Remember When?
Close your eyes, And go back ... Before the Internet or the MAC, Before semiautomatics and crack. Before chronic and indo; Before SEGA or Super Nintendo. Way back…. I'm talking about hide and go seek at dusk. Sitting on the porch, hot bread and butter. Eating a 'super-dooper sandwich' (Dagwood) Red light! Green light! Chocolate milk. Lunch tickets. Penny candy in a brown paper bag. Hopscotch, butterscotch, doubledutch, Jacks, kickball, dodgeball, y'all! Mother, May I? Hula Hoops and Sunflower Seeds, Jaw breakers, blowpops, MaryJanes. Running through the sprinkler! I can't get wet! All right; well, don't wet my hair. The smell of the sun and licking salty lips..Wait…. Catching lightening bugs in a jar. Playing sling shot and Red Rover. When around the corner seemed far away, And going downtown seemed like going somewhere. Bedtime, Climbing trees, a million mosquito bites and sticky fingers, Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, Sitting on the curb. Jumping down the steps, Jumping on the bed. Pillow fights. Being tickled to death; Running till you were out of breath. Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt! Being tired from playing.... Remember that? I'm not finished just yet …. What about the girl that had the big bubbly hand writing? Licking the beaters when your mother made a cake. Didn't that feel good? Just to go back and say, Yeah, I remember that! 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 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 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. When you got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped, without asking, for free, every time. You didn't pay for air....or drinking water. 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. The price of gas was affordable. Milk came in jars with real bottle caps. 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. Disapproval of our parents and grandparents was a much bigger threat! If you remember any of these things it probably makes you smile. Talk of these things to your children. Don't let these memories fade away completely. Just talking to your children, friends, or loved ones, and trading memories is a joy. Life goes quickly. Seize it! And don't forget to thank God for it!