Wendy’s changed the spicy chicken sandwich. The new one isn’t bad, but the old one occupied a very specific spot in my memory that will be missed.
The scent of my grandparents’ house.
It had a very distinctive sweet aroma. I was never sure what is was, and I never asked. The scent followed them when they moved into a condo in a retirement facility. The last time I visited them in their condo was 2019, and they’ve both since passed away.
They gave me a book many years ago, the pages of which used to smell like their house. I know if I dig that book out of storage, it might still have a trace scent in it. But otherwise, it is now just a memory.
Here’s a couple:
Reebok DMX shoes. Most comfortable shows I ever owned.
Interior decor of Taco Bell and other fast food places in the mid 90s. It looked like a fun place. Now it just reminds me of a POW camp on Guadalcanal.
Watching Star Trek with my grandma at five o’clock on our local TV station. I’d always say that one day I’d be on the Enterprise and she’d look up from her knitting and smile gently.
Chicken Cacciatore from Maggianos. Perfectly marinated, fall off the bone half chicken. Discontinued probably 15 years ago and I still think about it.
Seasons 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6 of Firefly.
I also miss Sobeys (Canadian grocery chain) Take n Bake pizza. They changed to a new recipe many years ago. I bought one of their new pizzas, it was very disappointing.
Prank phone calls. Its still possible with enough dedication and effort, but between smart call ID, the phone boxes disappearing and 99.99% of incoming calls being scams its just not worth the effort.
Time was if you knew a phone number and 30p in your pocket you could pop into a phone box and get an expensive laugh.
I also kinda miss how they smell. It was awful mix of piss, cigarettes and burnt plastic, but it was a pretty unique sensation.
Sex. Minus the “deeply personal.” Well, minus the “deeply.”
mh150 sunglasses from decathlon. Wayfarer shape but they fit my rather large head just fine and I liked the colours. They were cheap (£10) so it didn’t matter so much if I lost or broke them. They were mirrored.
For about 6 years I relied on them and now I need to find a new brand or supplier.
I wish we could roll back the last 30 years and have a do over. Everything is shit anymore.
need 50 to really set things right
Altoids Sours, specifically the mango ones. Those were my absolute jam. Probably for the best, in regards to the structural integrity of my hard palate.
I miss incandescent Christmas lights from the 70s.
the colors they had were warm and magical.
you could go down the street at night and the whole neighborhood was filled with this technicolor dream rainbow that you just can’t make anymore.
sorry, not inconsequential. those lights were objectively better and made countless people’s lives better than the LED shit, whether or not they even realized it.
the change to LED has been a real loss with consequences
This is just stupid of me, but I hate how they changed the grocery store I had been going to for a decade. Everything’s there, just in a different place. It has been over a year and I’m still not over it.
In-N-Out pink lemonade. They switched to fake sugar and it just isn’t as refreshing as it used to be.
I used to have this yellow dress that I loved and I am pretty sure I accidentally donated it like 10 or 15 years ago, but every 6 to 10 months or so I still think about that dress.
They keep tearing down buildings that have personal significance to me. My grade school, my first job, my favorite skate spots, teenage hangout spots, etc. Some spots became better things but most were turned into parking lots. I know Joni was singing about nature and whatnot, but Big Yellow Taxi hits me hard.
My best friends joined the Marines out of high school. Anytime they came home on leave they’d get to town in the wee hours of the morning and we’d meet up at Denny’s. That Denny’s was torn down and turned into a car wash :(
If you’ve never heard it before, look up the song Gold Rush by Death Cab for Cutie. It’s about losing places that are tied to memories.
I live in close proximity to my old high school. Its very old, one of the oldest in the country, actually. It’s being shut down soon and I’m not thrilled about it. I feel the same as you about my old stomping grounds being clear cut and paved or developed. Its really sad 😢
The forest near my childhood home. It’s still there. I’m not.
Last summer I went there, and the place was so familiar to me that I recognized individual trees.
