Remember?

Remember?

Close your eyes…And go back…

Before the Internet or the MAC,

Before semiautomatics and crack

Before chronic and indo

Way back…

I’m talkin’ about hide and go seek at dusk.

Sittin’ on the porch

Hot bread and butter.

Eatin’ a super dooper sandwich, (Dagwood),

Red light, Green light.

Chocolate milk, Lunch tickets,

Penny candy in a brown paper bag.

Hopscotch, butterscotch, double Dutch

Jacks, kickball, dodge ball, y’all!

Mother, May I?

Hula Hoops and Sunflower Seeds,

Jawbreakers, blowpops, Mary Janes,

Running through the sprinkler (I can’t get wet!

All right, well don’t wet my hair…)

The smell of the sun and lickin’ salty lips…

Wait….

Catchin’ lightining bugs in a jar,

Playin slingshot 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,

Sittin on the curb,

Jumping down the steps,

Jumpin on the bed.

Pillow fights

Being tickled to death

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…

What happened to the girl that had the big bubbly handwriting?

Licking the beaters when your mother made a cake.

When there were two types
of sneakers for girls and boys

(Keds and 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 wore skirts and high heels and had their hair done, every week!

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.

Disapproval of our parents and grandparents was a much bigger threat!

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” this thumb.

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.

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 weapons.

Baseball cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle.

Taking drugs meant orange-flavored chewable aspirin (at least until the late 60’s kicked in).

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!!!

~Cindy Sherman S”66

James Monroe High School

Sepulveda, California