BACK IN TIME


Close your eyes.....And go back in time...

Before the Internet or the PC. Before semi automatics and crack. 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.

Mother May I?, Red Rover and Roly Poly, Hula Hoops and Sunflower Seeds, Bazooka Bubble Gum, 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. 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 have him 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!!!

I want to go back to the time 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." Catching the fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening. It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends. Being old, referred to anyone over 20. The net on a tennis court was the perfect height to play volleyball and rules didn't matter.

The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties. It was magic when dad would "remove" his thumb. It was unbelievable that dodgeball wasn't an Olympic event. Having a weapon in school, meant being caught with a slingshot. Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better. It was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride the "big people" rides at the amusement park.

Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true. Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dog-dare." Saturday morning cartoons weren't 30-minute ads for action figures. No shopping trip was complete, unless a new toy was brought home. "Oly-oly-oxen-free" made perfect sense. Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles.

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. Taking drugs meant orange-flavored chewable aspirin. Ice cream was considered a basic food group. Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors.

If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED!!!!

Share some of these thoughts with a friend who can relate, then share it with someone that missed out on them. Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "grown up" life..

I DOUBLE DOG DARE YA


THE CLASS OF 2006

Just in case you weren't feeling too old today, this will certainly change things. Each year the staff at Beloit College in Wisconsin puts together a list to try to give the Faculty a sense of the mindset of this class' incoming freshman.

The people starting college this fall across the nation were born in 1987.
  • They were too young to remember the Reagan Era or when he was shot.
  • They have never feared a nuclear war.
  • They weren't born when the space shuttle blew up.
  • Tianamen Square means nothing to them.
  • Bottle caps have always been screw off and plastic.
  • Atari predates them, as do vinyl albums.
  • The expression "You sound like a broken record" means nothing to them.
  • They have never owned a record player.
  • They have likely never played Pac Man and have never heard of Pong.
  • They may have never heard of an 8 track. The Compact Disc was introduced 4 years before they were born..
  • As far as they know, stamps have always cost what they do today.
  • They have always had an answering machine.
  • Most have never seen a TV set with only 13 channels, nor have they seen a black and white TV.
  • They have always had cable.
  • There have always been VCRs, but they have no idea what BETA was.
  • They cannot fathom not having a remote control.
  • They don't know what a cloth baby diaper is, or know about the "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up" commercial.
  • They were born three years after Walkmen were introduced by Sony.
  • Roller skating has always meant inline for them.
  • Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show.
  • They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were cool.
  • Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave.
  • They have never seen Larry Bird play.
  • They never took a swim and thought about Jaws.
  • The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as WWI, WII and the Civil War.
  • They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are.
  • They never heard: "Where's the beef?", "I'd walk a mile for a Camel," or "De plane, de plane!".
  • They do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. was.
  • The Titanic was found? They thought we always knew.
  • Michael Jackson has always been white.
  • Kansas, Chicago, Boston, America, and Alabama are places, not rock bands.
  • McDonalds never came in styrofoam containers.
  • There has always been MTV.
  • They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.
-Unattributed