Monday, July 26, 2010

Nostalgia is for Dummies

It's easy to wax nostalgic about the past until our actual brain kicks in and we remember stuff. I can't even begin to tell you how much I hated ice trays. I remember my brother losing some tongue skin on the bottom of one of those metal ones. I had enough sense to know that if I made the mistake of grabbing one with a wet hand to either wait a bit or put it under running water. And I never ran my tongue along the bottom of one.
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What was strange was how sometimes when you pulled that handle it would crack just fine and other times? Well, other times nothing really happened. I also remember all the family arguments and "blame games' over who put an empty ice tray back in the freezer. Not fun.
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At some point in the 70's everyone tossed those aluminum skin rippers and got the blue plastic ice trays:


They seemed all modern and neat and always worked like a charm when they were new. After they got old, either you had to hold them under hot water for a few minutes to get the ice out, or worse, they'd just break.

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The reason I thought about this today was because I had to hand wash some dishes (oh yeah, that's another thing I don't miss - having to hand wash ALL the dishes!). For years, I had trained myself to crack and refill the ice trays after washing the dishes as a way to also rinse the suds out of the sink and sort of conserve water. So sometimes that old, well-trained part of my brain kicks in. I pull the stopper out of the sink, the water runs out and I think: ice trays. But now I just laugh.

9 comments:

VioletSky said...

I don't normally like ice cubes in my drinks, but it has been so hot here lately that your drink need the ice or it becomes room temperature within seconds... anyway, I could have sent you a picture of my very own aluminum ice tray! It took me awhile to find it, but I remembered picking one up at a yard sale for a dime. One nice thing about these is the BIG ice cubes you get.

But yeah, now that you reminded me, never touch it with with fingers!

Jazz said...

I remember those! And also never managing to get ice cubes that weren't all broken. Remember "Scubes" those plastic bags you filled that gave round cubes. They were supposed to be great because the ice wouldn't "melt" in the freezer even if the cubes were there a long time. But how hard is it to make fresh ice?

Mr. Jazz said...

Ice is the spice!

Carole said...

Seems the trick to the aluminum handled ones, getting the handle to work, was not over filling. My daughter wants to start making her own baby food, and my daughter-in-law just suggested making the food and freezing it in ice trays. Then in about a year, no doubt we'll be filling them with kool-aid for cool summer treats! :D

Anonymous said...

Wow, that old ice-cube tray took me back. I hated those things. There was a reason God invented plastic.

geewits said...

V,
~~I'm guessing you meant "wet fingers." Yeah, that can be bad. Does this mean your fridge does not have an ice maker?

Jazz,
~~I've never heard of "scubes." I think now if my ice maker broke, I'd just buy bags of ice.

Mr. Jazz,
~~Sure. I guess.

Carole,
~~I've heard of doing that with broth but never baby food.

Ian,
~~I didn't like any of them. Give me an ice maker any day.

VioletSky said...

yes, I meant wet fingers!
and yes, my fridge does not have an ice-maker. sheesh, I do have a self defrosting freezer though (not everyone here does!!!)

Anonymous said...

Who doesn't have a self-defrosting freezer these days Violetsky? Although I don't see too many ice-making fridges.

VioletSky said...

I know, hard to imagine, isn't it? I doubt you can BUY one, but I know of two oldies in my building who still have the original fridges in their apts. One has been trying to get a new one for years, but they who control such things keep stalling since there is nothing wrong with hers - except that besides not defrosting by itself, it would also use up a whack of electricity!