and divided up years ago. Not sticking those on anything either. I have them on the shelf in front of me and look through them on occasion.

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    2. omg, so THAT is where i got them! i had forgotten, sorry. yeah, they are great.

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  2. I think there are many who can relate. We didn't adorn our bedroom door with stickers, but our bureaus were a different story. Had stickers along this lines, as well. Good memories.

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  3. Seeing that makes me both happy (seeing the cool stuff) and sad (knowing the kid had to leave them behind). My parents would've had a 1st order conniption if I would've stuck stickers to my door. Mom even papered half of my room with golden brown burlap wallpaper so I could freely pin up posters with pushpins and not leave noticeable holes. Well, I ended up also hanging posters on the regular wallpapered walls.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Armpit. My own parents weren't too happy when they discovered I'd plastered them all over mine. And rightly, so; they were impossible to peel off. After I moved out, my dad ended up stripping and revarnishing the door. I had already salvaged what I could by that point.

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