K for...

KOOL AID:

Nearly everyone grew up drinking Kool Aid, and I was no exception. I still like to drink it sometimes. It's also fun to freeze in ice-cube trays, to make pops. Just a few years go, I made ice cubes out of Kool Aid, and put them in Sprite and watched them melt into the soda. I also tried this with lemonade, using blue Kool Aid ice cubes that turned the drink green!

Above are the old packet designs. The newer ones are below. They still have the familiar Kool Aid man's face on the pitcher. I remember there were pre-sweetened large packets and that the small ones were unsweetened. The lemon-lime flavor seemed to only be sold unsweetened back in the day.

KALEIDOSCOPES:

Everyone remembers kaleidoscopes, I'm sure. I cannot imagine anyone not getting fascinated by the symmetrical patterns made by reflected mirrors titled to each other at angle. Even if you didn't own one, I bet you knew someone who did. 

KMART

My home town did not have Kmart until 1990, so those of us in town and to go to the nearest one until then. Many will remember numerous ads, touting Kmart as "The Saving Place." 

When it opened in my home town of Hollister, CA, all registers were open since nearly everyone in town just had to be there. Before it came to Hollister, the one most of us went to was in nearby Gilroy. In the years that followed, there would be only one or two registers open. Some of my first CDs came from Kmart. It would not be long before Target would come to town, and Dollar Tree (I was one of the first people to work there when that one opened in 2001).

With so many other Kmarts already closed, I was not surprised to see ours announce that it would be closing in February 2020, just before the pandemic hit. When I went in a day or two day before the closing, I was surprised to find a pair of shorts and some shoes in my size. It seemed that most of the common sizes had been sold out. I also got a lot of books from Kmart that I read while holed up at home at the start of  the pandemic. 

Not one Kmart remains in California, and our former store remains empty to this day.

KISSING STICK:

I can't seem to remember if I ever used this stuff, even though I used a lot of lip gloss (more on this tomorrow). But I do remember the commercials:

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KICKING back for now. LOTS more fun stuff tomorrow.