Have you ever wondered what might have been if certain life events happened differently? This is why I LOVE S&H Green Stamps and why we're excited to carry on the legacy of what S&H Green Stamps meant to so many!
Here is a story shared by Mike Zimmerman, an extremely successful photographer. See his work here MZPHOTO.COM
My mom was a typical housewife of the time, and Food Fair was our go-to grocery store here in Pompano Beach, FL (just North of Ft. Lauderdale)
As such S&H Green Stamps were always around, we pasted them into books & went down to Mia. to redeem them, as that was the closest center... and when I went to the grocery store for my mom, I got to keep the stamps as "mine"
I had saved up enough books for the "Deluxe AM-FM Bike Radio" which I really wanted... I was about 11 at the time, approx. 1966. Since a long-distance call from Pompano Beach to Miami was "Expensive" in those days, my Dad & I drove down to the redemption center on 163rd St without calling first... To my dismay, they were OUT of the bike radios...
While searching thru the items that were the same number of books, I spotted a GAF Home Film Developing Kit... My Dad said he had a lot of fun developing film when he was a kid, so I said, let's give it a try... my Dad had an old 120 film size twin lens reflex in his closet so I was all set...
After a few un-successful attempts, I developed my first roll of film... I made B&W negatives...I was thrilled...
The next night, I made my first contact print, put it into the small tray of developer and watched my first image come up on the paper...
I WAS HOOKED... like an addict...
From then on, it was all about photography... reading, learning, shooting processing... every day, all weekend, my parents were both thrilled & mystified... I was spending every penny I could find on film, chemistry and paper...
I did my first "paying gig" when I was 13... shooting a window display for a friend of my parents and the photo took 1st place in the contest, they gave me a $100 dollar bonus after they paid for the "shoot"
It got so "bad" that my Dad & I built a small wooden darkroom on the patio, so my sister & brother could use the bathroom again...
I went on to being a photographer for my High School paper, my Community College paper and then went to Brooks Institute of Photography for my BA...
And a successful 35+ year career as an "award winning" (45 ADDY awards) commercial photographer...
I wonder what would have been if they had the bike radios in stock...
Thanks again for reviving the memories...
THANKS for sharing, Mike.