A little journey back in time...
Close your eyes... And go back... Before the Internet or the MAC, before semi automatics 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. The ice cream man, Simon Says, Kick the Can, Red light, Green light.
Lunch Boxes with a Thermos...that broke, Chocolate milk,
Lunch tickets, Penny candy from the corner store, Hopscotch,
butterscotch, skates with keys, Jacks, kickball, dodge ball,
Dixie peach and Bonnie Doon socks, Mother May I?
Hula Hoops and Sunflower Seeds, Wax lips and mustaches,
Mary Jane's, saddle shoes and Coke bottles with the
names of cities on the bottom.
Running through the sprinkler, circle pins, bobby pins,
the Mickey Mouse Club, Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bulwinkle,
Kukla, Fran & Ollie, Spin & Marty.....all in black & white.
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, making forts... Coaster from orange crates and an old skate, Backyard Shows, Lemonade stands, Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, Sittin' on the curb, Staring at clouds, Jumpin' down the steps, Jumping on the bed.
Pillow fights, "company", Ribbon candy, angel hair on the
Christmas tree, Mary Martin as "Peter Pan", Jackie Gleason as "the poor soul", White gloves, walking to church, walking to the library
Being tickled to death, Running till you were out of breath
Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt. Being tired from playin'.... Remember that?
Not steppin' on a crack, or you'll break your mother's back...paper chains at Christmas, Silhouettes of Lincoln and Washington....
the smell of paste, buck bags and Evening in Paris...
Crowding around in a circle around the 'after school fight', then running when the teacher came. What about the girl that had the big bubbly handwriting...who dotted her "i's" with hearts??
Bob parties, slam books, The Stroll, popcorn balls, sock
hops & hay rides.
Remember when...When there were two types of sneakers for
girls and boys (Keds & PF Flyer) and the only time you wore them at school, was for "gym."....with those great green and white gym uniforms.
When it took five minutes for the TV to warm up.
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 and wore high heels.
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 pizza wasn't delivered......and chicken was......
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.
When the worst thing you could do at school was smoke in
the bathrooms, flunk a test or chew gum. And the prom was in the gym and you danced to an orchestra, and all
the girls wore pastel gowns and the boys wore white dinner
jackets and paid for dinner.
When a 57 Chevy was everyone's dream car...to cruise the
strip, peel out, lay rubber or watch submarine races, and people went steady and girls wore a class ring with an inch of wrapped dental floss coated with pastel frost nail polish so it would fit her finger.
And...with all our progress...don't you just wish...just
once...you could slip back in time and savor the slower pace...and share it with a child of the 80's and 90's...
So remember Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Trixie Belden, Laurel & Hardy, Howdy Doody and The Peanut Gallery...The Lone Ranger, Nellie Belle, Roy and Dale, Trigger and
Buttermilk...as well as the sound of a rotary mower on Saturday Morning and summers filled with bike rides, treasure hunts, baseball games, bowling and visits to the local public pool... |
