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As a little kid growing up in Miami, I had to learn that jai alai wasn't well-known elsewhere in the US. I remember watching the ads for it on TV, though (like
by dalke 3y ago
As a little kid growing up in Miami, I had to learn that jai alai wasn't well-known elsewhere in the US. I remember watching the ads for it on TV, though (like dog racing) I was too young to go.
For me, I thought the large school lockers I saw on TV were pretty exotic. Why were they large enough that someone could hide in them? Ours were about backpack sized.
My Mom explained that's where people put their winter clothes, which also explained why the lockers were always inside enclosed hallways. I was used to having hallways with one side open, to allow a breeze.
To show you what I mean, here's my elementary school, https://www.google.com/maps/@25.7538402,-80.2581714,3a,27.4y,8.95h,91.74t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sA1WHdjUVyrtgIDNeuhQK-A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu https://www.google.com/maps/@25.7538402,-80.2581714,3a,27.4y... . They didn't install A/C until I was in 4th grade. The entire classroom wall facing the hallway was a bank of doors that could open up to allow a cross-breeze, with a wall of windows on the other side.
For that matter, snow was pretty exotic too. ;) When I went up north to Tallahassee for college, us S. Florida people were so excited when the temperature got to freezing. We stayed up late to see if the water we left out would freeze.
- mixmastamyk 3y agoOn that note, I also remember TV shows as a kid, the parents always came out in full pajamas, fuzzy slippers, and a robe on. "Who dresses like that?" I thought. Didn't know a single person in SoCal that did, to this day even. In fact summers I'd live in swim trunks (only) for three solid months.
- cafard 3y agoEven in Washington, DC, which isn't New England, I can get away with bumping around the house in shorts and tee shirt only until about the end of September. Of course, the TV shows were largely filmed around LA, so maybe the cast got hardship pay for the costumes.
- detourdog 3y agoTV produces so many ideas per second. Young minds absorb them not realizing they come from a bunch of stressed out writers in a room. The ideas are really transient but that moment on TV makes it seem so important.
- e40 3y agoMe, too! Remember the Serpentarium? And the king Cobra shows with nothing but grass between us and the snake?
- detourdog 3y agoGrew up outside of Gainesville and always wondered about Jai Alai. The ads on TV made it very important but no adult I knew cared about it. Very confusing.
- js2 3y agoI went to U.F. in the 90s (grew up in South Florida). Some college buddies and I went to a Jai Alai game in Ocala once. It felt like we'd stepped back in time a few decades. Here's photos of the Orlando fronton which has a similar vibe: https://www.orlandoweekly.com/orlando/orlando-jai-alai-31-photos-of-what-its-like-today/Slideshow/30946733/30904644 https://www.orlandoweekly.com/orlando/orlando-jai-alai-31-ph... (Archived for posterity https://archive.ph/r2Yga https://archive.ph/r2Yga)
- dalke 3y agoNever did, but going back to "exotic", when I moved to Illinois I encountered a lot of new vegetation. "What's this one?" I asked. My friends looked at me with an odd expression. "Maple." Me: "Oh! It does look like the Canadian flag!" To them, mango, avocado, and Key Lime trees - all which we had in our yard - were exotic. To say nothing of lizards and iguanas, nor having a flock of parakeets fly out of a tree.
- jbaber 3y agoThank you for this explanation of giant TV lockers for a SoCal raised guy.
- dalke 3y agoI'll forward your thanks to my Mom!