I stayed up way too late last night watching a really bad movie called One Million Years B.C. I remember liking it a lot when I was a kid, so when I ran across the DVD on sale for five bucks, and I considered that it contained stop-motion dinosaurs animated by the legendary Ray Harryhausen and Raquel Welch in a fur bikini, I thought I couldn’t go wrong. Sadly, it turned out to be one of those flicks that should’ve remained a fond memory. C’est la vie.
The real injury, however, happened when the receptionist here at my office asked me why I was looking so tired. I told her… and got a completely blank look. I didn’t expect her to recognize the movie title, but she didn’t know who Raquel Welch was either. Come on! Raquel Welch? She was only one of the biggest sex symbols of the 20th Century! And she only appeared on one of the most famous cheesecake posters ever produced! (That’s it up there at the top of the entry. I remember many comic-book ads for posters-by-mail, and this one was always the largest thing on the page. It’s still available, too.) But no, the kid had no idea whatsoever.
Some days I really feel like I may as well stop fighting it, apply for Social Security, and go invest in a rocking chair…
I’ll be honest with you, Jason. I know who Raquel Welch is, but I have no idea what you mean by “cheesecake poster.” Please explain!
A few years back, I was at a work-related dinner and we were talking about Neil Armstrong’s Moon Walk.
One of the people on my team said she remembered watching the moon walk on television, which was quite impossible because she was born more than a decade after it happened.
She insisted until we found out that she was talking about Michael Jackson’s performance on a 1980 Motown special.
How old is this receptionist? Don’t worry Jas I am right up there with you.
Robert: “cheesecake” is a term applied to sexy but non-pornographic photos and paintings of pretty young ladies. Pin-up art, in other words. The male counterpart is sometimes called “beefcake.”
Brian: Good lord! I know I’m probably unusual these days in my enthusiasm for space exploration, but that sort of story — which I hear far too often — makes me incredibly sad.
Steph: The receptionist is pretty young — probably 19 or 20 at most — but still, to have not even heard of Raquel Welch? Good lord, didn’t she play Joey’s mom on Friends? She’s still working on television pretty regularly, and she’s still pretty smoking for a woman her age. Kids today…