Byron’s Drive In is gone

Living in an old, small house for the first 10 years of my life. When I was 10, my parents built a McMansion on a hill on the farm. Rubs be the wrong way every time someone complements it.

Freaking out my friends BBS modems by calling it and whistling into the phone.

Taco Bell and the Quesarito.

Fuuuck, why did they remove it? It was the whole reason to go to Taco Bell!

There was an helado shop very near where I live now, just a wonderland of flavors, nice lady with a hundred tubs of different interesting mostly fruit flavored ice creams. Not expensive. It’s s been gone for years and I still miss it.

Also there was this house I used to pass on my way home that had a crazy paint job, I think it had been orange and someone tried to cover that with green - the result was a house that looked like it was ripening and I just loved to see it. Eventually someone “fixed” it by making it gray, I miss it.

Being able to eat peanuts. Developed an allergy 4 years ago.

The park in Oregon where I used to walk every day and see the most amazing water birds.

Trader Joe’s Belgian Chocolate Pudding. It made any other chocolate pudding taste like milk. Petit Pot comes close but it’s not in a tub and it’s not quite as rich. I used to eat it with fresh strawberries.

The scent of my grandparents’ house.

It had a very distinctive sweet aroma. I was never sure what is was, and I never asked. The scent followed them when they moved into a condo in a retirement facility. The last time I visited them in their condo was 2019, and they’ve both since passed away.

They gave me a book many years ago, the pages of which used to smell like their house. I know if I dig that book out of storage, it might still have a trace scent in it. But otherwise, it is now just a memory.

The Cheesy Gordita Crunch used to be $0.89. Not 99, EIGHTY-NINE cents. Now it’s like $3.79. Used to be my favorite thing on the menu, but there’s no way I’m paying that much for it now. I tolerated $0.99, $1.09, even $1.19 but $1.29 is where I said “no”. Haven’t had one since.

Seafood Sub from Subway. It was my childhood. WhichWich comes close but it’s not the same.

Seasons 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6 of Firefly.

I also miss Sobeys (Canadian grocery chain) Take n Bake pizza. They changed to a new recipe many years ago. I bought one of their new pizzas, it was very disappointing.

Here’s a couple:

Reebok DMX shoes. Most comfortable shows I ever owned.

Interior decor of Taco Bell and other fast food places in the mid 90s. It looked like a fun place. Now it just reminds me of a POW camp on Guadalcanal.

Watching Star Trek with my grandma at five o’clock on our local TV station. I’d always say that one day I’d be on the Enterprise and she’d look up from her knitting and smile gently.

Prank phone calls. Its still possible with enough dedication and effort, but between smart call ID, the phone boxes disappearing and 99.99% of incoming calls being scams its just not worth the effort.

Time was if you knew a phone number and 30p in your pocket you could pop into a phone box and get an expensive laugh.

I also kinda miss how they smell. It was awful mix of piss, cigarettes and burnt plastic, but it was a pretty unique sensation.

Chicken Cacciatore from Maggianos. Perfectly marinated, fall off the bone half chicken. Discontinued probably 15 years ago and I still think about it.

I miss places that weren’t overrun with traffic.

I lived in LA right at the end of “it’s LA. Everything is 20 minutes from everything else.” Which was mostly true other than a rush hour that politely lasted from 3:30 to 6:00pm. Only places like The Valley or Long Beach or Montebello/West Covina took 30+ minutes.

Every time I visit now, everything is stop and go traffic. Not just there, every major city. Road infrastructure hasn’t, and can’t realistically, keep up with basic population growth. Sprawl is a disease. It’s urban planning cancer.