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by angusmom on 25 March 2010 - 20:03
geez, this has dredged up a lot of memories.
as one of 5 kids, my mom basically kicked us all out of the house during the day hours; we dug underground forts, played in the citrus groves, hung out by the horses & tried to bum a ride with someone, explored the fields, avoiding the one mean stallion, enjoying the occasional "stampede" up our street when the cattle busted out and made a break for it. my grampa worked for union oil, so i would take my bike and ride up in the hills, looking for snakes or tarantulas, skunks, deer, coyotes, etc & the other workers wouldn't bug me. brought home strays, from dogs, cats, snakes, lizards, bunnies. watched roy rogers, highway patrol, johnny quest (had a crush on race bannon), really bad sci fi movies (so bad they were priceless). we made our own kites too. cut a lemon in half, fill a glass with ~1/2" of sugar and grind the cut end into it and suck on it - god that would make our teeth hurt! kept doing it tho. build tree houses with a rope to get into them. look for bottles to turn in for the nickel and get enough to buy a "tab" soda. i think "pong" came out when i was in my 20's lol. we read alot - walked to the town library and read just about everything they had. my dad was a science teacher, but in the summer he managed the city plunge, so we sort of lived there too. i have no idea what my mom did, but she managed to have alot of free time, even with 5 kids. i really regret that my son never had the freedom i did growing up - it's just a different world now, and we live in a solidly suburban area, not the semi-rural area i grew up in.
as one of 5 kids, my mom basically kicked us all out of the house during the day hours; we dug underground forts, played in the citrus groves, hung out by the horses & tried to bum a ride with someone, explored the fields, avoiding the one mean stallion, enjoying the occasional "stampede" up our street when the cattle busted out and made a break for it. my grampa worked for union oil, so i would take my bike and ride up in the hills, looking for snakes or tarantulas, skunks, deer, coyotes, etc & the other workers wouldn't bug me. brought home strays, from dogs, cats, snakes, lizards, bunnies. watched roy rogers, highway patrol, johnny quest (had a crush on race bannon), really bad sci fi movies (so bad they were priceless). we made our own kites too. cut a lemon in half, fill a glass with ~1/2" of sugar and grind the cut end into it and suck on it - god that would make our teeth hurt! kept doing it tho. build tree houses with a rope to get into them. look for bottles to turn in for the nickel and get enough to buy a "tab" soda. i think "pong" came out when i was in my 20's lol. we read alot - walked to the town library and read just about everything they had. my dad was a science teacher, but in the summer he managed the city plunge, so we sort of lived there too. i have no idea what my mom did, but she managed to have alot of free time, even with 5 kids. i really regret that my son never had the freedom i did growing up - it's just a different world now, and we live in a solidly suburban area, not the semi-rural area i grew up in.
by mewoodjr on 25 March 2010 - 20:03
Atari... duh! Space invaders, missile command, pitfall!!!
But I do remember some mean games of kick the can, war, and jumping the bike over the creek
But I do remember some mean games of kick the can, war, and jumping the bike over the creek
by Bob McKown on 25 March 2010 - 20:03
As a teenager I never owned a horse but was a groom in a saddle bred barn for 4 years. My life was changed by the woman trainer there from Trinidad a english lady who was the first true love of my life. From 14 to 18 year old I was deeply in love with this women and when I told her (as if she didnt see a love sick teenager for 3 years already) it was the nite before the first full day of my senoir year in High School and this lovley charming women(I was 17 at thet time and she 33) took me to a gravel pit and blessed me with the knowledge of love.... for an entire year I was honored by her..... They say you never fall completly out of love with the first person you truly fall in love with and I know that to be true...
by hodie on 25 March 2010 - 20:03
GSDtravels,
I knew we must have something in common......we would buy a box of candles for a nickel and then go into the storm sewer and with a match or a lighter we picked up somewhere would break the candles, melt the ends and stick them on the walls (until a ghost blew them out). When they blew out, as they always did, we would try to high tail it out of there without killing ourselves smacking into walls as the pipes made a turn......like I said, how we did not kill ourselves is beyond me. I once came to a place in the storm sewer where there was a ladder up to a drain on the street. I climbed up it and a man saw me and asked what I was doing in there and I told him I fell in. He said, not to worry, he would go get the fire department. Man, we had to get the hell out of there fast. The fire department arrived and we watched from across the way, laughing, and being glad they did not think it was us playing down there.....
Thankfully, I had no dolls and no girls were in the neighborhood either. We made our fun, mostly because no adult gave a damn about us.
I knew we must have something in common......we would buy a box of candles for a nickel and then go into the storm sewer and with a match or a lighter we picked up somewhere would break the candles, melt the ends and stick them on the walls (until a ghost blew them out). When they blew out, as they always did, we would try to high tail it out of there without killing ourselves smacking into walls as the pipes made a turn......like I said, how we did not kill ourselves is beyond me. I once came to a place in the storm sewer where there was a ladder up to a drain on the street. I climbed up it and a man saw me and asked what I was doing in there and I told him I fell in. He said, not to worry, he would go get the fire department. Man, we had to get the hell out of there fast. The fire department arrived and we watched from across the way, laughing, and being glad they did not think it was us playing down there.....
Thankfully, I had no dolls and no girls were in the neighborhood either. We made our fun, mostly because no adult gave a damn about us.
by angusmom on 25 March 2010 - 20:03
my best friend had a couple of barbie dolls and a ken doll & i had a barbie. the ken doll got a bit chewed up by her dog and we'd pretend he was in a shark attack. i had stuffed animals, but the barbie was the only doll i remember and i can't remember what color her hair was or anything. dolls just weren't that much fun. the adults mostly were glad we were out of their hair lol, but there was always someone to go to if you got really banged up for a band aid or two.
by BabyEagle4U on 25 March 2010 - 20:03
I love my parents !! I think they cared tooo much for my own good. Darn it.
by ShelleyR on 25 March 2010 - 21:03
Wow GSDTravels! I did ALL of the above too, except for the parts with the snow. We NEVER came in the house before dark.
There were maybe 2-3 fat kids at elementary school, out of a couple of hundred students, maybe the same in Jr High, out of about 400, and perhaps half a dozen in High School, out of 700. I suspect it was hard to be overweight when Phys Ed class was mandatory, (and brutal, as I remember) your parents made you go outside and play unless you were sick (in which case you stayed IN BED, in your room, NO TV) and daytime TV on the 5 broadcast station we recieved (sorta, sometimes) was terminally boring. We did watch cartoons and kids' shows: Howdy Doody, Capt. Kangaroo, The Shari Lewis show (with Lambchop) My Friend Flika, Fury, re-runs of The Real McCoys, Rin Tin Tin, and Lassie Come Home, on Saturday mornings when it rained, but the most of the time we were outside, running at large in the neighborhood. Everyone's parents looked out for (and reported bad behavoir of...) every kid in a ten block radius.
We ate our mud pies. I don't remember anyone younger than my grandmother dying of anything, but one girl at school got polio. Remember, polio vaccine-laced sugar cubes didn't come out till the late 50's)
I am a firm believer that nearly all the legislation supposedly meant to "protect out children" has led to our current crop of wimpy weenies, with insufficient immune systems. Sorry folks, but if your kid eats lead paint off the walls and floor, IMO you BOTH need to be dialed out of the gene pool.
Bring back Dodge Ball!
I mean, seriously... Even the dumbest kid in the world has a chance of success at dodge ball.
There were maybe 2-3 fat kids at elementary school, out of a couple of hundred students, maybe the same in Jr High, out of about 400, and perhaps half a dozen in High School, out of 700. I suspect it was hard to be overweight when Phys Ed class was mandatory, (and brutal, as I remember) your parents made you go outside and play unless you were sick (in which case you stayed IN BED, in your room, NO TV) and daytime TV on the 5 broadcast station we recieved (sorta, sometimes) was terminally boring. We did watch cartoons and kids' shows: Howdy Doody, Capt. Kangaroo, The Shari Lewis show (with Lambchop) My Friend Flika, Fury, re-runs of The Real McCoys, Rin Tin Tin, and Lassie Come Home, on Saturday mornings when it rained, but the most of the time we were outside, running at large in the neighborhood. Everyone's parents looked out for (and reported bad behavoir of...) every kid in a ten block radius.
We ate our mud pies. I don't remember anyone younger than my grandmother dying of anything, but one girl at school got polio. Remember, polio vaccine-laced sugar cubes didn't come out till the late 50's)
I am a firm believer that nearly all the legislation supposedly meant to "protect out children" has led to our current crop of wimpy weenies, with insufficient immune systems. Sorry folks, but if your kid eats lead paint off the walls and floor, IMO you BOTH need to be dialed out of the gene pool.
Bring back Dodge Ball!
I mean, seriously... Even the dumbest kid in the world has a chance of success at dodge ball.
by Bob McKown on 25 March 2010 - 21:03
Hey Shelley, Watch the "fat kid" comments!!! HHhahahahhahha
I was 200 pounds and 6 foot when i was a freshman in High School and the football coach all but wantted to adopt me BUT I sang in the choir for 4 years and worked at the horse barn after school did,nt have time for sports and did i get shit from the coaches. When i left school I was 6,3 and 280 and then i got into Martial arts for about 20 years....
I was 200 pounds and 6 foot when i was a freshman in High School and the football coach all but wantted to adopt me BUT I sang in the choir for 4 years and worked at the horse barn after school did,nt have time for sports and did i get shit from the coaches. When i left school I was 6,3 and 280 and then i got into Martial arts for about 20 years....
by Two Moons on 25 March 2010 - 21:03
Ah,
the teenage years,
Changed my mind.
No details......................................................:)
Moons.
the teenage years,
Changed my mind.
No details......................................................:)
Moons.
by ShelleyR on 25 March 2010 - 22:03
Hey Cutie,
If I had been in the same horse barn that riding instructor wouldn't have had a chance! :-D
If I had been in the same horse barn that riding instructor wouldn't have had a chance! :-D
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