I received this as an email today and thought you all might enjoy it. Mary

Close your eyes..... and go back.....

Before the Internet or the Mac

Before semiautomatics and crack

Before chronic and chemo

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 Good Humor man, Red light, Green light.

Chocolate milk, Lunch tickets, Penny candy in a brown paper bag.

Playin' Pinball in the corner store.

Hopscotch, butterscotch, doubledutch Jacks, kickball, dodgeball, y'all!

Mother May I?

Red Rover and Roly Poly Hula Hoops and Sunflower Seeds, Jolly Ranchers,

Banana Splits Wax Lips and Mustaches Running through the sprinkler

The smell of the sun and lickin' salty lips....

Wait......

Watchin' Saturday Morning cartoons, Fat Albert, Road Runner, He-Man,

The Three Stooges, and Bugs,

Or back further, listening to Superman on the radio

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,

An ice cream cone on a warm summer night

Chocolate or vanilla or strawberry or maybe butter pecan

A lemon coke from the fountain at the corner drug store

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.

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...

Eating Kool-aid powder with sugar Remember when...

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."

When it took five minutes for the TV to warm up, if you even had one.

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 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 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. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! and some of us are still afraid of em!!!

Didn't that feel good..just to go back and say, Yeah, I remember that!

There's nothing like the good old days! They were good then, and they're good now when we think about them.

Share some of these thoughts with a friend who can relate, then share it with someone who missed out on them.

-- Mary in East TN (barnwood@preferred.com), October 18, 2000

Answers

Mary,

I received this in an email myself not too long ago. I saved it in my favorites. Things just aren't the same as they used to be back then are they? I'm trying hard to adjust to all the changes going on around me each and every day, but the truth is....I don't do well with change. Things seem to have gotten alot more complicated in life than when I was a kid. Maybe it's just that now as an adult, I have the worries that my parents had for me years ago.

Still, I miss the fact that my children didn't (and still aren't) growing up with friends in the neighborhood. They never had the opportunity to play Indian ball in the street,or "crack-the-whip" in someone's yard til the street lights came on and everyone went home for supper. Heck, we don't even know our neighbor's names and we've lived next door to each other for years. Families just aren't like they used to be.

In my opinion, we've lost alot along the way to a more modern way of life. Maybe that's why I have such an affection for the Amish people and their way of life.

At any rate, I just wanted to thank you for posting that fond trip down memory lane.

All the best to you, Greenthumbelina

-- Greenthumbelina (sck8107@aol.com), October 18, 2000.

That was a nice "trip", but we have nice things now, just look for them. Have you ever noticed that when people think in nostalgic terms they never remember things such as Viet Nam , the Watts or Chicago riots, the Munich Olympics massacre or any of the other bad incidents of the time? I agree there were good times , but just as now there were bad times also. I will continue to search for the fine things now that some day my son will look on with nostalgic longing. Thanks Mary, for a great post that has me looking not only to our pasts, but with greater care to the present and future.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), October 18, 2000.

Thank you for posting this, Mary. This is just what I need at this moment in time. This has stirred up wonderful memories of living with my aunt, uncle and grandparents, we did most of the things you mentioned. It seems the only time I get together with 'old friends', the ones I grew up with, are at funerals, we have done our best to keep in touch, but...it doesn't last for long, again. I'm a bit like Greenthumbelina, I don't do well with change either, we've moved so often it has been very hard to develop a real friendship with someone. We also live near the Amish and treasure their way of life. Again, thank you for posting this, it's one that goes into my remembrance book.

-- Phyllis (almostafarm@yahoo.com), October 19, 2000.