This Is Framingham

Yesterday I stopped by “sad plaza“and took a look around St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store.  I go in there about once a month looking for interesting house wares or old corduroys.  There can be a lot of junk in there but occasionally I’ll find something that catches my eye like this yarn picture and even though I don’t smoke, I just had to have this ashtray.
Yesterday I saw something that stopped me in my tracks.  In 1978 my mom brought my sister and I to a store like Kmart or Two Guys and I guess they were demonstrating the latest Kodak instant camera.  My mom had them take a picture of my sister and I and they put the photo in this little sleeve/book to remind you what awesome new camera took the picture. ivermectin topical dosing children head lice
  
Of course she didn’t buy the camera but this photo has been kept in the sleeve and is a permanent part of the picture collection we’ve kept through the years.

As I was looking through the thrift store I saw a familiar image.  The yellow background an colorful letters spelling out “Colorburst”- it was the Kodak Colorburst 300, in person!  I stood there gazing at it and I heard James Blunt’s “Beautiful” in my head.

There was someone standing in front of it looking at stuff on another shelf. action of ivermectin   I thought “Oh my God, please don’t look down!”  I had this nightmare scenario that this lady would look at it and say “Oh WOW!  A Colorburst 300, I can’t believe it!” she would scoop it up and walk by me, hugging it with a big smile on her face but she soon got out of the way and I went over and grabbed it.
I brought it home and got out the Colorburst picture I’ve kept for 28 years, I was just so thrilled with this great random find and it was only $5!

I couldn’t wait to show Ethan, as soon as he got home I said “GUESS what I found at the thrift shop!” and pointed over to it on the counter.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone less impressed with something as he was with that camera.  It wasn’t even disgust, it was just this pure “could not care less” vibe. revectina 6mg 4 comprimidos
I even tried convince him it was cool to have, showing him the picture and saying “THIS picture was taken with the same type of camera and I found this camera at the thrift store!”
He just stood there for a second and then asked “Are you going to keep it?”

I guess it’s just me, but I was so happy with my little treasure, it’s beautiful to me. : ) 

A few nights ago we were walking down to “Big Town Pantry” to get an ice cream and then decided to walk around the rest of “Sad Plaza“.
I’ve noticed Friendly Cleaner/ Laundromat before but never went in so I decided to take a look. can you buy ivermectin over the counter in mexico
I have this thing for older stuff, and was impressed with the machines in this place. These yellow and orange monsters look like they took a licking but keep on ticking. ivermectin pferd kaufen

They also have an old logo Pepsi machine and then I saw they even had the old labels on the buttons. fda aprova ivermectina I miss those wavy lines and the font for Diet Pepsi!  The most impressive part was that it’s only 75¢ for a can.  Nice!
 

This place has been a familiar sight on Rt. 9 since I can remember, yet I’ve never been inside. I remember when my sister and I were little we were puzzled because we couldn’t tell if the store was called “Walter Dyer is Leather” or if Walter Dyer was actually a guy made out of leather (creepy!). It was also fun to shout out “Big Bad Bootery! ?????? ???? 2023 “ when we drove by.  Even now Ethan has heard me mutter “bigbadbootery” in the car when we pass it. ?????? ??? ??? ?????  You’d think for the sake of the blog I’d go in there and check it out but I just can’t.  Not because I don’t think they have good stuff, but I don’t want to ruin the vision of what I think it must look like inside.  I always pictured it looking like a saloon out of the old west with a second floor balcony and playing Bob Seger on the radio. ???? ???   I just like to keep that part of my childhood to connect with and going in there would end the mystique of what it’s like inside. BUT, if anyone is looking for leather products I think you should go. It looks like they have some good stuff.  Who knows, maybe someday I’ll finally go in there and get a big belt buckle or something.

Last night we went out to Fun and Games (or Fun and Drugs, as we used to call it in middle/high school) I haven’t been in there since the 80’s.  I was kind of disappointed that they didn’t have more classic games but it was still fun.

I always liked the entrance that feels like space you’re walking into a spaceship.
The biggest challenge of the night was playing MTV’s Drumscape where you try to drum along to a song. I like how they have real songs, by the real bands to drum to. I attempted to “jam!” (as the game says before you start) to “Round and Round” by Ratt .
Ethan is leaps and bounds above me in drumming ability, I felt like a 5 year old randomly pounding away with no rhythm or skill.  At the end of the song it plays a roaring applause and screams like you just finished a concert. I feel I didn’t deserve the simulated cheer, I guess it’s better than it knowing you can’t keep up with the song and hearing boos from the audience.  Pinball is always good too, I wish they had more than three but maybe I’m just used to the seemingly endless selection of pinball games at Funspot, which is really the only other arcade I go to(when I’m in the area).
I’m surprised Fun and Games is still open, never mind open until 9pm (10pm on weekends) but I’m glad they are. It’s one of the few Rt. businesses that are there from when I was a kid.

Especially when the weather is nice out, I miss having the old Shoppers World around.  All that’s left are these steel beams at Rt. 30 and Speen Street that used to hold the neon sign.  I know some people say it was ratty and ugly (and outdated towards the end) but I think it was really special.
It was so great to just walk around from shop to shop without having to worry about getting mowed down by a car and getting some fresh air at the same time.  Where else could you find a Windsor Button Shop, a House of Zodiac AND see live reindeer all at the same mall? 
I remember going there with my mom and sisters when we were little, shmying around and taking train rides, being a teenager and going to the movies with my friends and working at Joan and Ed’s deli when I was in college.  I feel like Shopper’s World was such a terrific place and now it’s just chain stores and asphalt.  I don’t want to sound like an old lady shaking her cane into the air but, the new shoppers world isn’t even worthy of the name Shoppers World!  They should call it Another blob of generic stores you can find anywhere in America with bland, unoriginal structures and no trains or reindeer”
I know it would be a big sign but they can afford it.
Check out this link  and this link to see some great old shoppers world photos.
Also thanks to Mitch Cohen, here’s a last look at Jordan Marsh before the old girl was torn down.

Feel free to comment about any of your favorite stores or experiences at Shoppers World (the real Shoppers World).