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I was raised on a small ranch, (grew up in the 60's and 70's), so I was outside most of the time. I also love to read, so I would combine the two. I would ride my horse, while reading, (obviously, do this only on a trusted horse! ). I also use to go out to the corral, and lay, (yes, lay, 'cause he was laying down, himself), up against a pet steer we had, and read there, as well. Hey, you have to get your reading in, wherever you can! In the summertime, I slept outside every night. If it happened to rain, I made for the barn, and slept in the hay. I played with most every critter we had on the place, (well, except for the bull, a couple of onery cows, and one nasty-tempered Plymouth Rock rooster!). I walked, or rode my horse, (or even my bike), five miles into town, just for the fun of it. Sometimes go into the general store, and buy something. Used to get fudge-scicles to share with my horse!
For the times I was inside, I did have a blacklight and some of the posters. I thought those were the greatest! I also had a lava lamp. Now, my son has a lava lamp! I also had a pair of those clacker things. You know, the two very hard plastic balls, connected to a string, with a small plastic ring at the top. You were supposed to clack those balls together, top and bottom, preferably without killing yourself in the process! Got a few bruises on my hands and arms from those silly things. But, at least I didn't whack myself in the head, the way some of the kids did! Guess they were the ones who didn't have sense enough to come in out of the rain, either!
Nothing better than being a kid, played war, dodge ball, lemon juice disapearing ink lol, merry go round we used to get that spining so fast & get thrown off, dirt roads to ride bikes on, used to coax the pigs up to the fence then pop them in the snoot, lob water ballons at cars, and don't forget about how a big cardboard box becomes a fort.
run a strong string across subdivision roads tied off to 2 metal trash cans so that when the car hit the string it drug the cans behind it, we were some mean lil kids at times.
how many used to jump off the garage roof, we had old strip mines to ride bikes in, then we used to do some kind of thing of which i have no idea what you would call it but out of a bunch of kids everybody would pile on top of another kid then off of that kid onto another.
they were putting some pipelines in close to the house one year and we used to climb down in the trenches & have dirt clod fights, we used to see surveyors sticks & ribbons well naturally you gotta move those around to different places, used to do some crazy stuff and never got hurt.
but then you start to grow up and what does one discover, girls really don't have cooties
great thread!! kids use to go out to "play" and be in my suppertime...we use to wander and play all over the place, and today, most parents are overprotective,,,,almost have to be, everyday we hear of some kook, kidnapping a kid, or a lost child,,,,kids now, lose the outdoor playtime, alot of exercise went with that!
i miss those days, of playing outside with neighborhood kids, overnights, etc,
Some of my "childhood memories" I don't really even want to think about anymore, like:
Getting up at 5:30AM every morning to feed/water livestock. Getting up at 5:30AM every morning during the winter and freezing my a__ off when I went outside to feed/water livestock . Helping bale hay or combine wheat when it was pretty hot and windy outside . Back in the mid 60's, we didn't have the enclosed area with air conditioning/stereo on the combine, like they do now. Farming back then, like it is today, it still HARD WORK!! Gee, no wonder I decided not to making farming my life . Using a computer in an office, making a nice salary, working only Monday thru Friday is much, much nicer.
However, I did like watching Rin Tin Tin, Lassie, The Lone Ranger and all of those other tv shows.
Anyone remember Dawn dolls, Shrinky Dinks, Magilla Gorilla, Hong Kong Phooey, Carol Burnett, Happy Days, lunchboxes with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in them, and endless summer days as a kid when you could leave home in the morning and stay outside all day playing with the neighborhood kids and having lunch with them at your house or any one of their homes without parents worrying? In all those days and years, the worst thing that ever happened to any one of us was every once in a while, somebody would fall off a bike and go home with a skinned knee. Then there were those summer nights when me and my friends could have sleepovers / slumber parties in the pop-up camper out in the driveway. Our parents were actually able to leave the backdoor of the house unlocked all night for us in case anyone needed to come inside. Those were the days . . .
Last edited by FedUpInFtMyers; 03-08-2007 at 07:51 AM..
Reason: more memories added
I was a kid that grew up in San Francisco in the 1960s. At about age 11 I and most of the kids on my block got a monthly "Fast Pass" to ride the "Muni" public transit in the city. During summer vacations, us kids would leave home and tell our parents we'd be home "later on" which meant either by lunch or dinner and take off on a bus or streetcar ride to Golden Gate Park, fisherman's wharf, Ocean Beach or some other place that would keep us entertained for a few hours. Of course we didn't carry more than a few coins in the pocket, but what a great time was had by all. What an adventure that was, I still recall those as some of the best times ever as a kid. How many kids are allowed to do such things today, instead of regimented routines and minivan limos from doorstep to doorstep. What a great sense of freedom is now denied our youth due to the fear of harm or kidnapping by some lunatic.
I was in Singapore about 10 years ago, and my routine in a foreign country is to walk around and explore the streets. It's always warm there so I liked walking in the evenings or even late into the night. I was told that violent crime in Singapore is very rare, so I felt OK walking alone at night on the streets. I was impressed by the fact that lots and lots of young people were out and about walking around after dark, even 11 or 12 year olds without parents and often alone, a sight almost unknown in suburban America. The next day I was told by a local resident that nobody fears for their physical safety in Singapore because punishment for such crimes is so certain, swift and "justice is absolute". I always remember that term, "justice is absolute", even sounds pretty scary.
I gre up in Queens NY and I remember playing in the cemetary, no traffic and lots of gree grass. We also had about 40 kids on the block within a couple of years of each other so there was always more than enough to play just about any kind of street game. We looked forward to the ice cream man coming, either Bugalow Bar or Mr. Softee. Charlie the Chip man came around as well as a vegetable and fruit truck and even a knife sharpening truck! There was also this big swinging ride on the back of a tractor trailer.
We played out in the street while all the Moms sat out in their lawn chairs on the sidewalk. If it was during the week, you had to come in when the street lights went on. No wnoder we were all skinny back then, we didn't spend a minute in front of the TV, we were out running around, playing, roller skating or riding our bikes all day long. I remember going to the candt store and buying those big fat sticks of chalk for .05cents and playing hop scotch in the road. We would also draw with the chalk up and down the road, we lived on a street with littel traffic. Jump rope was also a big thing. Oh, and yes, the cardboard box. We lived for the day when someone got a new washer of stove or frig!! Those were the good ole days!
My cousin lived with me for 2 yrs. of her childhood, after her Mom died and once while talking about our childhood I said "When you think about it, we really had nothing." and she said..."When you think about it, we really had EVERYTHING" How true
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). I also use to go out to the corral, and lay, (yes, lay, 'cause he was laying down, himself), up against a pet steer we had, and read there, as well. Hey, you have to get your reading in, wherever you can!
In the summertime, I slept outside every night. If it happened to rain, I made for the barn, and slept in the hay. I played with most every critter we had on the place, (well, except for the bull, a couple of onery cows, and one nasty-tempered Plymouth Rock rooster!). I walked, or rode my horse, (or even my bike), five miles into town, just for the fun of it. Sometimes go into the general store, and buy something. Used to get fudge-scicles to share with my horse!
. Helping bale hay or combine wheat when it was pretty hot and windy outside
