willywanker
just one man's opinion
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2000
- Posts
- 3,620
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...
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!!!
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... I DOUBLE DOG DARE
YA!!!
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...
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!!!
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... I DOUBLE DOG DARE
YA!!!
