The Daily News

DN WAY TO GO A'S!!! A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO THE A'S AND THEIR FANS THIS MORNING!!! LET'S GO OAKLAND!!! AND NOW...THE DAILY NEWS!!!

1 Today is 80's day. Yesterday was 60's day.

2 "When were you in high school, Mr. Harrington?" asked a student.

3 "Bet it was in the 80s!" another chimed in.

4 "Were you in high school in the 80's?"

5 "I am actually of indeterminate decade to be honest."

6 "I KNOW you were in high school in the 80's!"

6 "As a matter of fact, I WAS in high school in the 80's," I answered.

7 "When?"

8 "Just about all of 'em."

9 End of conversation.

10 Yesterday 60's day was great.

11 I had an understated Lennon look going on, complete with flowers, beads, and army-green shirt.

12 Lennon on Dick Cavett.

13 No Yoko. Revolution # 9. #notahashtag

14 60's day was great because it began with me hopping in the car feeling 60's real. Real love.

15 I drove down the freeway blasting the Mamas and Papas. Worked. They held up well cruising through the East Hills of Sannozay.

16 I drove up into those hills, and when I turned down the street to get to the school, the opening riff to California Dreamin' came through the speakers. Did I turn it up?

17 I blasted it, because nobody was out in the neighborhood.

18 I wasn't late. I saw that the streets got empty. I turned it still louder. California Dreamin'. Singin' it: "I went for a walk, on a winter's day..."

19 "I'd be safe and warm..." and on and on. Perfect.

20 As I rolled down Arcade, I saw lots of students dressed in 60's regalia. I turned the volume down to your basic T000000NDRA background cruising level. Great blend of song and busy streets.

21 I expected cheap Brady Bunch imitations. Instead there were pretty girls with flowers in their hair, boys in tie-dye and Lennon glasses, and even teachers looking sprite and young again. Flowers in the air; flowers everywhere!

22 And then there was this Lennonesque Old Brown Shoe. The vibe was awesome. Everyone smiled and threw peace signs.

23 I went against my DN from yesterday and wore sunglasses along with the flowers and beads.

24 The entire day continued to be fun. I visited colleagues, and we hugged like love children. I walked across campus just for the fun of it. It was difficult to hide my smile.

25 "You know the preacher likes it cold..."

26 Pure.

27 I continued with lessons and enjoyed every moment. "Tomorrow is 80's," I thought to myself. "I'd better get some new clothes!"

28 Moving on, Part One: I thought that I should start with big hair. The perfect place to get costumes in my eyes was at Natasha's Attic on Bascom. Reasonably easy shot from school. I'd be there in no time.

29 <basketball buzzer>

30 I drove slowly down Bascom, but no Natasha's. I remembered that it had moved, but decided instead of stopping, to go down Steven's Creek and see if I could find Victoria's Costumes, which was once the reigning queen of costume shops. It charmed Willow Glen at one time, but my recollection was that it had moved.

31 I shot down Steven's Creek, keeping Moon Zoom in the back of my mind as well.

32 It's been a while. I haven't hunted for costumes in years. Suddenly I was in a classic costume hunt. Tech crews and casts will remember those. Great times!

33 I looked for Moon Zoom even though I was on the wrong side of the street.

34 I stopped at one point, took out my phone, and got the address of Victoria's Costumes. It was on Race Street.

35 I was turned around and couldn't remember exactly where Race Street was, even though I've driven past it a zillion times. I traveled down, then back again, all the while looking about for Moon Zoom.

36 You don't use your phone to locate Moon Zoom, incidentally. I don't think anybody ever has. You're SUPPOSED to drive slowly down Steven's Creek, slowing down at every cheap auto sales place because you KNOW Moon Zoom is right next to one..

37 So even though my ultimate destination was Victoria's Costumes, I had to do the Moon Zoom shuffle. Part of the shuffle is and always has been wondering if they went out of business.

38 Well, if Moon Zoom was still in business, I wouldn't have known. I must have driven right past it. I continued down Steven's Creek and finally saw Race Street. I automatically headed in the direction of Race Street Fish and Poultry, a San Jose classic since 1947.

39 I heard that it had closed, but it was quite open, with chefs and customers chatting out front.

40 But where was Victortia's?

41 And where the heck IS Moon Zoom? I never di successfully come across Moon Zoom, but last night I found their website. Here is the secret to finding this mysterious place. This is the Moon Zoom Holy Grail; this is the Revelation:

In search of Moon Zoom

Welcome to your Past!

First opened in August of 1990, Moon Zooom has been San Jose's best kept secret for Vintage Fashion, Collectables, and Costumes.

Have a big 70s party, want a new look, or heading to Burning Man? Then look no further we have what you are looking for!

Our Hours:

Seven Days A Week, 11AM - 7PM

Closed Major Holidays, Extended Halloween Hours

Call Us 408-287-5876

Located @ 1630 W. San Carlos Street

San Jose, CA 95128

Between Bascom and Meridian, Directly across the street from See's Candies.

42 Somewhere online, maybe Yelp! I got a cryptic warning: address is approximate...

43 Love the mystery.

44 Meanwhile, where was Victoria's? Well, it had to be across Santa Clara and on the left.

45 It came up on me before I expected. First, it is no longer called Victoria's. It is this now SJ Dancewear and Costumes Capezio. The classic Victoria's always was dandy for getting Capezio stuff, which had the point shoes that split in the middle.

46 Only a father of dancers would know that one. And dancers.

47 When it resided on Lincoln, it had tons of fun costumes, masks, wigs, costume rentals, mustiness, and lots of other features.

48 It is probably going through a transition right now, because when I got inside it had very little, especially for an old geezer iso 80's items. Nada. Not much of anything at all, but as I mentioned, they could be in transition.

49 I stumbled outside, hungry, hot, tired, and frustrated. Just then a UPS truck zoomed right into the area I was standing and it flew directly at me. I jumped out of the way and gave the guy a dirty look, dusted off my hat, cane, and moustache, shrugged my shoulders and continued on.

50 Close one.

51 I decided I had done all I could for 80's day and headed home. I had one last trick: the Savers over on Calaveras. They had been under newer management the past two years and had been a thrift-store jewel. Very clean, organized, and fun, for a thrift store.

52 When I walked in I noticed a drastic drop in the quality of someof that stuff, but they DID did provide a newly opened Halloween area, tiny but super-cheap. I found a top hat, big hair wig, red sunglasses, and a teal/black feather boa. I also found some sort of gothic gown which has a skeleton on it, a bit Halloweeny, but with a bit of style. It could double as a goth shirt.

53 As of this writing I haven't had time to try any of it on, although I did put on the hat, tucked the boa in and donned the scarlet specks. The entire world of my bathroom turned red, almost a fulfillment of yesterday's DN diatribe against sunglasses, especially RED sunglasses.

54 I couldn't judge what it looked like because everything was red. I pulled the glasses over my nose, then looked in the mirror.

55 Ozzie Osorne looked back at me. I said, "What are YOU doing in my mirror???"