Back In The Day Memories .....

11/16/2017

I grew up in the 60's & 70's during a time when folks were kinder, and life was slower paced... simpler times, really. We didn't eat fast food very often. Our popsicles were made from Kool-Aid frozen in Tupperware molds. We drank Kool-Aid and Tang, and our drinking water came from the kitchen sink. Paying for bottled water was unheard of, and quite frankly would have been viewed as a ridiculous idea. Meals were simple... bologna, PB&J, and grilled cheese sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers, pot pies and TV dinners. I remember taking empty glass pop bottles back to the grocery store and collecting the deposit. I'd use the deposit money to buy penny candy, a Moon Pie, and a 6 ounce baby Coke. I sure could get a lot for 50 cents in those days! Me and the rest of the neighborhood kids got so excited when we heard the ice cream truck music getting closer... we all ran back home and begged our moms for change so we could buy an ice cream cone! We played outside all summer long unless it was raining, We swam in creeks, skipped rocks, made daisy chains, blew dandelion seeds as we made wishes, played baseball, dodge ball, basketball, and four square, rode our bikes, popped wheelies, played hide and seek, marked the sidewalk with chalk and played hop scotch, jumped rope, and kids raced each other down the street with Big Wheels, scooters, mini-bikes, and go-carts. We had to stay close to home and when the street lights came on, we knew it was time to run home for supper. We all sat together as a family and always blessed the food. We ate at the kitchen table, and actually talked to each other every night about what we had done that day. We didn't have microwaves, cell phones, video games, cable, computers or the internet. We popped popcorn on the stove. Our phone was mounted on the kitchen wall. We didn't have TV remotes. We walked over to the TV to change the channel. After The Johnny Carson Show ended at night, the TV stations signed off the air until the following morning. We had 4 whole TV channels! We had to choose which show we really wanted to watch because we couldn't record a show and watch it later. We never heard cursing on TV, or the radio for that matter. We bought our music on vinyl, 8-track and cassette formats. We got our celebrity gossip from the TV Guide, and teen girls bought Tiger Beat Magazine. Pong was the hot electronic game.. lol! We walked or rode our bikes to school. We rushed home to watch Dark Shadows every afternoon after school. Cartoons were on every Saturday morning, and believe it or not, were sometimes sponsored by tobacco companies, and stores sold candy cigarettes! If you were bad in school, you were punished at school with a paddle, plus the school secretary phoned your parents. When you got home you were punished again! It wasn't called abuse back then. It was called what it truly is- discipline. Prayer, singing the National Anthem, and saying The Pledge of Allegiance were in every school. Disrespecting your elders was NOT tolerated. Spare the rod and spoil the child may as well have been the law of the land, because it was definitely enforced! And we held doors open, carried groceries and gave up our seat without being asked for our elders. Yes sir, yes ma'am, please, and thank you were common phrases used by everyone. It was called manners. Lord, I miss those days!

With many of us living without the luxury of air conditioning back in the day, Slip & Slides, baby pools, and water balloon fights were such a welcome treat in the summertime heat!

Who can forget tucking flowers in our hair, making daisy chains, and doodling and drawing peace, love & flower power in our notebooks...

I can't recall a single wish coming true as a result of my blowing away dandelion seeds, but I have no regrets doing it. It was actually calming and relaxing..