Hello my friends, My friend Hugh sent this to me, Close your eyes...And go back... ....Before the Internet or PC or the MAC...... ....Before semi-automatics and crack.... ....Before Playstation, SEGA, Super Nintendo, even before Atari... ....Before cell phones, CD's, DVD's, voicemail and e-mail.... ....way back.... ....way.....way.....way back..... I'm talkin' bout hide and seek at dusk Red light, Green light Red Rover....Red Rover..... Playing kickball & dodgeball until the first...no...second...no...third streetlight came on Ring around the Rosie London Bridge Hot potato Hop Scotch Jump rope Duck....duck....GOOSE!!! YOU'RE IT!! Parents stood on the front porch and yelled (or whistled) for you to come home . . . no pagers or cell phones Mother May I? Hula Hoops Seeing shapes in the clouds Shoe skates with the key hanging around your neck Endless summer days and hot summer nights (no A/C) with the windows open The sound of crickets Running through the sprinkler Incinerators Happy Meals Cereal boxes with that GREAT prize in the bottom Cracker jacks with the same thing Bottles of soda pop Wax lips and mustaches Popsicles with 2 sticks you could break and share with a friend ...But wait.....there's more.... Watchin' Saturday Morning cartoons Mighty Mouse, Popeye, Fat Albert, Road Runner, Smurfs, Picture Pages, G-Force & He-Man Watchin' Sunday morning oldies (Abbott & Costello, Three Stooges, Lucy) Wonder Woman & Super Man Underoos FONZIE.....AYYYYYYYY Riding your bike with playing cards attached to the spokes with clothes pins. . .now that was COOL Playing Dukes of Hazard Christmas morning Your first day of school Walking home from school in the rain, wearing your rain coat and rubber boots. Bedtime prayers and Goodnight Kisses Climbing trees Swinging as high as you could to try and reach the sky Camping out in the backyard Getting an ice cream off the Good Humor Truck The milk man leaving milk outside your front door A million mosquito bites and sticky fingers Jumpin' down the steps Jumpin' on the bed Pillow fights Sleep overs and scary stories A 13" black and white TV in your room meant you were RICH . . .So did having a Princess Phone Party lines Runnin' till you were out of breath Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt Going barefoot in the summer Being tired from PLAYING WORK: meant taking out the garbage or doing the dishes Your first crush Your first kiss (I mean the one that you kept your mouth CLOSED and your eyes OPEN) Rainy days at school meant playing "Heads up 7UP" or "hangman" in the classroom, remember that? Oh, I'm not finished yet.... Kool-Aid was the drink of the summer So was a swig from the hose Giving your friends a ride on your handlebars Wearing your new shoes on the first day of school Class Field Trips with soggy sandwiches When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there When a quarter seemed like a fair allowance. . .and another quarter a MIRACLE 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. When your parents took you to McDonalds and you were COOL When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited you 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! And some of us are still afraid of em! Boy, Howdy!!! Didn't that feel good? Just to go back and say, "Yeah, I remember that!" Well, then, let's keep going!! Let's go back to the time when... Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo" Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "do over!" "Race issues" meant arguing about who could run the fastest. Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "monopoly" Catching fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends. Being old, referred to anyone over 20. The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties. Nobody was prettier than Mom Scrapes and bruises were kissed by mom or grandma and made better, and a band-aid meant the injury was "serious". It was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride the "big people" rides at the amusement park. Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true. Sock Hops Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dog-dare" Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles. The worst embarrassment ever was being picked last for a team. Water balloons were the ultimate, ultimate weapon. Older siblings were your worst tormentors, but also your fiercest protector If you can remember most of these, then you have LIVED!!! Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "grown up" life......I TRIPLE DOG DARE YA!!!!!! Kathy/simikathy.com

hello  Kathy...I can barely remember these...of course ...these days it is hard to remember much...thank you for the way back machine....LoL...Larry

Hello Hugh and Kathy, My husband and I often comment on the fact the kids don't 'go outside and play' anymore. They are all attached to something that entertains them. I tried to host a kids talent show in our yard when I was in New York-I even bought hoola hoops! Well my sister-in-laws and I went for it as the kids were not interested. All I can say is that the laws of gravity were not kind that day-but we had a ball! The kids-who knows?

Thanks, Kathy, I do remember those days, playing outside until dark, my mom calling us in standing on the front porch. Now days, it's barely safe for your kids to be outside when it's daylight. Things sure were a lot simpler then.

Thank you Kathy I can remember alot of these & boy those were the good old days when I could laugh & get a stomach ache.
Happy Holidays
Kathy C