Fairground Neighborhood Association

Close your eyes, and go back . . . Way back...

May 16, 2008

I?’m talking about hide and seek at dusk. Carrying sandwiches in a brown paper bag to school. Bathing in cold water from a barrel. Floppy. Magic Window. Hopscotch, Jacks. Borrowing books from the library. Hula Hoops and jawbreakers. Band Concerts. Sunday drives in the country.
Life was a lot less complicated when I was growing up. It's a pity those days are long gone.
Do you remember when. . .
Decisions were made by going "enemy-meeny-miney-mo." Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "do over!" Rap was what your mother did to you aside the head. "Race issue" 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. Being old referred to anyone over 20. The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties.
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. "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!
Wait. . .
When going to town was a major outing requiring serious preparation. Spending holidays at your grandmother?’s. Climbing trees, and skipping rope. Cops and robbers/cowboys and Indians. Sliding down the banisters, jumping on the bed. Pillow fights.
Being tickled to death. Running till you were out of breath. Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt! Being tired from playing....remember that?
Fighting for the bowl when your mother made a cake. Churning ice cream on Sunday.
There?’s more . . .Remember when . . .
When a $1.00 was a decent allowance, and another $1.00 a huge bonus. And if you wanted more you worked. When you would write a letter to Santa and really thought it went to him. When you had to be rich to have a air conditioner. When there was no TV and you went to sleep at seven or eight o?’clock. When there was no designer water. 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 ?“down?’?’ if they failed...and they did! When your mother used to say that your licks hurt her more than it hurt you. When adults spoke in code so ?“little ears?’?’ wouldn?’t hear. Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn?’t because of drive-by shootings, drugs, or gangs. Disapproval of parents and grandparents, godparents, neighbors... was a much bigger threat!

If you can remember any of these things, then you have truly lived. Help your children have fond memories too, share your fun of the past.

Author-Anonymous from Internet