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Remember When
Take a stroll with me and go back, before
the Internet...
before semi-automatics and crack' before SEGA or Super
Nintendo. Way back! I'm talking about sitting on the curb,
sitting on the step, about hide and go seek, Simon Says,
Red light - Green light. Lunch Boxes with a thermos.
Chocolate milk, going home for lunch, penny candy from the
store, hopscotch, butterscotch, skates with keys, Jacks,
Hula Hoops and sunflower seeds, wax lips and mustaches,
Mary Janes, saddle shoes and Coke bottles with the names
of cities on the bottom. Running through the sprinkler,
circle pins, bobby pins, Mickey Mouse Club, Rocky &
Bullwinkle, Kookla, Fran & Ollie, Spin & Marty, all in
black & white.
When around the corner seemed far away, and going
downtown seemed like going somewhere. Climbing trees,
making forts, backyard shows, lemonade stands, Cops and
Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, staring at clouds, jumping
on the bed, pillow fights, ribbon candy, angel hair on the
Christmas tree, Jackie Gleason, white gloves, walking to
the movie theater, running till you were out of breath,
laughing so hard that your stomach hurt. Remember that?
Not stepping on a crack or you'll break our mother's back,
paper chains at Christmas, silhouettes of Lincoln and
Washington the smell of paste in school and evening in
Paris. What about the girl who dotted her i's" with
hearts? The Stroll, popcorn balls, & sock hops.
Remember 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." And the girls had those ugly 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
home from school. When nobody owned a purebred dog. When
a quarter was a decent allowance, when you'd reach into a
muddy gutter for a penny.
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, all 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 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 you danced to an orchestra. 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
bandaids, dental floss or yarn coated with pastel frost
nail polish so it would fit her finger. And no one ever
asked where the car keys were because they were always
in the car, in the ignition, and the doors were never
locked.
Remember 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. Remember when stuff from the store
came without safety caps and hermetic seals because no one
had yet tried 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 today... When being sent to the
principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that
awaited the 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! But we survived
because their love was greater than the threat.
So send this on to someone who can still remember Nancy
Drew, The Hardy Boys, Laurel & Hardy, Howdy Doody and
The Peanut Gallery, The Lone Ranger, The Shadow Knows,
Nellie Belle, Roy and Dale, Trigger and Buttermilk as well
as the sound of a reel mower on Saturday morning, and
summers filled with bike rides, baseball games, bowling
and visits to the pool hall.. and eating Kool-Aid powder with
sugar.
Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say, "Yeah, I
remember that....".
If you don't remember, you missed some good memories....
Internet author unknown…..
Sometimes I miss these things and I am glad I had a chance to be a part of the
coolest generation of all ! Things were simpler then, it's too bad we didn't
realize what a good thing we really had. |
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