Memories of Childhood!

[LinaJo76]

I remember, when we were kids, we had to stay outside and play until we were called in for dinner. Not like these kids today, who are allowed to stay inside and play on their video games and talk on their phones. Hell! We didn't have our own phones. The phones we had were in the kitchen or living room (where our parents were at a lot). So, none of our conversations were ever secret back then!

I remember we were only allowed to drink water or Kool-Aid (and our parents said we couldn't drink soda unless it was a holiday or our birthday or something).

I remember when jumping rope (and double dutch) is what we loved to do. And play Hopscotch. Also, going to the roller rink (to go rollerskating) was THE place to hangout at (not like these kids now, who go to rave parties or whatever they do now).

When I was in high school, we didn't have computers. We had those electric typewriters to do our paperwork or term papers!

Sheesh!! These kids these days, have it too damn easy now (cell phones, computers in school classes, text messaging, and video games). No wonder a lot of our children look older than their age and are also bigger than we were when we were their age (kids these days are fatter than back in my day).

[Jude1948]

My dad was great, he put in a tether ball right in the middle of our drive way. Spent hours with friends out there.

Another memory was walking to school in the winter and playing around in the snow and ice at a (shallow) creek. Wearing leggings and golashes.

[brokencrayola]

I remember when we were young that our parents wanted us outside. If we came in the house my dad would yell, "in or out", and we had to choose. What we chose is what we got, no changing our minds.

I remember in high school my dad bought a used electric typewriter from his job. This thing was huge and very HEAVY. The keys were extremely touchy and it was easy to get too many of the same letter when typing.

I remember in public school we were required to wears dresses everyday until my junior year. It felt so wonderful to be able to wear pants and not have to wear those awful nylons with the garter thing to hold them up.

I remember the very first Earth Day. We had several activities to choose from to do, everything from picking up garbage on the beach, to taking a sledge hammer to a car, to what I did and that was take a trip to an area wheat field and listen to a speech on ecology.

I remember when everyone was saying that if you played this certain Beatles song backward it said that "John is dead". It was interesting trying to figure out how to play a record backwards on my cheap record player.

I remember having an 8-track player. My favorite tape was In a Gadda Da Vida.

[Bluesmama]

I was raised as an only child in a dairy farm, so my toys were my playmates. But I had an extraordinary imagination mingled with my ADD. I voiced-out all the characters involved in my active imaginary "movies" and played all kinds of roles.

I played with dolls, trucks, and usually chose to play outside no matter how hot it got, although Mom had to really hold me back during the hottest part of the day. It wasn't unusual for summer days to reach 110 but I never cared. Mom's the one who cared, and I'd pester her until she finally let me out later in the afternoon. Then I'd ride my bike all over the farm, climb and crawl in and out of the barn, haystacks, and trees, occasionally wandering a little too far. My voice-overs continued outside, too.

However, I was also a TV fanatic and my Saturday mornings were glued to cartoons. Also liked old movies and was fascinated with Hollywood. Even before I learned to tell time I always "knew" when to switch the TV on to watch "The Mickey Mouse Club". I also loved "American Bandstand", which is what introduced me to rock 'n' roll (wasn't played at home).

But I must have gone through a few trees' worth of paper, because I loved to draw. I'd draw, draw, draw, and became a pretty good artist. Also liked to color a lot. So while I was quite the wildcat, I also had a very sedate side to me.

My daughter frustrated me very much when she was little because she had no imagination. This was in the 80's and I'd already begun to notice the changes in the "younger" generation. It was the total opposite with her. I tried like hell to make her play outside, but no, she seldom had interest. She was one of those who did not like to entertain herself. When Nintendo hit the market, she became a video junkie like a lot of them. Sigh!

[Fontucky]

One TV in the house (black and white). No remote. Actually, my sister and I were the remote. No cable, but we lived on a hill halfway between L.A. and San Diego, so we had the luxury of 10 channels, 11 if you count channel 12 from Tijuana. If we wanted to watch S.D. channels while the antenna was pointed at L.A., someone (guess who) would have to go out and turn the antenna pole to point it South (it was mounted to the side of the house, not on the roof). My Dad was too cheap to buy an electric antenna rotor. Parents who lived through the Great Depression were very thrifty. Why spend good money when there's a couple of kids around to do the job?

Two phones, one in the kitchen, one in the parental bedroom. Rotary dial, exchange name was HYacinth.

No air conditioning in anything except the movie theater and the new Von's supermarket. Certainly no A/C in the family chariot, unless you count the 4/55 system (4 windows down, 55mph). I can recall a few September days when classes at my elementary school were suspended because of the heat. By the time junior high came along (7th grade), they must have figured we were old enough to sweat it out. I can recall sweltering in the rooms of the 50+ year old relic of a school, unable to concentrate on anything but getting home, shedding the hot, itchy clothes and stifling shoes, then walking down to the beach for a refreshing swim.

A large wooden paddle was prominently displayed in the Principal's office, and it wasn't an empty threat. It had small holes drilled in it.

In 5th grade my teacher washed my mouth out with soap for saying "shut up" to another kid on the playground. She was out of line, as the punishment didn't fit the crime... but I received no sympathy at home. I was on my own as far as getting in trouble went.

A milkman in starched whites delivering milk in large glass bottles, as well as other dairy products my Momma might need. Golden Arrow Dairy out of San Diego County.

We had the same mailman for years, and he walked the routes. He'd get a Christmas card with a $5 bill in it every year. I even remember his name... Jess Lyons. Nice old guy.

The cafeterias at school had on-site cooks, and they prepared everything in the school kitchen. Now everything is pre-made at the district central kitchen and driven out to the schools. Lunch was 30 cents when I was in 5th grade.

When I was in 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades, we had to eat everything on our tray or they wouldn't let us leave the cafeteria. There was a very strict Japanese lady who would patrol the cafeteria to ensure no food was being thrown away. I've never liked buttered bread, still don't, and they would give us two slices of brown bread heavily slathered with whipped butter. I came up with the brilliant idea of using the butter to make the bread stick to the underside of the table, which gave me enough time to get out of Dodge with a clean tray. I never got caught, mainly because I always stuck it under the table in front of someone else. I'm still proud of that bit of authority defying. More would follow in the years to come.

[8palmtrees]

Oh I can remember the days....
The days when my father would give my brother and I a few quarters to get ice cream as the ice cream truck chimed.

I can remember the many nights (when my father had off from his business) that we (mother, father my brother and I)would spend that time as a family at putt-putt, the movies, the arcade or fun at Toys-R-Us. We would also have cook outs and such.

I can remember changing channels to the newly wired cable in our house with my feet on this cable box (that used to drive my father up the wall -LOL):


I can remember trick or treating the old fashion way, in the neighborhood NOT @ the malls like today.

Ahhhhh our first computer in '82 I was just only 9 years old (this is a commordore 64):


I can remember when VA used to get the BIG snow storms, the big 14+ inches!!!

So many memories I will post them later but this is a FABULOUS thread!

[TN Tin Man]

I raised in rural up state New York ( Finger Lakes ) all my friends where kids of dairy farmers.. I use to help out on the farm year around... from milking ~ bring in the hay & straw.. would listen to the farm report every morning on the ole Zenith tube type radio on AM. Most of the kids I hung with all lived at their grand parents house which had been handed down from one generation to the next.. they had the ole crank phone on the wall.. give it a crank and Millie the operator would ask... who do you want me to connect you too? and they still had the out house out back.. The kids most that came to school wore Agway bib overalls "NOT" a fashion statement it's what they had.. girls & guys both along with the rubber boots.. at 7am they had been up since 3:30 for milking chorus along with there parents and grandparents..that's life on a rural farm...swimming in the pond with the bull frogs and Holstein's. Or down at the lake... what more could a kid want out of life.. and then to top that off the local county fairs.. where every young kid brought their prize winning animal to be judged..and at the end of summer if you where good enough you went to the State Fair!!!

[tasmtairy]

I remember going to cafeterias with my grandmother and buying Butter Brickle ice cream from Carnation with my grandfather.

[PITTSTON2SARASOTA]

I rember when we only had four TV stations: ABC; CBS; NBC and PBS. Choices were much simpler then, without all the niche markets of today...such as....The Golfing On Cloudy Days Channel...LOL...though I do appreciate some of today's added choices and venues.

I remember when as kids we never wanted to stay indoors and play or watch TV etc. We were outside...no matter how cold...our parents had to drag us inside for meals. Also our parents usually yelled..."Go play outside" at us anyway.

I remember when I did go home to eat...that I'd have friends sometimes waiting on our porch, so I could run right back outside to play. I remember sitting outside on our porch...often in the warmer months....looking up at the stars or watching the people walking by and chatting.

I remember when wearing a bicycle helmet and safety gear was "uncool". Nowadays kids wear more safety gear than an Apollo Astronaut. Our parents did not seem to worry about our safety, nor did we.

I remember when we played games outdoors, that did not involve batteries, accessories etc.....just a bunch of kids. Games like Freeze Tag; You're It; Statues; Hide and Seek; Kick The Can; Car Light Car Bright, etc.

I remember when bicycling and walking everywhere was normal...our parents seldom drove us anywhere. Half the fun was walking in a group like in the film: STAND BY ME. Our parents seldom watched us play baseball, football, etc. These days parents shuffle their children all over town and hover over them at sporting events.

I remember when TV shows were simple and more innocent; with moral convictions and a moral plot or story. Now it seems we go for who or what is the most shocking and disrespectful. Especially with interactions between parents and their children.

I remember when the air was cleaner, the water safer to drink and violence was not the norm. When trees and green vegetation were all around us. These days the almighty car rules and soon we will pave over the entire country.

I remember when COLOR TV was special and rare....now we are headed to 3D television, wearing giant goggles and if your batteries run out, you outta luck...LOL.....just too much technology taking away the dynamics of talking/interacting while watching a movie for example.

I remember when we had a landline telephone with a dial...GASP!!!! You had to wait to spin the numbers and tried to push it back faster to dial quicker. These days...5 year olds want phones....everyone is texting instead of talking and I gotta read who just took a breath on Twitter.

I remember when Music had meaning and well thought out lyrics. Different melodies and styles prevailed and some of the most remarkable bands ruled. These days kids listen to a new song...never realizing that it's a remake of an oldie but goodie.

I remember when we built tree forts/houses....and "bunks" on the ground too. They were like clubhouses....meeting/hangout places...where kids could be kids and far away from our parents. We'd chip in and buy penny candy....sodas etc...and all share the "wealth"....play cards, talk, listen to transistor radios and tell stories etc.

So enough of my Musings, Rantings and Memories.

Basically it's.......I REMEMBER WHEN>>>>>>>



YouTube - Stand By Me (trailer) .