Posted by TerryS (198.133.22.75) on April 11, 2001 at 22:11:12:
Close your eyes.....And go back........
Before the Internet or the MAC,
Before semiautomatics and crack
Before chronic and indo
Before SEGA or Super Nintendo
Way back........
I'm talkin' bout hide and go seek at dusk.
Sittin' on the porch,
Hot bread and butter.
Eatin' a 'super dooper sandwich'(Dagwood),
Red light, Green light.
Chocolate milk, Lunch tickets,
Penny candy in a brown paper bag.
Hopscotch, butterscotch, doubledutch
Jacks, kickball, dodgeball, y'all!
Mother, May I?
Hula Hoops and Sunflower Seeds,
Jaw breakers, blowpops, Mary Janes,
Running through the sprinkler (I can't get wet!
All right, well don't wet my hair....)
The smell of the sun and lickin' salty lips....
Wait......
Catchin' lightening bugs in a jar,
Playin sling shot and Red Rover.
When around the corner seemed far away,
And going downtown seemed like going somewhere.
Bedtime, Climbing trees,
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
Being tickled to death
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...
What about the girl that had the big bubbly hand writing??
Licking the beaters when your mother made a cake.
Remember when...
When there were two types of sneakers for girls and boys
(Keds & PF Flyers), and the only time you wore them was at
school for "gym."
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 huge bonus.
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.
Disapproval of our parents and grandparents
was a much bigger threat!
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 dodgeball
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.
I can remember all of these things. It was a time before
I had cluster headaches and life was GREAT!
If you can remember most or all of these,
then you have LIVED!!!!