I Was Just Thinking

I was just thinking….

We’re a little more than two weeks away from electing a new President of the United States and if the polls are correct – it will be Barack Obama who will be sworn in on January 20, 2009. I’m kind of looking forward to that day, because you know that it’s going to drive the right wing fringe of this country absolutely nuts – no longer will they be content to have the name of Bill Clinton to throw around to explain what’s wrong with this country – they’ll now have the name of Barack Obama to add to the list. And just like Bill Clinton can’t shake Whitewater – Barack Obama will always have Bill Ayers as his boogeyman in the closet for the right to point at.


I was just thinking….

If the rumors are correct – tomorrow night – Sarah Palin, the Republican candidate for Vice-President of the United States will be making an appearance on NBC’s Saturday Night Live – and like about ten or so million people in this country – I’ll be watching. But, don’t you think it’s a little strange that Palin has agreed to appear on Saturday Night Live and come face-to-face with Palin impersonator Tina Fey, but she has yet to appear on such programs as “Meet the Press”, “Face The Nation”, or even “60 Minutes”?

Senator McCain told David Letterman on Thursday night that he has confidence in Sarah Palin and we could trust her to run the country should our country experience another nightmare like 9/11, but if she can’t face the press during her campaign run – what can we expect from her should she happen to be put into a 9/11-like situation? Yukking it up with Tina Fey is a lot easier than taking questions from the press (who represent the people) wanting to know what you would do – but maybe questions that would make you accountable for your actions are too much of a “gotcha” question, right Mrs. Palin?

I Got A Few Things I Want To Get Off My Mind

The Election: If you’re like me – you can’t wait for the presidential election to over with. Don’t you think that it’s a little strange how the McCain campaign has kept Sarah Palin away from doing interviews on such shows as “Face the Nation” and “Meet The Press” and then say that the press is bias against her? Well, if you don’t give her a chance to speak with media organizations that are going to ask her some tough questions how can you say that they are biased. Hey, Katie Couric didn’t ask Palin any real tough questions in that interview with her, but she sure did stumble and kind of looked like a beauty pageant contestant telling the judges that she loves kittens and wants to work for world peace. Let’s get real!

The Election #2: The news this last past Friday emanating from the McCain campaign was interesting. First there was the report from that bi-partisan committee in Alaska that said that Governor Palin abused her powers in firing the public service commissioner who wouldn’t fire her ex-brother-in-law. And while the McCain campaign tried to whitewash the conclusion of this report with some lame excuse – they also had to put out the fire at what happened at a McCain town hall.

It was sad watching Ol’ John having to back off on his smear campaign of trying to paint Barack Obama has a terrorist when one of the people in the audience said that they couldn’t trust Obama and another person called Obama “an Arab”. Hey, McCain when you stir up the voters with hatemongering it’s going to come back and bite you in the ass and this last past Friday – those two people in your town hall demonstrated how hate turns into bigotry and how lies about Obama only fueled the racism that still exists in this country.

Senator McCain -- You should fire the people in your campaign management who recommended that you take the low road smearing Obama with lies. When you agree to go out with them and go out and fuel the flames of racism with these lies it only shows the voters how you would deal with the problems this country faces should you get elected. But the odds are pretty good that you're going to be watching Senator Obama get sworn in on January 20th on television and one of the reasons why that is going to happen is because of the way you campaigned for the highest office in the land.

The Wall Street Mess: Hey, I know nothing about Wall Street and the stock market – which puts me right up there with all of the people who work on Wall Street – and I won’t even go into how screwed up this bailout package was on the American taxpayer – but I have noticed something interesting. Isn’t it strange that American corporations are going for a retro look for their packages when, to some, the economy feels like were heading for a depression.

For example: Notice how this innocent looking seventy-nine cent Snickers bar has a wrapper on it that reminds people of those days when they could buy a Snickers bar for a nickel?

I don’t know how you feel about these things – but I just had a few things I wanted to get off my mind.

You Know You're From Flint

This entry was originally written on AOL Journals on March 27, 2008. Because AOL Journal is going to cease to exist after October 31, 2008...I thought that I would post it on my Google blog.

Thursday, March 27, 2008
Subject: You Know You're From Flint.....
Time: 12:43:29 AM EDT
Author: richafrostflint

In February, I received one of those “You Know You’re Flint” e-mails from one of my friends. I looked at the list and it brought back some memories – so, I decided to add a few of my own to the list….expanding on two in the original list and writing forty-three new “You Know You’re From Flint…” entries.

With the new entries written, I decided that I would send the list out to about fifteen friends in my address book. A few friends wrote back and commented on the list and added a couple of their own and I thought “that was fun.” Imagine my surprise about a month later when I find my expanded list on not one, but two separate blogs on the world-wide web.

Nobody gave me credit for my new “You’re Know..” entries – although Gordon Young at www.flintexpats.com did say that my list “seemed remarkably well-researched” before he printed it. (Thanks for the compliment Gordon – let me say right now that you have one of the best Flint sites on the internet.)

So, without further ado – I’m going to print the original list that I received and the list that I wrote and please feel free to send any “You Know You’re From Flint….” memories.

THE ORIGINAL “YOU KNOW YOU’RE FROM FLINT…” LIST

...You demanded a "feathered hairdo" after 1985

....You think the Genesee Towers is a TAAAAAL building

...You have to go to Jolly O and Skip's before you end up at Bubba's

...You think that traffic on Miller Road is too heavy

...You know what a coney is

...Going away to college is a choice between Mott and U of M Flint

...Saginaw is "Up North"

...Your idea of culture is The Whiting Auditorium

...You've been to a Generals game

....You know a short cut between Robert T and Court

...You remember Chicago 21, Rush St. Wild Bill's or The Light

....You were an underage drinker at the Mikatam (And can remember those 10 for 1 drink prices)

...The Blue Hawaiian's are your favorite band

...You shopped at The Small Mall

...The vast majority of your family income came from "THE SHOP"

...You know what a "40" is

...You bought a record at Rock-A-Rola or Wyatt Earps (or at Hatfield's Records in downtown Flint, Bill Lamb's record store in the Northwest Shopping Center or visiting the record department in the mezzanine at Smith Bridgeman's)

...You participated in a cruise at The South Flint Plaza

...You know what an Eastsider is

...You have ever ordered fries with gravy at 3 am

...You know what a Boston Cooler is

...You have had a few too many at The Torch

...Your definition of rich is a Power's kid

...You refer to all paper bags as a "Hamady sack"

...You have heard Rosie Sing "Won't you come home Bill Bailey"

...You have ever been sledding at Mott Park or Swartz Creek

...You know someone who had to go to the School of Choice

...You were bussed to The Skill Center

...You have bought beer at Awad's

...You know Mt. Holly has "good powder"

...You spent the day after Prom at Cedar Point

...Your Friday night party was at Circle Drive

...You put vinegar on your Luigi's Pizza

...A gourmet meal is "two up to go"


RICH FROST’S “YOU KNOW YOU’RE FROM FLINT….” LIST



...You remember when WFBE only aired instructional and educational programs such as "Polly Piano and Roger Rhythm" and "The News Of The Week" that you heard in elementary school.

...You remember getting your picture taken in the 4 for a quarter photo booth in the basement at Kresge's

...You remember attending a "Battle of the Bands" at 60-Second Pizza on Clio Road

...You remember that the jocks on WTAC were "The Good Guys" and WTRX was "The Home of the Jones Boys"

...You can remember those Sunday afternoon free concerts at Wilson Park -- where not only could you enjoy the music -- but there was the smell of baking bread at the Taystee bakery not too far away from the park

...You can remember when Channel 12 was the home for "Rae Dean and Friends" and "Mr. Magic" for the kids and "Michigan Polka Party" and "The Connie Dycus Show" for adults.

...You can remember seeing "Viva Las Vegas" at the Capital Theater, "A Hard Days Night" at the Palace Theater and "Deep Throat" at the Royal Theater

...You can remember getting your "first license"at Safetyville

...You can remember going to Kearsley Park to go swimming and for the 4th of July fireworks

...Your first savings account was at Citizens Bank and you started that account with the booklet that Citizens Bank gave kids to save their dimes in.

...You can remember going to Cook's Drug Store for a ten cent Chocolate Coke or Cherry Phosphate.

...You signed petitions against the antiballistic missile and the Vietnam War at Peace Watch on Kearsley Street.

...You can remember the cement Indian at the Trading Post on Franklin Street and Utah...

...You can remember the sign on the Miller Road Dairy on Corunna Road that read: "You can't beat our milk, but you can whip our cream."

...You can remember going to the Friday night movies at U of M and having to tolerate Michael Moore's speeches before the flicks

...You can remember "The Freedom Reader" (the alternative newspaper before Michael Moore's Flint Voice).

...You remember that man who worked the cash register at Halo Burger on Harrison Street shouting out your change as "one hundred and one dollars" when it was only $1.01.

...You remember such places as "The Beaver Trap" and "Titty City", but never knew anyone who went in those places

...Everyone knew someone who said that Bob Seger owned that big house in Grand Blanc and that they seen him there

...You can remember as a kid playing with the white light electric eye that opened the doors at the A&P store on Dort Hwy

...You knew that if you couldn't find what you were looking for at Yankee's -- you could find what you wanted at Arlen's

...You remember watching "Sesame Street" on Channel 12, because Flint didn't have a public television station

...You picked up the latest paperback, magazine or newspaper at Readmore on Saginaw Street.

...You remember getting your haircut at the Barber College when it was near the tracks in downtown Flint.

...One of the ways that you knew it was January was when the Shrine Circus came to IMA Auditorium

...The only bologna and hot dogs in your house had the Koegel label on them

...You didn't associate "The Colonel's" with Kentucky Fried Chicken or "The Varsity" with any school

...Your family didn't eat Thanksgiving dinner until everyone got back from the Northern/Central game at Atwood Stadium.

...There was nothing that could compare to a King Arthur pasty

...You can remember one or two items that you purchased at the Touch Boutique.

...Juvenile home was known as "The Pasadena Playhouse"

...the only place to go for ribs and sweet potato pie was Bob and Ethel's Rib Crib

...Weekend television on Channel 12 meant watching monster movies on "Creature Features" and scary movies with "Christopher Coffin"

...your generation's "Krispy Kreme" went by the name of "Dawn's Donuts"

...You avoided driving during certain hours of the day because of "shop traffic".

...if you lived on the east side -- you went to Aunt Nina's for a hamburger and a shake

...You remember Wild Bill's before it became L-L-T

...Halo Burger is and was the only place where you could order a cream ale with your burger and fries

...The best fish n' chips in town were at Third Avenue Fish n' Chips...

...The two most trusted sources for weather was either the Citizens Bank weather ball or Channel 12's John McMurray

...you can remember a Hire's Root Beer Float (bottled by Buckler Beverage on Lapeer Road) or a ice cold bottle of M&S Red Pop or Orange Soda

...If you still remember the Paramount Potato Chip Slim Chipley jingle