I am convinced, that at some level, all of us might like to be a kid again...I know that's why I fly the virtual skies
Enjoy the following, as I did.
Those Were the Days!
Back When:
Close your eyes...And go back in time....
Before the Internet or the MAC, before semi automatics and crack
Before SEGA or Super Nintendo...
Way back...
I'm talkin' bout hide and go seek at dusk. Sittin' on theporch. Hot bread and butter. The Good Humor man. Red light, Green
light. Chocolate milk. Lunch tickets. Penny candy in a brown paper bag.
Playin' Pinball in the corner store. Hopscotch, butterscotch, double-dutch Jacks, kickball, dodge ball. Mother May I? Red Rover and Roly Poly Hula Hoops and sunflower seeds, Jolly Ranchers, banana splits, wax lips and mustaches.
Running through the sprinkler. The smell of the sun and lickin' salty lips.... Watchin' Saturday morning cartoons: Fat Albert, Road
Runner, He-Man, The Three Stooges, and Bugs; or back further, listening to Superman on theradio, catchin' lightening bugs in a jar, playin' sling shot.
When around the corner seemed far away, and going downtown seemed like going somewhere. Bedtime, climbing trees, an ice cream cone on a warm summer night: chocolate or vanilla or strawberry or maybe butter pecan. A lemon coke from the fountain at the corner drug store.
A million mosquito bites and sticky fingers. Cops and robbers, cowboys and Indians. Sittin' on the curb. Jumpin' down the steps. Jumpin' on the bed. Pillow fights. Runnin' till you were out of breath. Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt. Being tired from playin'.... Remember that? I ain't finished just yet... Remember when..... Eating Kool-aid powder with sugar. When there were two types of sneakers for girls and boys (Keds & PF Flyers) and the only time you wore them at school, was for "gym." When it took five minutes for the TV to warm up, if you even had one.
When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there. When nobody owned a purebred dog.When a quarter was a decent allowance, and another quarter a miracle.
When milk went up one cent and everyone talked about it for weeks. When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.
When girls neither dated nor kissed until late high school, if then. When your Mom wore nylons that came in two pieces.
When all of your male teachers wore neckties and female teachers had their hair done, everyday.
When you got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking, for free, every time. And, you didn't pay for
air. And, you got trading stamps to boot!
When laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box.
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 it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner
at a real restaurant with your parents.
When they threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed..and did! When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student 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!!!
I want to go back to the time when............ Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo." Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "do over!" "Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest. Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "Monopoly." Catching the fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening.
It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends. "Being old" referred to anyone over 20. The net on a tennis court was the perfect height to play volleyball and rules didn't matter. The worst
thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties.
It was magic when dad would "remove" his thumb. It was unbelievable that dodge ball wasn't an Olympic event.
Having a weapon in school meant being caught with a slingshot.
Nobody was prettier than Mom. Scrapes and bruises were kissed 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-dog-dare."
Saturday morning cartoons weren't 30-minute ads for action figures. No shopping trip was complete unless a new toy was brought home."Oly-oly-oxen-free" made perfect sense. Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles. The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team. War was a card game.
Water balloons were the ultimate weapon. Baseball cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle. Taking drugs meant orange-flavored chewable aspirin.
Ice cream was considered a basic food group. Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors.
If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED!!!!
