Oh my gosh, have you ever laughed so hard that you cried? 
I was posting on Facebook in a group my sister invited me to yesterday called “You know you from Oakland Park if………..” I live in Knoxville now, but I lived in the Oakland Park/Fort Lauderdale area from June 1964 to March 2010. I’m from Boston originally, but I will always think of myself as a Floridian.
Anyway, this group and their topics have been jogging my memory. I’m remembering things that I haven’t thought of in over 40 years.
There are quite a few posts that my friend Cathy and I jumped into and, by this time, the following post/thread had me in stitches. Last names removed to protect the innocent.
Kathie starts with: Remember Lum’s at the corner of Federal Highway and Oakland Park Boulevard next to the theater…..?
Sandy: Loved their onion rings!!
Wendy: Loved their hot Ham and Cheese sandwhiches.
Karolynne: LOVED “KIDS EAT FREE” NITE, LOL
Guy: There still is a Lum’s up here in Northern Virginia near Woodbridge
Ann: my first hotdog steamed in beer
Sandy: Yum!!
Kathie: What about the Lumburgers. The best sloppy joes I’ve ever eaten. Love the hotdogs steamed in beer also.
Debbie: There also was a Lum’s on Oakland Park Blvd. in between Powerline and Andrews.
Marcia: Sure do. We (THe Good Reasons) would go there after a Gig and order Lum Dogs, Rootbeer and of course the scrumtious fries. They also had THE BEST roast beef sandwiches.
Wendy: Debbie??? Wendy (last name!)
Larry: There’s a diner in downtown Davie that still makes Ollieburgers.
Kelly: My sister worked there…
Susan (me): Boy, does that bring back memories. The Coral Ridge movie theater used to be between the tall Kenann building and Lums. We usually went to Lums after the movie. One time, I was on a date when we ran into Mickey Rooney and his wife in the movie’s parking lot. We chatted for awhile and then left. I’m thinking late 60’s.
Ann: we went to kiddie shows on sat. the big kids sat in the back.
Ted: met Mickey Rooney there
Now, I have to pause right here because Cathy was, and still is, my best friend from the time I met her in the Summer of 1970. She’s got a memory that just won’t quit. My memory really stinks, always has. I can’t even use the excuse of memory loss due to aging because I’ve been like this since I was, well, ever since I can remember…lol! I always find myself in the position of trying to defend myself when someone brings up something from the past that I know I never had anything to do with…ahem! My ex-husband used to do that to me all the time. I fail miserably at defending myself because I can’t remember squat. Anyway, I digress. Let’s just say that the only bad thing about having old friends is that they remember things that you wish you could forget…lol!
Continuing the thread on Facebook:
Cathy: @Susan can you remember the movie? I remember he said he thought it was a good effort by the kids, was it some kind of “rock western”?
Susan: @Cathy Were you with us? I don’t recall the movie. We saw so many movies back then, between Coral Ridge, Gateway, and Thunderbird Drive-In. Maybe Jeremiah Johnson, it could have been 1972. You’re the one with the good memory. I love this group. It sure is jogging my memory.
Cathy: Ok, Susan, I tried Googling “rock western” and came up with the movie “Zachariah, an electric western”. It came out in 1970. It had Country Joe & The Fish and one of the characters was Don Johnson I think. As you mentioned before, my memory is a bit hazy from back then too. LOL.
Susan: Jeremiah, Zachariah, I was close! Haha!
By this time, I was sitting here in my living room, all alone, laughing so 
hard tears were running down my face. Cathy and I don’t see each other very often, specially since we moved to Knoxville in early 2010. In fact, the last time we got together was the week after Christmas to visit an old friend who was dying of lung cancer (Tina passed in March). 
Cathy and I 
have been through some great times and some really bad times, but it’s times like this when I am thankful for friends who remember me, and who will always remind me of the times we spent together.
P.S. And thanks to all of you Oakland Parkers (Oakland Parkians?) for some great memories.
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