My desk these days…

A Thousand Words

“I remember exactly where I was when…” It starts conversation and provokes recollection. Some are personal situations – when my mom died, or when I learned I was going to be a father. Those are the first two I thought of, which refer to unique events in my life that can still be relatable universally. Not everyone experienced either of these moments when I did, but most people can empathize with the situation, because it either already did happen to them, or they can imagine their own version of it.

Now think of an event that had more wide-reaching historical significance; one that people often remember vividly and personally. In psychology, that moment is called a flashbulb moment. Earlier generations likely remember when the stock market crashed in October of 1929, plunging the country into the Great Depression. Older friends and relatives talk about remembering the John F. Kennedy assassination.

People closer to my age may remember things like the Space Shuttle Challenger exploding in January of 1986. (If anyone is curious, I was eating lunch between classes at the University Union, watching the event occur in real time. The friend sitting next to me quietly muttered an understated, “Oh, that’s not good.”) The 9/11 Attacks are one of the biggest ones for us Gen-Xers. In fact, that one goes for Boomers and Millennials, too, come to think of it. And seeing the Apollo 11 Moon Landing is my earliest childhood memory.

A flashbulb moment examines an aspect of such an event, but because it’s a personal connection, it only applies to situations that were experienced personally. I have no flashbulb moment of, say, the Cuban Missile Crisis. I wasn’t alive to remember it.

But there is a flip side to that coin. Certain iconic photographs capture an event or era. They instantly summon that situation. In some cases, the photo or video serves as the defining image. The image encapsulates the piece of history – especially for those who did not experience it personally.

It doesn’t even matter that some photos may have been staged, misattributed or edited from their original form. The impact doesn’t go away. They still serve as a kind of visual shorthand for those moments.

Anniversaries are triggers of their own. The 84th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack is later this week, and the final 2 survivors of the USS Arizona died in late April of 2024. Both were 102 years old. This instantly came to mind.

-Toph

Scary Breakfast Goodness

1971 was a landmark year. Sure, every year is significant for something, but our story begins in 1971, so play along. That March, General Mills released the “Monster Cereals.” The lineup was twofold. Frankenberry, who was a cartoonish version of Frankenstein’s monster. He had a Boris Karloff voice and a vaguely strawberry-ish flavor. Next up was Count Chocula: a kid-friendly vampire parody of Bela Lugosi with hints of chocolaty goodness. For us Monster Kids, they were amazing! They turned the milk pink (or brown—see above), and were an instant hit. The Saturday morning commercials, strategically sandwiched between cartoon episodes, involved the 2 mascots arguing over which cereal was better. The following year, a third was added; Boo Berry was a blue ghost who sounded like Peter Lorie, and—see a pattern here?—turned the milk blue.

They were initially available all year, but eventually shelved and brought out of the attic (or dungeon…whatever) just in time for Halloween. Along the way, a fourth and fifth were added. Frute Brute, which was originally spelled like the produce, but changed for some reason, was a werewolf. And Yummy Mummy (You guessed it – a spider. No? Moving on…), like Frute Brute, came into and out of the line-up for several years. In 2014 GM got the whole band together in retro-style boxes; and, finally, the ‘Fab 5’ were on the shelves together.

Obviously, I had to buy all 5; and I saved the boxes for posterity. I’m sure they will grow exponentially in value and will probably put future generations through college.

The most recent monster in the line-up

A couple years ago, a new, limited-edition character was introduced—Carmella Creeper—an interesting addition. First of all, she was a SHE—a ghoul for the girls, while all previous characters had been male. Also, she seemed to represent both the Gen Z and Rave demographics, and was less influenced by Gothic horror. Carmella’s a cool zombie disk jockey in the form of a green caramel apple-flavored cereal. She is also supposed to be Frankenberry’s cousin. The lore doesn’t really hold up to scrutiny, but it’s cereal canon, not Tolkien or Star Trek; so let’s cut them a break. Sadly, Carmella was only around for a couple of years. I’m hoping she’ll make occasional appearances in the rotation.

It’s almost Halloween – my favorite holiday! But oddly, I haven’t found the monster cereals in the stores this year. On the Internet, I can see that they have been making the rounds, and even had some sort of Muppet character crossover. They’re just not in any of the grocery stores I’ve been frequenting. I’m going to be on the lookout next year. They are not sneaking past me again. I’ll be waiting…and watching.

(Cue the evil laughter track.)

Now, truth be told, I don’t need more zero-nutritional value, fiber-poor, simple carbohydrate calories in my diet. But, C’mon; it’s a 54-year tradition. A couple boxes of artificial flavoring won’t kill me. It probably won’t. Right?

So, if you find yourself hunkering down for a sweet, pastel-colored bowl of scary goodness, give a nod to your horror pals that made it all possible. And maybe lift a spoon to your old buddy Toph, too. Okay?

Happy Halloween –

-Toph