Micro-Nostalgia

Don't it always seem to goThat you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone? — Big Yellow Taxi (1970) by Joni MitchellI remember the exterior bricks as being an earthy yellow colour,But I could be wrong.Jawbreakers, Tar Bubbles, and A Lost ShoeI remember riding my bike, or walking, to the convenience store in that tiny plaza, a dime in my pocket, looking forward to buying a Sweet Marie, some Smarties, a Coffee Crisp, or a Jawbreaker. The Jawbreaker was, of course, more fun. It lasted longer, and turned your tongue different colours as you sucked your way down to its heart. But which to choose? Such were the hard decisions of that time, that place, my bucolic suburban world.There were more wildflowers then: Queen Anne’s Lace, buttercups, thistles. The side streets were gravel with tar bubbling up in the summer heat. As children, we would stomp on these tar bubbles — an old-school form of bursting plastic bubble wrap, but far more satisfying, as the resulting “pop” was a matter of…