Down memory lane

My kids have taken a curious interest in what things were like when I was a kid. This started a while back when I pointed out the house I lived in until I was 4, which was on Silver Bluff Road. They were fascinated to learn that the BI-LO shopping center was a neighborhood and that a parachutist landed there once. I am not sure why a parachutist chose a neighborhood to land in, but I am fairly certain it was a mistake. Perhaps he was aiming for the large field, across the street, which I refer to as the Kroger shopping center, only to have to say, “No, wait, the old ... oldish ... Krog ... Old Navy shopping center.”
We moved from that house when I was 4, but I still have some memories, in particular of my sisters teaching me how to climb a large magnolia in our neighbors’ yard. They did not, however, teach me the art of climbing DOWN a magnolia tree. I also have another oh-so-fond memory of the time my sisters told me we were going to play Peter Pan. There was a rope with a clip on the end that was hanging from a tree branch. They clipped the end of it to my back belt loop, leaving me hanging in the flying position. They told me to close me eyes, and they would spin me. When I opened my eyes, I would fly!
OK, anyone wanna guess what happened when I opened my eyes? I am still not 100 percent sure how I got down, but I do think my sisters stayed in hiding for a while.
So after sharing these stories, the kids have been asking about various buildings. Among the places we have talked about:
1. The current Aiken County Complex — I was paying a tax bill there, and I explained to Parker that I was born there. He looked up and down the halls. It did not appear to be the best place to give birth. I told him it probably looked a little different then.
2. Mitchell Shopping Center — We were in the Post Office inside Unique Expressions, which used to be, I told him, Woodruff’s Drug, and how I could ride by bike from Grandma’s and Grandpa’s house. That shopping center also used to house an Edwards department store, where I remember shopping one year and finding a gigantic stack of Tupperware containers that I absolutely had to get for my mom’s birthday. I was so excited, I gave it to her about two weeks before her birthday. To my mother, of course, it was the most perfect and fantastic setup of containers EVER. There was also a candy store there, where we used to get either candied apples or popcorn balls, depending on whether you ask me or my sister. Also, where the billiards place is now, was a Brindle’s and a Service Merchandise at various times, one of which is where my Millennium Falcon was purchased.
3. Zaxby’s — While Zaxby’s is a fine place for chicken fingers, my children are in awe of the stories of the former occupant, the greatest pizza establishment ever, Mr. Gatti’s. I have no idea how good the pizza actually was. I just know that it was buffet style and had unlimited soft drinks and video game machines. Combine that with being located across the street from the soccer field, and it was the place to go after a game. For what it’s worth, across the street from Mr. Gatti’s, in what is now Hardee’s, was a Burger King. In high school, my friend Chris and I would go there and both load up – he would get two Whoppers and I would eat two chicken sandwiches. The thought of eating two chicken sandwiches – in particular as a between-meal snack – makes my stomach hurt.
4. Moe’s — From Krystal to Gary’s Hamburgers to Kentucky Fried Chicken, that corner has seen a lot of action. (I am thinking a Dairy Queen was there for a while, too.) The main thing I remember – it used to take roughly nine hours to get a bucket of chicken. I guess they had not fully bought into the fast-food model back then.
5. Heritage Square — What many people call the Home Depot shopping center was home to a Food Lion, which was actually a Food Town first. I remember the TV commercials when they changed the name, with a cartoon lion singing “It’s not Food Town, it’s Food Lion!!!” Guess who hated that jingle? My sisters. And wanna guess who sang it constantly? The shopping center was also home to Wal-Mart, and beside it was a Revco drug store, which was my personal favorite place to get baseball cards, with the obvious exception of ...
6. The building next to Porky Bradberry’s Jewelry — That was home to Donnie’s, a baseball card store. Donnie “hired” me when I was 13, but because you couldn’t technically work when you were that age, he let me hang out in his store and organize cards and such. He paid me each week with store credit. It was the greatest job a kid could ever have. Sometimes, I would spend my credit on a single card, while other times I would go buy a whole box of cards, some of which I still have, unopened. I am guessing 25-year-old gum is delicious.
There are plenty of other places that have changed, some of which I may touch on in a future column. And I am sure my memory could be slightly off on some of these, as many of these recollections were formed on the back of my bike in the 1970s and 1980s. It is fun to stroll your hometown, though, and share your childhood memories as your kids form their own. Maybe some of their memories will be similar to mine. Maybe one day their aunts can teach them how to fly.