This came to my email box from a guy named Bob on another list. What nice remembrances it brought back to my mind. Read it and, if you wish, add some memories of your own.....

Close your eyes....and go back....before the Internet or the MAC...before semi automatics and crack...before SEGA or Super Nintendo...

Way back....... I'm talkin' bout hide and go seek at dusk. Sittin' on the porch Hot bread and butter. The Good Humor man Red light, Green light. Chocolate milk, Lunch tickets Penny candy in a brown paper bag.

Playin' Pinball in the corner store. Hopscotch, butterscotch, doubledutch Jacks, kickball, dodgeball. Mother May I?

Red Rover and Roly Poly Hula Hoops and Sunflower Seeds Jolly Ranchers, Banana Splits Wax Lips and Mustaches Running through the sprinkler The smell of the sun and lickin' salty lips....

Wait...... Watchin' Saturday Morning cartoons Fat Albert, Road Runner, He-Man, The Three Stooges, and Bugs Or back further, listening to Superman on the radio Catchin' lightning bugs in a jar Playin sling shot.

When around the corner seemed far away, And going downtown seemed like going somewhere.

Bedtime Climbing trees An ice cream cone on a warm summer night Chocolate or vanilla or strawberry or maybe butter pecan A lemon coke from the fountain at the corner drug store A million mosquito bites and sticky fingers Cops and Robbers Cowboys and Indians Sittin on the curb Jumpin down the steps Jumpin on the bed.

Pillow fights Runnin till you were out of breath Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt Being tired from playin'.... Remember that?

I ain't finished just yet... Eating Kool-aid powder with sugar Remember when... 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";

When it took five minutes for the TV to warm up, if you even had one.

When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there.

When nobody owned a purebred dog. When a quarter was a decent allowance, and another quarter a miracle.

When milk went up one cent and everyone talked about it for weeks?

When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.

When girls neither dated nor kissed until late high school, if then.

When your Mom wore nylons that came in two pieces.

When all of your male teachers wore neckties and female teachers had their hair done, everyday.

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!

When laundry detergent had free glasses, dishes or towels hidden inside the box.

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 it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents.

When they threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed .and did!

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! and some of us are still afraid of em!!!

Didn't that feel good. just to go back and say, Yeah, I remember that!

There's nothing like the good old days! They were good then, and they're good now when we think about them.

Share some of these thoughts with a friend who can relate, then share it

with someone that missed out on them.

I want to go back to the time when............

Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo"

Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "do over!"

"Race issue"; meant arguing about who ran the fastest.

Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "Monopoly"

Catching the 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 net on a tennis court was the perfect height to play volleyball and rules didn't matter.

The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties.

It was magic when dad would "remove" his thumb.

It was unbelievable that dodgeball wasn't an Olympic event.

Having a weapon in school, meant being caught with a slingshot.

Nobody was prettier than Mom. Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better.

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.

Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dog-dare"

Saturday morning cartoons weren't 30-minute ads for action figures.

No shopping trip was complete, unless a new toy was brought home.

"Oly-oly-oxen-free" made perfect sense

Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles.

The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.

War was a card game. Water balloons were the ultimate weapon.

Baseball cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle.

Taking drugs meant orange-flavored chewable aspirin.

Ice cream was considered a basic food group.

Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors.

If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED!!!!

Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "grown up" life...

I DOUBLE DOG DARE YA!!!!!!!!!!!!

-- Joanne Schaefer (JoOhio1@aol.com), January 26, 2001

Answers

Joanne - that was perfectly wonderful! Made me laugh and cry both! Oh - why can't we keep those childlike qualities throughout our whole life. Eeny meeny miney mo! Yes! That's the way I want to make a decision! And dad losing his thumb. It was all great. I think I'll print it out and post it somewhere. Maybe I'll try and incorporate some of it back into my life. Thanks.

-- Dianne (willow@config.com), January 27, 2001.

I think I got my clothes dirty just so Mom would have to buy a new box of detergent .I still have some of those towels .How about when Mikey D's was a big treat and then when they did there drinking glasses or the stuffed animals .How about the teddy bear from bounty towelsI think .Grandma saved to get me that one .Green stamps ,what an idea give you gifts for buying something you need.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), January 27, 2001.

When our new washer arrived from Sears, the delivery men carefully unpacked it so I could have the packing box as a fort. The dryer box became my sister's playhouse. They even left us a wood pallet and gave me and my pals tips on how to use the wood as a frame for a sidewalk racer. Now THAT was service!

P.S. Borrowing the wheels from my sister's doll buggy for the sidewalk racer was a BAD idea. :)

(:raig

-- Craig Miller (CMiller@ssd.com), January 29, 2001.