Remember when...
Now think back...
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 talking about hide and seek at dusk. The Good Humor man, Red
light, green light. The corner store. Hopscotch, butterscotch,
doubledutch, jacks, kickball, dodgeball. Mother May I? Red Rover
and Roly Poly Hula Hoops. Running through the sprinkler. The
smell of the sun and licking salty lips. Wax lips and mustaches. An
ice cream cone on a warm summer night. Chocolate or vanilla or
strawberry or maybe butter pecan. A cherry coke from the fountain at
the corner drug store.
Wait...
Watching Saturday Morning cartoons, short commercials. Fat Albert,
Road Runner, He-Man, The Three Stooges, and Bugs. Or staying up
for Gunsmoke. Or back further, listening to Superman on the radio.
When around the corner seemed far away, and going downtown
seemed like going somewhere. A million mosquito bites. Sticky
fingers. Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, Zorro. Climbing
trees. Building igloos out of snow banks. Walking to school, no
matter what the weather. Running till you were out of breath.
Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt. Jumping on the bed. Pillow
fights. Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for
giggles. Being tired from playing. Remember that? 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.
I'm not finished just yet...
Remember when...
Eating Kool-aid powder. Remember 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." It wasn't odd to have two or
three "best" friends. 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 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 nearly everyone's mom was at
home when the kids got there. When it took five minutes for the TV
to warm up, if you even had one. When your Mom wore nylons that
came in two pieces. It was magic when dad would "remove" his
thumb. When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to
dinner at a real restaurant with your parents. When girls neither dated
nor kissed until late high school, if then. When all of your male
teachers wore neckties and female teachers had their hair done. 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
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 them!!!
I'm still not finished...
Didn't that feel good? Just to go back and say, yeah, I remember that.
Remember 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." The worst thing you could
catch from the opposite sex was cooties. 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. Taking drugs meant
orange-flavored chewable aspirin. Ice cream was considered a basic
food group. Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true. Abilities
were discovered because of a "double-dog-dare." Older siblings were
the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors.
If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED!!!!
Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "grown up"
life... |
