Defunct

 

I apparently live in the land of "defunct".  I guess reality has set in.  In my preferences and joys, there are a helluva lot of things that I really LIKE that are either a) not popular anymore, b) considered rather extremely "old-fashioned", or c) actually defunct.  If I think about it too long, it can be discouraging. So, to get them out of my mind, I am going to list a few of these things:

1.  Pipes & Pipe Tobaccos - of course.  

2.  Cigars too.  I did get to go to the "Retiree's Cigar Group" yesterday, and it was wonderful.  But, I do know it is pretty much an anachronism in today's world.  

3.  My wind instruments (clarinet, bass clarinet, saxes, etc) - Most music is synthesized these days, truth-be-told.  Few appreciate real playing of musical instruments for the most part.  Do not get me wrong, synthesizers require skill (piano skill) and are valid, but modern synthesizers have replaced and supplanted most other instruments in a "one-size fits all" sort of single instrument.

4.  My preference for manual transmissions - I saw online a sticker that was for manual transmission cars.  It read, "Anti-Millennial Device Installed" and had a picture of a manual gear shift knob pattern as well.  It is indeed true.  I suspect very, very, very few folks under 40 know how to drive a manual transmission in the US anymore.  And, apparently a bit more than 99% of vehicles now sold in the US are automatic.  

5.  Jazz Music

6.  Bossa Nova Music

And, here are two of my more recent discoveries (and one older one) of defunct items I had greatly enjoyed....

7.  Brach's Bridge Mix - a wonderful cornucopia of mixed candies covered in either milk or dark chocolate.  I loved eating these for decades.  It was always a joy discovering what was in the center, be it a peanut, or a raisin, or a vanilla cream, or a cherry jelly, or a caramel, or a malt ball, or a Brazil nut.  I last had this candy probably 4 years ago.  Kept searching every year.  Finally read that it is defunct now.  Over the last four years, I occasionally find some "off brand" that produces something they call "Bridge Mix" but every instance thus far has been quite inferior..... usually the chocolare is weak flavored and waxy, and the range and quality of the items in the centers are miniscule and poor..... very poor attempts to replicate a classic.

8.  Brach's "Duck Eggs" - Duck Eggs are what they were ORIGINALLY called for a helluva lot of years, but in the last 5 years of their existence, they were renamed "Bunny Basket Eggs".  If you have ever had a "Circus Peanut", it is a marshmallow-like confection with a bit of banana flavoring in it.  Well, in a Brach's Duck Egg, that marshmallow "circus peanut" is made a tad sweeter and more granular, and then covered with a candy coating of a fruit flavor (like the coating on a jelly bean).  These Duck Eggs were a favorite of mine for decades.  I had one perhaps 3 years ago.  I searched for them the last few years, and eventually read that they too were now defunct.  

9.  Life Savers in LIME - I do not know how long now this has been (perhaps ~10 years?), but I do still miss the real (original) green Life Saver.... which was LIME in flavor.  It was always my favorite flavor (followed by pineapple).  They changed the green Life Saver to (gag) watermelon around 10 years ago.  My consumption of Life Savers declined by at least 95% since.

There are others, but the above gives the gist of my thoughts and lets me retire them a bit from my mind. 

PipeTobacco