This might be kind of fun, thinking about what was memorable or important while growing up, but is no longer part of your life. Let's keep our responses more fun than serious!
To get things started, here are some of the things I miss from my childhood:
1) Sunday nights with Ed Sullivan. Beatles and Topo Gigio..need I say more?
3) No cellphones. No spam calls, no interruptions 24/7.
4) Howdy Doody, Captain Kangaroo, and Leave It To Beaver
5) Winnie the Pooh and his friends.
6) More bikes, fewer cars.
7) Lionel model train sets. Then, HO gauge. Not as impressive, but a layout could fit on a normal piece of plywood.
8) Allowed one soft drink a week, but my brothers and I got to pick the day. My parents had a thing about soft drinks and our teeth.
9) My weight and physical fitness were of little concern. No matter what I ate I remained thin and never ran out of energy.
10) Home delivery of the mail. What's junk mail?
11) Taking the train somewhere. Or, piling in the family station wagon for an 8 hour drive to the grandparents' home.
OK, your turn. What made your childhood memorable?
Fun question! Should follow up with what we DON'T miss, which would be fun too!
ReplyDelete1. Dropping in on friends at their houses without a date or even a phone call and that was normal and welcome.
2. Every bookstore and record store being different with different inventories thus making exploration of different stores much more interesting.
3. Yes, bicycling everywhere.
4. Sleeping well.
5. Yes, being able to eat without any concern for health or weight.
6. My hair! :-)
7. How f-ing good a lot of new music sounded.
8. Handling LP record covers, how large they were, and enjoying the cover art and text. (Although I must say I prefer high quality digital recordings for audio quality.)
9. How special it was to see a movie at the theater when it became available. No video on demand, DVDs, Netflix, etc.
10. Being loved and cared for by a lot of adult and senior family members.
My hair...yes!
DeleteThe LP cover art and liner notes are something that CDs never matched. Now with almost all music being streamed that whole art form is lost.
Your comment about waiting for movies reminded me of how little patience we show anymore for almost anything. Instant this and that, on demand...what happened to anticipation?
1. We had one channel TV that started around 6 p.m. so, during the day, we were outside playing, riding bikes and having fun.
ReplyDelete2. Lots of fun time with mom and dad doing craft projects, hiking in nature learning all about trees,plants and insects.
3. Reading lots of books.
4. Being able to leave the key on the door, feeling safe.
5. The excitement of getting new toys or clothes.
6. Playing outside all day.
Do you remember when TV stations used to sign off around 10 or 11pm? There would be that test pattern on the screen until the station started up again the next day.
DeleteAs a child, I don't remember us even having a key to the house! I'm sure my parents did and used it when we left for a vacation. But, most of the time I doubt the door was locked at all.
I live in Turkey and yes we had a test pattern too :)
Delete1.The freedom of being able to roam the neighborhood with my friends.
ReplyDelete2.No responsibilities and lots of time to daydream.
3.Spending the night with my grandmother and playing board games with her.
4.Eating out when it was a special treat and not just an everyday occurrence.
5.Back to school shopping for my five little school dresses.
6.Catching fireflies.
7.Walking to and from school with neighbors.
8.Sleeping with the windows open and the attic fan blowing fresh air across my bed.
9.Summer bike rides to visit the bookmobile parked at my elementary school.
10. The excitement of standing in line waiting my turn to talk to Santa.
Glenda
When we spent 2 weeks each summer at my grandparents summer place in the country, we played all sorts of board games. With no electricity or running water, we learned to make our own fun or play Monopoly or Sorry until it was too dark to see.
DeleteBack to school shopping used to be a big deal. My family, with three boys, had it easier: new shirts, pants, and shoes (no sneakers). Still, for some reason my parents managed to pick some of the oddest color and pattern combinations for us.
1. Milk delivered in glass bottles to the insulated box on our front porch.
ReplyDelete2. Detasseling corn and walking beans with sisters and friends in the summer.
3. True sand-lot softball -- no organized leagues, just neighborhood kids getting together to play together. Everyone was included, no matter how unskilled.
4. Playing volleyball in the neighborhood, everyone included. Laughing a lot.
5. Rootbeer floats on my grandmother's porch.
6. Sharing chores with my sisters. Each of us had to mow 1/4 of the lawn each week, with the push mower.
7. Picking out school clothes from the JC Penney, Sears, and Montgomery Wards catalogs -- after getting my paycheck from detasseling.
8. Slumber parties after football games.
9. Not having a phone with me all the time, and not having people think that life has to be interrupted when the cell phone rings. Not having people think I am rude to not answer my cell phone when I am in the middle of doing something else. The phone had it's place (on the wall in the kitchen) and I shared it with five other people in my family.
10. Everyone in our family had to be at supper at 6 pm, no exceptions. Not even my father, a farmer, was exempt from supper at 6 pm. Everyone at supper together, sitting down at the table, and usually lunches together at the table on the weekend. No one answered the phone during family meals.
11. No TV until homework was done, and homework was done in the dining room where there was no TV.
12. Sunday night TV -- Lassie, Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom, Bonanza, and Sunday Night at the Movies at 8 pm (central time). All homework had to be finished before we could watch the tremendous Sunday night line-up.
13. We had five TV stations, and that was plenty -- NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, and WGN out of Chicago.
14. Riding bikes everywhere, going fishing a few miles outside of town with our poles on our handle bars and a snack in our backpacks. We went to a creek in a cattle pasture, so we had to watch for the bulls.
15. Walking to and from school with friends. Stopping at the little grocery store in town to buy five cents of penny candy on the way home. The best deal was the little gummy cherry circles because we could get two for a penny. This little store had a water fountain next to the banana tree, and the water tasted so good!
16. Going to church as a family -- Sunday school and church -- stopping for the Sunday paper at the drug store on the way home, and Dad buying us candy necklaces.
17. My grandmother's rhubarb meringue pie, and sour cherry pie made with cherries from trees on our farm.
What a great list. You brought back a lot of memories for me. Add block parties and the Good Humor Man with his ice cream truck.
DeleteNow that you mentioned it I watched the Mutual of Omaha show, too, and certainly Bonanza.
I remember and miss everything that others have mentioned.
ReplyDeleteI miss the wide open spaces of the neighborhood I grew up in; full of old barns, ponds, creeks, open fields, forests-- complete with wildlife and wonders-- silent evenings, camping in the backyard. So much that the kids of today in my old haunts will never know or experience. The land is all developed now. Not a pond to be found.
And I miss the sense that the world was mysterious, exotic and ripe for adventure and that the possibilities for my own life were endless.
Rick in Oregon
I spent my childhood in suburbia, so the type of neighborhood you describe was only available on vacation or while watching TV. I'm pretty sure I would have enjoyed being closer to nature.
DeletePlaying kick the can with the neighborhood kids (and there were a lot of them) every Friday and Saturday until dark. Picking raspberries off the vine in the backyard.
ReplyDeleteSheila
It wasn't very often, but I do remember kick the can. No fancy equipment or expense...just a can and some energy!
DeleteThanks for the memories everyone!
ReplyDelete1. Block parties where the neighborhood would get permission to block off your street for a Saturday and everyone would contribute food, drinks, games, shows, tables, chairs and have a glorious day of festivities. I loved that children were responsible for contributing and organizing as much to these activities as the adults.
2. Neighborhood games like "Capture the Flag," "Hide and Seek," or "Kick the Can," or jump rope marathons.
3. Climbing trees that were big enough to hold half the neighborhood.
4. Playing all around the neighborhood until you heard your family's whistle or bell.
5. Churning the crank until your arm hurt to make homemade ice cream during 4th of July picnics or block parties.
6. Drawing chalk pictures in front of all your neighbors front doors so that they woke up to see a landscape or a sunrise.
Finding really neat hiding places during Hide and Seek. (My favorite was a giant Honeysuckle bush in my back yard.
6. Playing alone for hours in the attic by the dormer window. Using your imagination to invent all sorts of fantastic doohickeys.
7. Playing saloon and then dress up with the neighborhood girls.
8. Having Tom Thumb Weddings. (This took a lot of bribing with the boys in the neighborhood!)
9. Taking long walks or bike rides on tree lined streets.
10. Going to the 5 and Dime Store and buying candy.
11. Going to the movies with your friends.
12. We didn't get a TV until I was 6. I remember and loved Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. (Lived in Pittsburgh) and Captain Kangaroo. I remember Sunday evenings with the whole family.
That's all I can think of for now. Loved this post. We all need to visit our pasts every now and then! By the way, It could be interesting doing what AR suggested, "What I don't miss" post.
Good list, my dear wife. You didn't mention your pet rabbit, Pinky White, or your big doll, Tootles. I know those two memories from your youth still resonate with you.
DeleteI never heard of a Tom Thumb wedding game, thank goodness.
Believe it of not I still have Tootles in a closet upstairs!
DeleteIn retirement, I've been able to recreate some of the things I loved the most from childhood. Walking to the library and spending hours exploring the shelves. Reading! Playing all day in the pool or at the park, coming home hungry and eating a grilled burger with purple onions and Ruffles on the side. Listening to my favorite music on vinyl. Camping.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it interesting how vinyl records are making a comeback. They are expensive and only hold 22 minutes of music per side. But, as was noted above, the cover art and liner notes are worth saving and the quality is much warmer and fuller than a CD.
DeleteBTW, I clicked over to sample your web site. I like your "take no prisoners" style on some of the posts I read. I will become a regular reader.
Wow, thanks!
DeleteI like your list. I LOVED the Howdy Doody show, but disliked Captain Kangaroo. And I remember being terribly upset when someone told me that Captain Kangaroo was really Clarabell in disguise!
ReplyDeleteBuffalo Bob with his fringe jacket...!!! Captain Kangaroo did have a pretty bad wig, but he was quite a young man when that show started.
Delete1. Watching Bugs Bunny with Dad on Saturday nights before hockey night in Canada
ReplyDelete2. Hearing a vehicle come down the driveway and announcing "Someone's here!"
3. Time out at the lake with a picnic.
4. The "organic" garden that mom worked so hard in to put up enough food for the winter.
5. Taking turns pumping water to fill the trough for the cows to drink from.
6. Spending time with the neighbor kids - swimming in the dugout; getting off the bus for birthday celebrations; playing hide & seek in the dark
7. Trips to town with dad to spend 25 cents that bought a pop & chocolate bar
8. Lying in the grass looking up at the sky and clouds without a care
When we went to my grandparent's summer place we had to pump water since there was no electricity or running water. There was a pump in the kitchen and one outside. As I got older I remember having the job of priming the pump by pouring a little water down the handle to get the water flowing.
DeleteAs a family, we watched the Boston Bruins on TV. In those days there was only one game a week that was televised so it was a big deal.
Bob, you just triggered another childhood memory for me: my grandparent's cabin at the Oregon coast. When I stayed with them my morning chores were to, 1) go out with the hatchet and get some pitch off of one of the pine trees to help my grandmother get the wood cooking stove started. 2) take a quart mason jar of water from the bucket in the kitchen and walk down the narrow forrest path the the pump, use the water in the jar to prime the pump (still have the Kingston Trio song in my head) and bring a bucket of water back to the cabin, hoping that I did not run into the black bear that lived in the neighborhood! With no indoor plumbing, they also had an outhouse.
DeleteIt was only later that I realized that this experience was a glimpse into what was normal life for my grandparents when they were growing up. Another childhood blessing.
Rick in Oregon
Yes! The world came to a stop at 8 pm on Saturday nights when Dave Keon and the Leafs took the ice.
DeleteFrom my husband...
ReplyDelete1. Running out in first snow of the season with excitement...in our underwear.
2. Walking miles with my mom to get an extra-thick strawberry malt.
3. Riding bikes out to the stream to fish.
4. Spending time in the woods with just myself and nature
5. Climbing to treetops and swaying with the wind.
6. Collecting polliwogs and watching them grow into tiny frogs.
7. Gathering wild blackberries to sell to neighbors for candy money.
From me...
1. Running as "fast as the wind".
2. Warm summer evenings playing outside with neighbor kids.
3. My Uncle Sam's flower farm and all my cousins as playmates.
4. The goldfish pond my grandfather built from scratch in the back yard.
5. My grandfather's cooking.
6. Working in the yard and vegetable garden with my grandfather.
7. My grandfather. (I have so many questions I want to ask him.)
Thanks, Bob, for asking this question. It was a sweet exercise.
Charlene H
It is very endearing that you have so many warm memories of your grandfather and his place in your life.
DeleteYour husband's memories bring to light how many of the comments so far involve memories of a more rural childhood. That is something that has disappeared for many of today's children.
For me it was the summer cottage and those 2 months of summer vacation that was so long it seemed like school was some hazy concept that one day you might see again.
ReplyDeleteI see that now in my nearly 4 year old grandson. When he says something was "a long time ago" he means 2-3 months ago. A blink of an eye for you and me but for him, an eternity.
I think the thing I miss most is time passing slowly and stretching out before you into infinity (like next year). There was always time. Perhaps that's what I miss most.
Nicely said. Time has a different pace and meaning as a child. Waiting for Santa Claus or for school to end (or begin) were some of the few instances when time's passage actually registered.
DeleteWalking to the park to go swimming, playing frisbee in the street, all the vendors who came to the neighborhood selling produce and sharpening blades, the milkman and his wares, dogs running loose, kids running loose, going downtown to a special movie, going to the university for enrichment lectures (what a geek I was!), going to the library and just crawling the stacks, going to the lake and having ice cream after, playing outside till it was dark, reading under the covers with a flashlight, catching fireflies, going to camp, vacations with my grandparents and cousins, my best friend and me acting out "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" in the attic on rainy days.
ReplyDeleteThe vendors sharpening blades and selling produce...reminds me of the type of traveling merchant in movies like Oklahoma. I remember we had milk delivered to our front door for the first several years of my life: those glass bottles with the cardboard top.
DeleteGreat memories, Laura. Like you, I loved roaming the library stacks. I used to listen to the radio under the covers...I guess an indication of my future career.
I miss playing Street games, Skelley, marbles, crack Top, etc. Watching older kids play stick all. My favorite was when someone turned on the fire hydrant (Johnny pump), and splashed anyone that close. I remember being so happy whenever the ice cream trucks from Good Humor, freezer fresh or Mr. Softer showed up. :) I miss all the things you've posted. Oh and the best was when we slept outside in the backyard during the summer...there was no AC only fans.
ReplyDeleteI like the name of your street games and the nickname for a fire hydrant.
DeleteI can still remember the sound of the Good Humor truck. On one occasion I missed him passing by our house so I ran after the sound for several blocks. I never caught up with him and remember being terribly disappointed for a full day.
Delivering the Sunday newspaper, and then getting to read it out back during the summer before everyone else got up. All the sports leagues I played in even when very young, especially baseball. I also spent lots of time at the city library, and I can still do that today here in town. The real corner stores (not the convenience chains of today) with different candies and the like for pennies and nickels. Having real neighborhoods where everyone knew everyone else. Good times.
ReplyDeleteI had a paper route for a few years when we lived in Ohio. It was a lot of work but I felt like a grownup getting my own income.
DeleteI know Betty and I both miss the neighborhood feel we had when we were young. At least in the Phoenix area, most yards are fully fenced with 6 foot high walls. Neighbors are invisible most of the time. A shame.
After church on Sundays, the four kids would march down to Breslow's on Main Street, where Dad would buy the Sunday paper (with the comics), and each of us would pick out our ONE nickel candy from the array -- which was our allotment for the week. If I had saved money from odd jobs, I'd buy an Action Comics book to read and trade.
ReplyDeleteGreat memory. Your one candy was like my one soft drink a week. It was very special. I remember one week mom bought 10 oz bottles (no cans) instead of 12 oz and all three boys felt terribly cheated!
DeleteMust see TV was Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights. We made sure to watch that on our TV with 3 channels and the changer was human powered (meaning we had to walk to the TV to change the channel).
ReplyDeleteOne thing I miss is hearing kids playing outside. It seems that kids don't play outdoors unless it is organized. I think they're missing out on the freedom we enjoyed growing up so many years ago.
Wonderful World of Disney, in color...absolutely.
DeleteYou are right: kids may be somewhat safer but they are missing out on one of the joys of being young: unstructured play.
Going to the beach in the summer, pre condo construction, when only small, family cottages were beachside.
ReplyDeleteOutdoor showers at the beach house.
Being barefoot unless shoes were required which meant flip flops except Sunday when white sandals were acceptable.
Catching lightning bugs, putting them in a mason jar, then releasing them.
8mm black and white cartoons (soundless) that dad showed each summer at night for all the neighborhood kids, outside our house on a stretched white sheet as a screen.
Being outside until 9 pm every single night of the summer playing kick the can, devil in the ditch or capture the flag with all the kids in the neighborhood, while the adults sat outside on lawn furniture and talked. (Alabama summer night time remedy to suffocating in a pre- central air house)
I'm intrigued by how many references there have been to fireflies (lightning bugs). They don't exist out West so our children have only experienced them a few times during family trips back east.
DeleteAh yes, good old 8mm movies. My dad filmed our vacations, so viewing those shaky, silent films on a screen or bedsheet was part of my youth, too.
Bob, we did have them in Eastern Washington state when I was a kid; don't know about now. I agree, they're not here in Coastal California.
DeleteThe feeling of summer. While it could be argued that life is now one long summer vacation, there was nothing like those long summer days stretching out in front of us, sleepovers in a backyard tent, hanging out all day by my buddy's backyard pool with the transistor radio playing before heading off to play baseball. Thanks for the memories!
ReplyDeleteProbably the big difference between summer days then and retirement life is the lack of any real responsibilities while a child. Even in retirement we have obligations, commitments, and bills.
DeleteAll of the above. Plus. I loved my coin collection ... when coins were worth something.
ReplyDeleteI collected stamps...kind of the same feeling.
DeleteWhat a fun idea for a post, Bob! I miss . . .
ReplyDelete1. Watching TV Westerns like Wagon Train, Rawhide, Laramie, The Virginian, The Rifleman and High Chaparral.
2. Stopping at my aunt and uncle's corner store to pick out a small bagful of penny candy (that really did cost only a penny!) on our way to the movie theater.
3. Running through the sprinkler on hot summer days.
4. Stopping at the bakery after Church on Sunday to pick up hard rolls for breakfast.
5. Jumping rope for hours with all the kids in the neighborhood.
6. Catching the wonderful aroma of my Mom's pasta sauce simmering on the stove the moment I opened the door. (Boy, I really miss this one. I still make "Nana's Sauce" myself from her recipe, but it's just not the same. That was simply love in an aroma.)
7. Being able to walk to the park down the street without needing an adult.
8. Searching for books at garage sales, then spending summer days reading them.
9. Going with my Dad to visit the animals at a small local zoo or to skip stones in the creek after Sunday breakfast. (I never thought to ask why my Mom didn't go . . . Maybe the excursion was meant to give her a much needed break!)
10. Getting together with all of my cousins on Christmas night to exchange gifts.
11. Playing Put 'n Take at my aunt's house on New Year's Eve before she handed out noisemakers and turned on the TV to watch Guy Lombardo ring in the New Year.
12. Listening for the Mr. Softee ice cream truck so that I could get a Rabbit Ears cone - a chocolate head, vanilla ears and a maraschino cherry for a nose. That was quite a delightful and special treat for my little kid self!
I was blessed to have had a happy and healthy childhood - thanks for the opportunity to reminisce about it, Bob!
I'm glad this post stimulated so many wonderful memories, Mary.
Delete1. The weekly arrival of Life magazine and Newsweek - I read them from cover to cover every week
ReplyDelete2. Weekends and summers at our (extended) family beach house; spending the whole day at the beach, then beachcombing in the evenings along with a walk on the pier, and otherwise making up our own games or playing croquet in the vacant lot next door.
3. Mom gave us each 5 cents a day at the beach - we could get a Look or Big Hunk Bar, or 5 licorice sticks. Or, we could save it for another day and get a frozen lemonade bar or soft ice cream cone for 10 cents.
4. Being outside from morning to dusk every day during the summer, and going barefoot. I don't remember anyone wearing sandals.
5. Homemade, hand-churned fresh peach ice cream. The kids would start the churn and my dad would always have to finish when it got stiff at the end.
6. My paternal grandmother's yeast biscuits, and my maternal grandmother's stewed apples (both recipes have been lost).
7. Ed Sullivan, Wonderful World of Disney, The Phil Silvers Show, Get Smart, Laugh-in, F-Troop, Hawaii 5-0 (the original) and a whole lot of other great TV shows. My mom didn't let us watch "violent" shows like westerns or crime shows, but sometimes I snuck out and watched Gunsmoke or The Untouchables with my dad.
8. Our community library's summer reading contest. I never won, but I always had fun trying.
9. Getting a hamburger from the beach's snack stand on our last summer day there, and my mom renting a canvas raft for the last day too. The hamburgers from that stand remain the BEST I have ever had.
10. Freeways in Southern California before there was traffic
11. The annual television showing of The Wizard of Oz - it was a hugely anticipated event, and discussed for days afterwards.
12. Playing baseball and four-square out in the street, playing ditch 'em or flashlight tag in the summer.
13. Visiting Disneyland for the day when anyone visited. Mom was a teacher, and sometimes former students worked there and would let us cut the lines!
14. Spending the night at my grandmother's house (she lived in the same town) and listening to her stories from her childhood - she was born in 1890. Taking a "coffee break" with my grandmother in the afternoons - I had my own little cup and coffee pot, and my coffee was more milk and sugar than coffee, but we would sit for a while, sip and have a conversation.
What a great list. The annual Wizard of Oz showing was one we never missed. And, I hadn't thought of the Phil Silvers Show forever.
DeleteBetty found a recipe for making ice cream by kicking and rolling a can around the backyard for an hour (grandkids and adults). It is really quite good.
This topic has stimulated so many memories!
ReplyDelete- playing outside in the summer from after breakfast until dusk, with breaks for lunch and supper. In the North, it didn’t start to get dark until 10 pm
- running barefoot all summer long
- in the Spring, making little boats and sailing them down the ditch, and damming up the water.
- in the Fall, stomping in puddles to break the ice
- playing marbles in the schoolyard
- playing backyard softball (Indian Rubber, scrub) and backyard soccer
- dressups
- putting on plays with all the neighbourhood kids
- riding our bikes to the farm seven miles out of town where our horse was boarded and spending the day riding and picnicking, then riding our bikes back home again.
- building tree forts our in the bush
- walking on trails through meadows and forest “out-the-back”
- going on hikes up in the mountains
- skiiing in farmers’ fields, either sidestepping back up the hills, or using rudimentary rope tows
- pouring over the Eaton’s and Simpson’s catalogues looking at school clothes, and especially the Christmas catalogue
- having time to read a book a day
Jude
We put on plays, too, complete with a wooden stage and windows curtains for stage curtains.
DeleteI remember at one our our homes the backyard was large enough we had a 3/4 scale baseball diamond and outfield. It was used almost every day in the summer by a dozen different boys.
I remember the Sears catalogs as a big deal to look through and dream.
In the winter when we lived in Boston we would build a snow cave in the backyard...lots of work but fun to crawl inside!
-Visits with my Nana and Grandmother on their porches. Becoming a "verbal" historian.
ReplyDelete-Having milk delivered to the back door and "tipping" the milk man. He was so kind.
-Sleeping with the windows open most of the summer (in Phoenix).
-Going "fishing" at Oak Creek. Mostly I just sat listening to the water.
-Riding my bike everywhere- store, school, and the park- all of which were at least two miles away.
-Sitting on the counter and having our maid tell me all about growing up in the Deep South and God while she ironed.
- Playing in the neighborhood without fear.
Surviving a Phoenix summer without air conditioning is amazing to me. The temperatures weren't quite as hot...much less concrete and urban buildup and more farm land so things cooled down at night and didn't get quite as hot during the day. Still, a wet sheet on the sleeping porch at night just wouldn't cut it for me.
DeleteOak Creek Canyon outside Sedona remains a beautiful spot.
Ditto to many of the above plus:
ReplyDelete1. Stomping through puddles after a summer storm to cool off
2. Sunday pot roast after church
3. I Love Lucy, The Three Stooges, Mr. Magoo, the Sally Star Show (Philly area)
4. Playing in the apple orchard down the street- the orchard is apartments now.
5. Coming home from church Easter Sunday and having an Eater Egg hunt with my siblings in the back yard. My parents also hid our Easter baskets and we had to find them. Loaded with the best candy.
6. Sleeping on the front porch in summer to cool off- no A/C.
7. Going to the dirt track to watch stock car racing
8. Going to the fair and riding the double Ferris wheel
This was fun!
I grew up in the Philly area too, so Sally Star is a name I recognize. When I was a bit older, Dick Clark's American Bandstand began in Philadelphia. I watched it whenever I could.
DeleteWe still do Easter Egg hunts with the grandkids, though in another 2 or 3 years they will probably be too old to be interested. Sad.
I miss my mother's cooking liver and onions. I have managed to cook everything she did, just like she did. But, I have never tried to cook liver and onions. She was a great cook! It was not fancy, just delicious and healthy.
ReplyDeleteI miss living on ten acres with about 8 pecan trees, plum trees, blackberries and a huge garden Daddy planted. I miss the canned and frozen food they gave us.
The rocking chairs we had. Mama said I wore out every rocking chair we ever had. I still love to rock in an old-fashioned rocker.
I miss my maternal grandmother. I also miss having a grandfather as I never had one.
I miss picking up bottles when I found one to redeem for a bit of money.
I miss being given a dollar and my three siblings being given a dollar, too. We were put out at the curb in front of Krystal where we went alone and ordered. Then, the four of us walked to the corner and crossed the street and went to the movies. We came home with money for the week to buy candy. My brother and sisters wanted to buy candy at the movie, but I always convinced them not to buy over-priced candy so they could buy four bars during the week, or maybe a coke and three candy bars. All this from $1. We ate Krystal, fries, coke, and saw a movie and change left from our $1. You cannot do that now!
I loved going to school carnivals at the elementary school.
we went barefoot ALL summer and complained when we went somewhere and had to wear shoes. We did not mind wearing shoes to church.
I miss my black patent shoes I wore to church. I carried a piece of toilet paper in my purse so I could wipe the dust off before I went into church. I wonder what the people thought about the poor little girl who made sure her shoes were shining.
My uncle would give each of us children a silver dollar about three times a year when he came to visit. I got to hand them out to my siblings.
I could go on!
Fabulous memories, Linda. Isn't it amazing what $1 used to buy.
DeleteI have eaten Krystal hamburgers, though in the Northeast White Castle square hamburgers were the option.
My wife remembers the black patent shoes as her fancy dress up shoes, too.
Long summer Sunday drives to Cape Cod to swim in the ocean.
ReplyDeleteI spent part of my youth in the Boston are and my family never visited the Cape. Go figure.
DeleteI miss my mom washing my hair in the sink, the cool water and how fresh and relaxed it made me feel. My sisters were next. Then she would comb it and we’d sit on the front steps to let the breeze dry our hair.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful word picture, Cathie.
Delete