I Wasn't Allowed To Drink Kool-Aid

Mom never let us "drink the Kool-Aid."

As a youngster in the late '70s and early '80s, there were foods Mom never let us have such as Shake 'n Bake and sugar cereals. Kool-Aid was another fun product banned from our house. The Kool-Aid commercials interrupted all of my favorite TV shows.

I longed to be a Kool-Aid kid screaming, "HEY KOOL-AID!" The icy cold red liquid goodness served up in that beautiful glass pitcher looked so refreshing and delicious. Never mind the insane, red round singing Kool-Aid man rescuing thirsty kids all over America. That freak never came to my Long Island street on a hot summer day.

One of the many fun Kool-Aid flavors and
promotions I missed out on.

I wonder what it was about Kool-Aid that made Mom's banned food and beverage list. I think it had to have been the bright fun Kool-Aid colors. Then again, maybe it was the idea of adding your own TWO cups of sugar - the reality being that sugar was the main ingredient.  Here is a vintage commercial from my childhood advertising the famous drink I so badly wanted to try.

Were there any non-alcoholic beverages or foods that were or are banned in your home? I'd love to hear about them!

Child Stars Turned Stone Cold Foxes | Part 3

The Wonder Years' Fred Savage & Danica McKellar

In the interest of time, I am forced to shortened this feature to include two celebrities per week instead of four. Don't worry, I'll be sure to always include a stone cold vixen for my male readers.

Today we check in on two stars from the hit series, The Wonder Years. These two didn't turn out half-bad. I know you guys were drooling over Danica back in the late '80s and I'm sure you've seen her in Stuff magazine. Whatever. I think it's a bit of a disappointment when stars from my youth disrobe. Although in Danica's case, she was voted "1990s star you'd most like to see in lingerie" by her male fans. Fred was cute, but he was my little brother's age, meaning much too young for me (back then).  Fred's brother Ben will not be included, I never really thought he was as cute as Fred. Not that I was even into Fred, just saying...

Fred Savage

 











Born: July 9, 1976 in Chicago
First Discovered by Ally: Movie called The Boy Who Could Fly
Most Famous For: Kevin Arnold on The Wonder Years
Cool Ally Points: The Arnold's home address was 516 -- my area code growing up. There's a Long Island connection with the creator of the show and how he originally wanted them to have the show set  somewhere on Long Island--much like Growing Pains, but whatever...  
Today: Fred's married with two small children and continues to act and work in the entertainment industry.
Recent Appearances: Disney Channel's Kim Possible and Family Guy.

Danica McKellar

 













Born: January 3, 1975 in La Jolla, California
Most Famous For: Winnie Cooper in The Wonder Years
Today: Danica is married and expecting her first child soon. She wrote a New York Times Best-seller book  on teaching math to girls. She mega-smart and studied math at UCLA.
Recent Appearances: How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, Inspector Mom, etc.

Weekend Retro Rewind Featuring Billy Joel

Say Goodbye To Hollywood - Long Island's Billy Joel 

Let me first tell you that I'm not a Billy Joel fan, but as a little kid I was! Growing up on Long Island, at some point in your life you have to like Billy Joel. Why? Because Billy is Long Island.

I know I've blogged about my roller skating rink days at Hot Skates in Lynbrook, Long Island several times... But seriously, in the early 1980s when this song came on, it was like everything was right with the world. Why? Three little words. Couples. Only. Skate.

I'd grab the hand of an unsuspecting fellow fifth grader and off we'd skate into the night for an entire 4 minutes and 37 seconds to this particular Billy Joel song you can hear below. Even if my skating partner wasn't particularly cute or stylish; the music, the lights, the glimmer of the disco ball, made him seem almost as cute as Jason Bateman on Little House. It was heavenly.

This Place Sux. The End.

Monday, September 28, 1993 12:30 AM

"Well, I hate it here! I'm already failing big time and so far have only made a few new friends. This place sux. The end"

The above diary entry was made about a month after I moved into my college dorm at SUNY Stony Brook. I was living in a section of the dorms called Kelly Quad. About a day after I got myself situated, I realized the "suite life" was also known as "The Frat Dorms" and I totally didn't fit in. I didn't wear tie-dye and hated the mere thought of pledges, hazing and everything that revolved around sorority life.

Today is March 22, 2010 and I want to go home again. It's painful how much I want to return home to New York. The worst part is I'm not quite sure how to get there. I don't have a plan and my husband doesn't want to move. He's still actually employed and we all know how hard that is to come by these days. Homes here are as pricey as they are in New York, so we'll be renting no matter where we live.

Forgive me if you've heard this story before, but my first apartment was in Manhattan. I survived for almost three years, however, the whole Dot-Bomb crisis combined with 9/11 really killed my spirit and chances of furthering my career. My friends and I couldn't even secure temp and freelance work after suffering an AOL layoff in 2003.

My New Jersey boyfriend (now husband) rescued me and I am forever grateful to him. My uncle helped find someone to take over my NYC lease and my mother-in-law graciously lent me her vehicle for six months until I found a new job and get my own car. She wouldn't even let me pay the insurance. 

Within about six months, I found a job, got a car, shared Andrew's apartment and managed to make a bunch of new friends here in NJ. My life here hasn't been all that bad, however I'm missing my family and it's just killing me as time goes by. 

My family and old friends are still back home in New York. I know we're only 90 minutes apart, but it's not about the distance, it's the actual trip. It's this harrowing drive once Route 80 ends and 95/295 begins. The mere thought of the George Washington Bridge makes me wanna hurl. The Cross Bronx Expressway sickens me with every pothole, twist and turn... The Throgs Neck Bridge/295 means I'm almost there, inching along to the Cross Island Parkway... More traffic awaits as I finally make it to the homestretch on the Southern State. Gas and tolls equal about $30+ each round trip visit. Even that's not the issue. 

The issue is I miss home. I miss the Italian delis, produce markets, being a mere 20 minutes from a beach regardless of where you live, the best bagels in the world, the best pizza -- I know New Jersey people will argue that they've got all of that as well, and I'm not here to argue that. I'm here to argue that it's not my home and I feel like it never truly will be.

I just want to live closer to my family and friends and reclaim that feeling of familiar. That feeling you get when you drive down a road you and your folks have driven down 4000 times before. That feeling when you pass something as silly as Burger King and remember a kiddie party you once attended there.  Playing with your nephew in the school yard or park you enjoyed playing in as a kid yourself thirty years ago. 


I sometimes envy high school sweethearts who are now married with kids. 
I sometimes envy their shared memories. 
I sometimes envy their "same friends" and how they grew up around each other. 
I sometimes envy how they always knew of their in-laws, friends and families as people from the neighborhood. 
I sometimes envy the way they all attended the same grammar schools and churches, went to the same doctors and dentists and trusted the same accountant to do their taxes.


I don't have Jersey pride. I don't like Jovi and Springsteen. I have no desire to order Taylor Ham aka Pork Roll on my egg sandwich. I prefer my beaches not to have rides, Curly's Fries and $20 parking lots.  I'm not now, nor will I ever be a "Jersey Girl" and I swear this isn't a diss. When I lived on Long Island I wasn't all about Billy Joel and Lobster Rolls. I'm just me. Where I reside, doesn't define me.

Ironically I spent most of my youth trying to figure out how to get off Long Island only to wish to return as an adult. Funny how things turn out... 

Boardwalk at Long Beach, LI

Back to 1982-1983, Age 10/11

Cool photo shoot at Long Island's Hot Skates with
Drew Barrymore for her movie Whip It.

Due to a slight case of writers block today, I've decided to cheat once again. So I'm bringing you back to 1983 Ally style! Here are some boring gems for your reading pleasure. Please note, the following is word-for-word including poor spelling and grammar.

Monday, February 1, 1982
Today I and my friend made a club with Kathy P. and Patricia. We got back our SS [Social Studies] test. I got an 86.

Saterday, February 5, 1982
Today I went to Hot Skates and mite go swiming [my mom always loved to swim indoors at Echo Park Pool in West Hempstead] and I had a good time at Hot Skates.

[Hot Skates was the hottest skating rink in Western Nassau County, Long Island. Every kid in the area can attest to countless memories at Hot Skates including first kisses, first dates and first slow dance - er couples only skate. It was a safe place too. I don't remember kids threatening other kids or causing trouble. It was just a great place to spend a Friday or Saturday night. This indoor rink still exists allowing today's kids to create their own memories there. A while back, I discovered a cool photo shoot for that skating movie, Whip It featuring celebs Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page. So weird to see Drew kickin' back at the same table where I would sit, happily consuming a Coke and hot dog as the DJ set the mood with a little Air Supply, Billy Joel and Journey. It could even be the same table I blew out the candles for my 4th grade Hot Skates birthday party. In going through diaries, it appears that every week I had an adventure at Hot Skates until about 7th grade.]

Sunday, April 4, 1982
Today in soccer the coach made me be goaly and I let 3 goals in.

[I'm guessing that was the last time the coach made me a goalie. I was so God-awful in soccer. My mom insists she put me in for five seasons of soccer, otherwise known in town as "The VSSC" to keep me from getting super chubs. She says it kept me active and away from the TV. She meant well. The only thing I liked about soccer was halftime oranges and water. I freakin' HATED soccer!]

Saturday, February 19, 1983
Today I saw Silver Spoons. I love Jason Bateman. I finished my school project.

I loved Jason Bateman and Silver Spoons.

[Silver Spoons was my most favorite show in the early '80s. I wasn't a big Ricky fan, but boy I had the hots for Jason Bateman. I worshiped him in the worst way. From the moment I saw his little freckled face crying in pain. "Go get help! Fetch Pa!" he moaned to his sister Casandra while laying helpless in the woods, his little twelve-year-old foot stuck in a bear trap on Little House. I still think he's pretty hot today.

Oh young Jason Bateman...
 Oh how I loved theee  back then.

One thing I hated, was that my grammar school had these wretched, mandatory Science and Social Studies fairs. I never ever won. Ever. Why? Because my folks, teachers with lame teacher morals, refused and I mean REFUSED to create our projects for us. No working molten lava volcano for me. My crap-ass tin-foiled lined Shoe Town shoebox filled with planets made of hanging balls of clay was a big fat LOSING project compared to that volcano. Kathy's amazing historical farm house at the History Fair above and beyond. It was the coolest project anyone had ever brought in. Obviously Kathy's dad knew the importance of winning the first place ribbon. Once again, no ribbon for me. Mrs. Tobin was in charge of rating my lovely homemade sock doll. How the heck was that garbage prize-worthy compared to a farm house awesome enough for a kid to actually want to play with!]