When:
REMEMBER WHEN.....
1: The prom was in the gymnasium and we danced to an
orchestra, and all the girls wore pastel gowns and the boys wore suits
for the first time and we stayed out all night.
2. When a '57 Chevy was
everyone's dream car...to cruise, peel out,
lay rubber or watch submarine
races, and people went steady and girls wore
a class ring with an inch of
wrapped dental floss or yarn coated with
pastel frost nail polish so it
would fit her finger.
3. And no one ever asked
where the car keys were 'cause they were
always in the car, in the ignition,
and the doors were never locked. And
you got in big trouble if you
accidentally locked the doors at home, since
no one ever had a key.
4. Remember lying on your
back on the grass with your friends and
saying things like "That cloud looks
like a... "
5. And playing baseball with
no adults to help kids with the rules of
the game. Back then, baseball was
not a psychological group learning
experience it was a game.
6. Remember when stuff from
the store came without safety caps and
hermetic seals 'cause no one had yet
tried to poison a perfect stranger.
7. Being sent to the drugstore to test vacuum tubes for the TV.
8. When Kool-Aid was the only
drink for kids, other than milk and
sodas.
9. When there were two types
of sneakers for girls and boys (Keds &
PF Flyers), and the only time you
wore them at school, was for "gym."
10. When it took five minutes for the TV to warm up.
11. When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there.
12. When nobody owned a purebred dog.
13. When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.
14. When girls neither dated nor
kissed until late high school, if
then.
15. When your mom wore nylons that came in two pieces.
16. 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!
17. When laundry detergent had free
glasses, dishes or towels hidden
inside the box.
18. 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.
19. When it was considered a great
privilege to be taken out to dinner
at a real restaurant with your
parents.
20. When they threatened to keep
kids back a grade if they failed ...
they did!
21. Hide and go seek at dusk.
Sittin' on the porch, Hot bread and
butter. The ice cream man, Simon Says,
Kick the Can, Red light, Green
light. Lunch Boxes with a Thermos . .
.
22. Chocolate milk, Lunch tickets,
Penny candy from the corner store,
Hopscotch, butterscotch, skates with
keys, Jacks, kickball, dodgeball,
Dixie peach and Bonnie Doon socks, Mother
May I? Hula Hoops and Sunflower
Seeds, Whist and Old Maid and Crazy Eights,
Wax lips and mustaches, Mary
Janes, saddleshoes & Coke bottles with the
names of cities on the bottom.
23. Running through the sprinkler,
circle pins, bobby pins, Mickey
Mouse Club, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Fran
& Ollie, Spin & Marty . . . all in
black & white. Catchin'
lightning bugs in a jar, Playing slingshot.
24. When around the corner
seemed far away, And going downtown seemed
like going somewhere.
25. Bedtime, climbing trees, making
forts . . . Coaster made from
orange crates & an old skate, Backyard
Shows, Lemonade stands, Cops &
Robbers, Cowboys &
Indians,
26. Sittin' on the curb, Jumpin'
down the steps, jumping on the bed.
Pillow fights, "company", Ribbon
candy, angel hair on the Christmas tree,
Mary Martin as "Peter Pan",
Jackie Gleason as "the poor soul".
27. White gloves, walking to
church, walking to the library. Being
tickled to death . Running till
you were out of breath. Laughing so hard=
that your stomach hurt. Being
tired from playin'.
28. Not steppin' on a crack . . . or you'll break your mother's back.
29. Paper chains at Christmas,
silhouettes of Lincoln and Washington .
. .the smell of paste, buck
bags and Evening in Paris ...
30. Crowding around in a circle for
the 'after school fight', then
running when the teacher came.
31. What about the girl that had
the big bubbly handwriting, who
dotted her "i's" with hearts?
32. Bob parties, slam books, The
Stroll, popcorn balls, sock hops &
hay rides.
33. When nearly everyone's Mom was
at home when the kids got home from
school.
34. When a quarter was a decent
allowance, and another quarter a huge
bonus.
35. When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.
36. When girls neither dated nor
kissed until late high school, if
then.
37. When your Mom wore nylons that came in two pieces.
38. When all of your male teachers
wore neckties and female teachers
had their hair done, and wore high heels
everyday.
39. When pizza wasn't delivered . . . and chicken was . . .
40. The worst thing you could do at
school was smoke in the bathrooms,
flunk a test or chew gum.
41. Playing baseball on the empty
corner lot with no adults to help
kid with the rules of the game.
Then* baseball was not a psychological
group learning experience, it
was a game.
42. Remember when stuff from the
market came without safety caps and
hermetic seals 'cause no one had yet
tried to poison a perfect stranger.
43. Eating Kool-aid powder
with sugar off the end of your licked
finger.
44. 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. Our parents
and grandparents were a much bigger threat! But
we all survived because
their love was greater than the threat.