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Close your eyes...And go back...
....Before the Internet or PC or the MAC......
....Before semi-automatics and crack....
....Before Playstation, SEGA, Super Nintendo, even before Atari...
....Before cell phones, CD's, DVD's, voicemail and e-mail....
....way.....way.....way back.....
I'm talking about hide and seek at dusk, Red light-Green light, Red Rover....Red Rover. Playing kickball & dodgeball until the first...no...second...no...third Streetlight came on. Ring around the Rosie, Mother May I?, Hula Hoops, Seeing shapes in the clouds. London Bridge, Hot potato, Hop Scotch, Jump rope, Duck....duck....GOOSE!!! YOU'RE IT!!
Endless summer days and hot summer nights (no A/C) with the windows open.
Parents stood on the front porch and yelled (or whistled) for you to come home - no pagers or cell phones!
The sound of crickets. Running through the sprinkler. Cereal boxes with that GREAT prize in the bottom. Cracker jacks with the same thing. Ice pops with 2 sticks you could break and share with a friend
Watchin' Saturday Morning cartoons, Fat Albert , The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Show, Tom & Jerry, Heckle & Jeckle, Pink Panther, Scooby Doo, Richochet Rabbit, Schoolhouse Rock.
Watchin' Sunday morning oldies, Abbott & Costello, Three Stooges, Tarzan, Shirley Temple OR WONDERAMA!!
Wonder Woman & Super Man Underoos. Catchin' lightning bugs in a jar. Your first day of school. Bedtime Prayers and Goodnight Kisses. Climbing trees. Swinging as high as you could to try and reach the sky. Getting an Ice Cream off the Good Humor Truck. A million mosquito bites and sticky fingers. Jumpin' down the steps. Jumpin' on the bed. Pillow fights. Sleep-overs and giggles.
A 13" black and white TV in your room meant you were RICH. Runnin' till you were out of breath. Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt. Being tired from PLAYING
WORK: meant taking out the garbage, doing the dishes, washing the dog, feeding the cat, helping hang the clothes on the line, mowing the grass, raking leaves for the old man down the street or helping old Mrs Smith clear her garage.
Your first crush.
Your first kiss (the one that you kept your mouth CLOSED and your eyes
OPEN).
Rainy days at school meant playing "Heads up 7UP" or hangman" in the classroom, remember that? Tomato soup and brick-hard grilled cheese sandwiches!
Kool-Aid was the drink of the summer. So was a swig from the hose. Giving your friends a ride on your handlebars. Wearing your new shoes on the first day of school. Class Field Trips with soggy sandwiches. When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there. When a quarter seemed like a fair allowance; and another quarter was a MIRACLE!
When ANY parent could discipline ANY kid, or feed him, or use him to carry groceries...And nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it. When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited you at home.
Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of drive by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! And some of us are still afraid of em!
Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo." Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "do over!" "Race issues" meant arguing about who ran the fastest. Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "monopoly" Catching fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening.
It wasn't odd to have just two or three "best" friends.
Being old, referred to anyone over 20.
The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties. Nobody was prettier than Mom. Scrapes and bruises were kissed by mom or grandma and made better. It was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride the "big people"
rides at the amusement park.
Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true. Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dares" Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles.
The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team. Water balloons were the ultimate, ultimate weapon. Older siblings were your worst tormentors, but also your fiercest PROTECTOR!!!
If you can remember most or all of these, then you have
LIVED!!!
 Irahatam · Mon Mar 03, 2008 @ 12:07pm · 2 Comments |
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