Peace Out, Baby

The other night, Cute and I went back to the 60s for an evening. Our dinner club hosts decided that the theme for the night was to be those glory days of the 1960s, maybe stretching into the 70s.

We were reminded of the old saying that if you can remember the 60s, you really weren’t there, but there we were anyway.

It seemed like a short trip back although none of us were able to wear any of our 60s gear or even still had it. Cute and I went out thrifting but we started at the last minute. I finally decided to just make-do as a somewhat ancient flower child. Cute, however, was resplendent and un-recognizable which is why I’ve included his photo. He was also thrilled to wear sandals when it was 14° outside. We thought we might be the only couple dressed for the event but fortunately we were wrong.  And the hostess even distributed necklaces, sunglasses, and peace loving bracelets. We all felt decked out in the times!

Our dinner was absolutely appropriate: We began the night with Vespers, a martini made famous by James Bond.   Appetizers were meatballs made with grape jelly sauce, delicious, and a giant cheese ball covered in nuts and served with Wheat Thins and Triscuits. Dinner was salad and fondue and of course we had to reminisce about harvest gold and olive green fondue pots that we’ve all put in garage sales. Dessert was a Harvey Wallbanger cake (It’s hard to find an orange cake mix nowadays) served with Harvey Wallbangers.  This too was a bit challenging as Galliano is no longer a popular liquor.  There was more, but I won’t go into other forms of entertainment.  

(None of us knew the Wallbanger “facts.” The story claims bartender Donato "Duke" Antone created it for surfer Tom Harvey, who was so intoxicated by the drink he "banged" into the walls, leading to the name "Harvey Wallbanger." Maybe created in 1952, the drink gained fame around 1969 when McKesson Imports Company created a cartoon mascot of a “surfer" named Harvey for marketing. The campaign used the slogan, "Harvey Wallbanger is the name and I can be made!” I don’t remember that slogan.)

Anyway, it was fun to have a legitimate reason to think about prior lives and times that in retrospect seemed entertaining, lively, much more pleasant than today, despite Nixon, Vietnam, protests, and inequality.  I guess some things haven’t changed, - even though all of us have.

But the evening also posed a real threat:  it’s our turn next to host.  What can we  possibly do??