Our
Memories Of Days Past
God gave us memories that we might have roses in December. ~J.M. Barrie
Remember These?
I'm talking 'bout hide and go seek at dusk. Sitting on the porch,
Simon Says, Kick the Can, Red Light, Green Light. Lunch Boxes with a
Thermos...that broke, Chocolate milk, going home for lunch, Penny Candy
from the store, Hopscotch, butterscotch, double-dutch, jump rope, skates
with keys, Jacks, Mother May I?, Hula Hoops, and Sunflower seeds, Whist
and Old Maid and Crazy Eights, Wax lips and mustaches, Mary Jane's,
saddle shoes and Coke bottles with the names of cities on the bottom,
Running through the sprinkler, Running behind The DDT truck, circle
pins, bobby pins, flicker rings, Spoolies, Fizzies, Mickey Mouse Club,
Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Fran & Ollie, Spin & Marty...all in
black & white.
When around the corner seemed far away, and going downtown seemed like
going somewhere. Bedtime, climbing trees, making forts...Coasters made
from orange crates and an old skate, Backyard Shows, Lemonade stands,
Slip and Slide (attached to the garden hose), glittered macaroni,
Colorforms, Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, Sitting on the curb,
Staring at clouds, Jumping down the steps, Jumping on the bed. Pillow
fights, "company," Ribbon candy, angel hair on the Christmas tree.
Running from the guards at Halloween with pillow sacks of giant nickel
Hershey bars. Ringing doorbells and disappearing in a fit of laughter.
The jingle of the pink and white ice cream truck and a 7 cent popsicle.
Stealing ice chips from the back of the Hood delivery truck. Punks and
sparklers on the 4th of July. Jackie Gleason as "the poor soul," White
gloves, Easter bonnets, walking to church, walking to the Community
Center, 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 stepping on a crack...or you'll break your mother's back...
Paper chains at Christmas, silhouettes of Lincoln and Washington...the
smell of paste, book bags and Evening in Paris...Crowding around in a
circle for the 'after-school fight,' then running when the teacher came.
Abba Zabba bars and peanut logs. What about the girl that had the big
bubbly handwriting...who dotted her "I's" with hearts?? The Stroll, the
twist, the monkey, popcorn balls, & sock hops. Ankle socks before
nylons! Rolled up jean shorts. Flats.... taps on a guy's Snap jack
buckle shoes. Vitalis!
Remember when... When there were two types of sneakers for girls (Keds
and PF Flyers) and the only time you wore them at school, was for
"gym." And the girls had those ugly uniforms. When it took five minutes
for the TV to warm up. When nearly everyone's Mom was at home when the
kids got home from school. The smell of Old Spice, Dad in his gray
brimmed hat, white shirt, and scrolled wingtips. When nobody owned a
pure bred 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 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 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 auditorium and we danced to an orchestra, and
all the girls wore pastel gowns and the boys wore suits for the first
time and we stayed out all night.
Remember playing monopoly for days, the chore of hanging clothes on the
line, making popcorn in a big pot with oil to start and shaking and
shaking it! Or Jiffy pop that turned charcoal if you got distracted!
Taking walks at night...
Phone numbers starting with a word....like Locust 3-5334 or Olympic
3-6026. Saturday matinees with tons of cartoons, 5c and 10c stores with
wooden floors, Going for a ride in the car as 'something to do', 45's
(only 2 songs) and a case to hold them! When "Wonderful World of Disney"
was the only color TV program! Adjusting the rabbit ears on the TV,
ooooh and those aluminum glasses that made your teeth chill...!
'Sifting' flour (according to the Betty Crocker Cookie Book at
Christmastime), Real balogna sandwiches (Who can find that same balogna
today?) and TV jingles that danced in your head and got stuck there!
(Mr. Clean takes care of dirt and grime and grease in just a minute...)
Seesaw and kaylah at the playground, fire flies flickering at night, and
a twilight soak in Mr. Bubble.
Remember being able to walk or bicycle ride anywhere and no one worried
about you getting "snatched"? We worried about copperhead snakes on our
shortcuts through the woods, poison ivy, but never strangers. Remember
red pistachio nuts that you used as fingernails....and lightening bug
fingernails...(gross now, but fun then)! Freeze tag, TV tag, Chinese
jump rope, 7-up, spending the day cracking open coconuts that floated up
in the canals ...and eating them...(cholesterol what?) Neccos, Bazooka,
Mighty Mouse, Gumby... How about ... grow your own sea-monkeys that you
could buy from the back of comic books and superballs in every color of
the rainbow!
When a '57 Chevy was everyone's dream car...to cruise, 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 no one ever asked where the
car keys were, 'cause they were always in the car, in the ignition and
the doors were never locked. And you got in big trouble if you
accidentally locked the doors at home. No one ever had a key. Cars got a
new look every year and we knew all the makes and models.
And lying on your back on the grass with your friends and saying things
like, "That cloud looks like a........". And playing baseball with no
adults to help kids with the rules of the game. Then...baseball was not
a psychological group learning experience, ....it was a game. Remember
when stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seals,
'cause no one had yet to poison a perfect stranger. 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 the children of the
80's and 90's...??????
Are you someone who can still recall 3D glasses, Nancy Drew, The Hardy
Boys, Trixie Belden, Laurel & Hardy, Howdy Doody and the Peanut Gallery,
The Lone Ranger, Jack Armstrong the All American Boy, The Shadow
knows...Nellie Belle, Roy and Dale, Trigger and Buttermilk...as well as
the sound of a real mower on Saturday morning, and summers filled with
bike rides, roller skates with wheels at the 4 corners, playing in
Cowboy land, baseball games, bowling and visits to the pool...and eating
Kool-Aid powder with sugar? If so... GOOD FOR YOU!
Isn't great to be able to look back and say, "Yeah, I remember that"?