Last day of the year, last day of the decade. If I had it in me I would try and write one of those look back recaps of cool and not-so-cool things that went down at Buzzy’s Country Store during this past decade. However, as I think my way through such an exercise I find that I would have to mention all of my Buzzy friends who are no longer with us. The thought of that brings me down too much so forget any magnum opus here about the 2010’s and Buzzy’s Country Store.
But on the subject of looking back, how about we check out some old Buzzy calendars I found recently? I found two rolled up calendars behind the safe in Buzzy’s Country Store. (Twelve years here and I’m still finding stuff!) They were rolled and bound so tightly with a piece of string that it took me a couple days of laying ’em out flat with a couple of books stacked on ’em to get them to straighten out. Even with all that, they still wanted to curl up when I went to photograph them. Hence, the paper clips and somewhat skewed perspective of the photos here:
Comparing the calendars you will see the following differences:
I’m not so sure about him saying “Where Friends and Strangers Enjoy Themselves” in the 1978 edition because it makes Buzzy’s sound a little like a place for swingers. However, he dropped that in 1980 to read simply “Old Rural Charm and Necessities.”
Another subtle difference that wouldn’t mean much to you but resonates with me is that he dropped our home phone number of 301-872-5744 from the 1980 calendar. This was due to his divorce from my Mom. To this day Mom retains the 744 phone number but can no longer remember it when asked to do so. (Funny though, she can recall the Store number with no problem.)
Another facet of the calendars that I noticed had to do with some of the holidays and special dates noted as follows:
Note the inclusion of Robert E. Lee’s and Stonewall Jackson’s birthdays on the 19th and 21st respectively. Note too the absence of Martin Luther King’s Monday Federal holiday which was not made official until 1986 with his holiday designated for the third Monday in January. Because it can coincide with Stonewall’s birthday as it would have here in 1980 and did so this past January 2019, has a bit of irony about it wouldn’t you say?
Note also – in case you are curious, the 27th above, is commemorating Edison’s light bulb and is the date that he applied for his patent. However, contrary to popular belief (fake news maybe?) Edison did not invent the first light bulb (click here for that story.)
Speaking of my folks’ divorcing, here is a catchy little split up tune for you. Enjoy it because it is the last song I’m going to spin for you this year/decade. (Remember – Buzzy’s It’s New Year’s Somewhere Party starting at 5 this evening.)