What's In My Trapper Keeper? Tracey Gold!

As you know, I loved the ABC show Growing Pains. Growing Pains ran from 1985-1992 and took place on Long Island which I thought was so cool because as you know, I lived there. I was a big-time Kirk Cameron fan and in addition to sending him fan mail, I must have hit up Tracey Gold as well. Tracey portrayed his brainy sister Carol Seaver.

Funny, two weeks ago I brought you a signed photo of the Gimme A Break! cast starring Nell Carter. Did you know that Tracey Gold was almost cast as the youngest daughter? The role obviously went to Lara Jill Miller. 
  
I loved the Gold sisters. Tracey's younger sister, Missy Gold, appeared on the TV series Benson from 1979-1986.  Tracey Claire Fisher was born May 16, 1969 in New York City. Tracey Gold and her and her younger sisters Missy and Brandy went by the name Gold. Their mom Bonnie married a hot shot Hollywood talent agent named Harry Goldstein who adopted the girls when they were small. They changed their name and shortened it to Gold when they got into the biz. Gold is a much better stage name and makes for some fun headlines.
 
Sadly Tracey struggled as a teen with anorexia. Her beloved older friend and Growing Pains costar, Joanna Kerns introduced her to an actor she worked on a miniseries with named Roby Marshall. The two married in 1994 and have four sons together, Sage, Bailey, Aiden and Dylan. Tracey made headlines back in 2004 when her SUV tipped over in a highly publicized DWI accident--she was held on $50K bail. Sadly her hubby and children were in the car. In researching for this blog post, I've learned that Tracey Gold wrote a bio called Room to Grow, I'll be checking that out soon if it's still in print. I really did like her.

MTV's Jersey Shore Is Very Long Island

I'm getting slightly off topic today to celebrate the second season or Season Two of MTV's Jersey Shore. One of my buddies from high school posted on her Facebook page today something about guidos from our high school as we prep for our 20th high school reunion. Her post reminded me of how much I hated GUIDOS growing up! As an Italian American I grew up in a very Italian American area on Long Island, New York -- in fact one of the cast members of Jersey Shore, JWOWW (Jenni Farley) is from my old neighborhood.


The irony of Jersey Shore, which has some Jersey folk up in arms, is that only one cast member, Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola" is even from the state of New Jersey. The rest of the cast hail from New York and Paul "DJ Pauly D" DelVecchio is from Rhode Island -- I never knew Rhode Island even had guidos!

The idea behind the show, in case you have yet to catch an episode, is basically like MTV's The Real World only eight guidos/guidette strangers picked to live in a house ... work together and have their lives taped ... to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real ...  These guys hook up (trying to avoid "grenades" aka ugly girls) party, smoke and drink and get into scuffles with each other and the locals.

They live for fake tans, hair gel, working out and battling on the dance floor to shitty music. It makes for great entertainment and although as I said, I am Italian and feel that, yes they are stereotyping us (I was never a guido) and they make New Jersey look less than alluring. I've been to the shore many times and the areas I visit aren't filled with fist pumping guidos with over-sized muscles and gelled hair.

I spent my youth avoiding guidos. I have never dated or befriended a guido. I worked hard to avoid purchasing anything remotely resembling something that could be considered "guido".  Yet tonight, I am so anxious to park my ass in front of our flat screen and tune in to MTV at 10 PM and LMAO at Jersey Shore Season 2 in Miami. I can't wait to catch up with my imaginary friends Snooki, The Situation, Ronnie, Vinny (my fave), Sammi, JWOWW, Angelina and Pauly.




  

Back To School & College Dorm Room Supplies

As August nears, you can sense summer is coming to a close. I know there's an entire month left, but the atmosphere changes somehow. Crickets and locus chirp and sing louder throughout the afternoon, the sun hits your yard a bit differently and the nights aren't as long.

It's around this time that we begin to see Back to School sales and circulars advertising everything from fancy pens and notebooks at CVS and Walgreens to dorm room delights from Bed Bath & Beyond. Bed Bath & Beyond even have a We Love College! ad campaign. Next to wedding registries, dorm room decor is probably their biggest money maker!

As much as I hated returning to school after a summer of fun, I didn't mind stocking up on everything from new clothing and shiny notebooks in grammar school to extra long dorm room sheets to new backpacks in high school and college! Here are some of my favorite vintage back-to-school stuff. What did you love best?

Cool 1980s Lunch Boxes

In grade school it was uber important to show up to school gripping a kick-ass lunch box. Be it Smurfs, Snoopy or E.T. -- you didn't want to be stuck with one of those boring, run-of-the-mill, plain lunch boxes.

The Jansport Bag

In high school and college, it was all about the Jansport backpack. I'm not quite sure why. I mean, it was just a backpack, but it was truly an essential in both high school and college. I also loved LL Bean backpacks.

The Mead Trapper Keeper

If you've been following a long for a bit, you know how dedicated I am to the Trapper Keeper by Mead. I loved the way it held every piece of paper securely and fashionably. I had the red one one year and a blue one other years. I enjoyed slapping stickers all over them to personalize them a bit. I found this old commercial, check it out.