Things I Miss #1

When I was younger, I really liked my birthday.  And yeah, I kinda still do.  From February 6th (120 days out) until June 6th, I always had a running countdown and knew how many days it was until my birthday.  When I was turning 30, I had fun doing a 30 by 30 list of things.  I'm hitting another milestone this year - 35!  So to help me celebrate my birthday, I'm making a list of 35 things I miss from my childhood or things that have changed or just memories I have.  Floyd asked me a few weeks ago who I write this blog for (which, when I write it like that, sounds a little rude, but it really wasn't - we were just talkin':).  I think I write it mostly for my kids - so that they'll have a record of their lives.  I guess I hope that maybe someday they'll find some of these memories interesting.

So, to cut off this long-winded soliloquy, here's #1:

ZCMI.  Yep, I'm starting there.  I really, totally, seriously, all the time miss ZCMI.  In case my kids some day read this and don't know what ZCMI was, it stands for Zions Cooperative Mercantile Institution.  It was a department store that made its debut during pioneer times and weathered economic ebbs and flows all the way until 2000.  And boy oh boy did I spend a lot of time there!  There weren't a lot of shopping options in Cache Valley when I was a kid - basically just the mall and Kmart.

ZCMI was just a perfect department store.  The shoe department rocked ( I still own a pair of shoes my Grandma Donna bought me there when I was 14).  I can see myself in the dressing rooms and can even remember some of the things I tried on. All my Guess and Z Cavaricci jeans came from there.  Back-to-school shopping always included a lengthy stop at ZCMI and I have no trouble recalling the bovine-like bellows little Jake made while rolling on the floor as his three older sisters took their time making selections.  I remember the second I spotted my first pair of pierced earrings on display.  My 12th birthday and the promised piercing was still a few months away, but I convinced my mom to buy those earrings anyway because I loved them oh so very much.  And of course, I can tell you exactly where the Esprit bag display was.  I really wish I had kept one of those Esprit bags.  They would make such excellent church bags!

Before Floyd left on his mission, we spent a little time doing some last-minute mission shopping while I was home on Christmas break.  He needed to get some towels, so I of course led him to the housewares section of ZCMI (northeast quarter of the store you'll recall).  We picked up a couple of towels and when he showed his mom, she rolled her eyes and told us that you shouldn't buy towels there because they were overpriced.  I was shocked and a little offended because where else would one buy towels?  When we got married four years later and he packed those towels into our first little apartment, it was a redeeming moment.  You can't beat quality!

Probably my favorite part of ZCMI?  This will surprise no one.  It was the candy counter.    That place was a miracle.  I don't know if my mom was just indulgent or if we needed a lot of bribing, but trips to ZCMI always always ALWAYS included a stop by the candy counter and each of us four kiddos secured our own little white bag of sugary fun.   What is wrong with department stores today?  Why are there no candy counters?  Don't they know how much money harried mothers would spend there? 

So.  That's ZCMI for you.  Anyone else miss it?

And, just in case you wondered, 117 days:).