"She would not be born till to-morrow..." ~ Jane Eyre

Most of my childhood memories are from the 1980's, but I was born in 1978 and was thinking this morning about all of the wonderful things to come out of that decade.

One may ask, what wonderful things? True, paisley bell-bottoms, orange shaggy rugs, the Beatles Breakup, and Nixon's antics are not exactly stellar aspects of the decade, but I think there are some wonderful gifts from the 70's that are forgotten too often.

~ The Fondue Pot: Fondue made an amazing comeback a few years ago, and thanks to J.Sarah, I have a fondue pot that serves four. Waterzooi serves fondue daily, some made with beer and some with wine. One of the best fondues can be found at Artisinal. To quote a friend on a night a bunch of us went to La Bonne Soup for a big fondue pot, "Who knew cheese and bread could be so exciting?"

~ Star Wars: To this day, I get a lump in the back of my throat each time I see Luke Skywalker stare at the two moons of Endor as he stands in the dessert of Tatouine. I teach Star Wars to my freshman, tying it in to my mythology unit. It speaks for itself. The films capture the Hero Archetype set by the Ancient Greeks in their stories. My favorite of the three is Empire. I don't consider the new ones to have all that much merit, except for the end of the last one where James Earl Jones is back as Vader. Star Wars was released in 1977, and I saw it. My mom went with my father when she was pregnant with me and Robin. It explains a lot when it comes to our love of this epic, believe me.

~ John Denver: I love John Denver. My aunt was crazy about him in the early part of the 80's, and that love transposed itself on to me, my mother, and my sisters. I prefer his country music to his other folk music, but "Annie's Song" is probably the best song he has in his repertoire. I once read it was the most popular wedding song of the 70's, but I try to block the image of grooms in seersucker suits dancing to this with their hippie brides. "Calypso" isn't really a country song, but I just love when he yodels in it.

~ The Godfather: Self-explanatory. There is only one part of the movie I can't stand, and that is when sweet Apollonia gets killed. I never liked Kaye for Michael.

~ Pablo Neruda: Pablo Neruda won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1971. He is my favorite poet because he is multi-faceted in his subjects. His poems range from political to romantic to passions regarding food. One of my favorite Neruda poems is called, "Oda Al Tomate" or "Ode to Tomatoes."
http://www.soupsong.com/ftomato2.html

~ Sesame Street: At almost 8 months old, Jack already loves Elmo. I think this show was and is so important to instilling good values in young children. Well, that and I love that Cookie Monster helped us all to embrace our cookie-loving selves. One of my dream jobs includes being a producer for the Children's Television Workshop.

~ Clogs: I loved clogs. I loved the sound they made, and I still remember trying on Missy's and walking around her room trying not to trip since they were too big on me. No doubt she is reading this and perturbed at yet another example of how Robin and I invaded her room. I would wear clogs today. That slap sound clogs make reminds me of summer.

Other favorites include corduroy pants, Bruce Springsteen, and Happy Days. Oh, and there is nothing I love more than viewing family photos from the 70's. I can't believe my father wore bell bottoms and had mutton chops and my mother wore gypsy blouses.