Do You Remember

I hope I'm not the only one who remembers childhood like this. :) Ah,
the good old days. This article is from a My Indiana Section of the news.


February 27, 2006
Memories of a simpler time
By Sharon Smith Reed, Carmel

As a child of the late 1940s and '50s, I grew up in a much simpler and carefree time. My sister and I would play outside with neighborhood friends all day and into the night. We rode bicycles for hours or spent time in a small playhouse where we spent many hours playing "school" or "family." One of us was the dad and the other the mom; our babies were dolls and teddy bears.


We would play softball with friends and ride everywhere on pretend horses made out of sticks. The neighborhood was very quiet -- no lawn mowers, or power tools. Dad would cut the grass with an old reel-type lawn mower.

You could hear the sounds of laughing and playing children everywhere. Everyone's mother was home doing laundry in a wringer washer and hanging the clothes on the line or preparing meals. Rarely did we watch television, for there were only three channels from which to choose. We might watch "The Mickey Mouse Club" or "American Bandstand" in the afternoon, then back outside we would run.
Every afternoon we would hear the ringing of the bell as the "popsicle boy" rode his bicycle through the streets. I would run in and shake my piggy bank to get a nickel to buy one.

Then Dad would come home from work, and Mom would call us in for supper, with most of the meal from the abundant garden. At dusk, we would catch lightning bugs or play Kick the Can. Later, we would sit on the porch and watch the moon and the stars, until finally Mom would call us in to get read for bed. Another perfect day would come to end.

:) That brings back alot of memories! My childhood was very similar. Except my bicycle was my "horse", I helped my mom with the wringer washer, and i loved how we used to run around the yard catching lightening bugs in the summer while dad sat on the porch watering the lawn. The best thing was this guy that came around every summer with a trailer and a beautiful pinto pony. You could buy a pony ride up and down the street. And you could get your picture taken sitting on the pony, all dressed up in a cowboy hat. I have one, and it's my favorite picture of myself as a kid!

Life was so much simpler then! These kids today have no idea of what they miss while inside playing on their video games, watching TV's, or on the computers. It is really sad if you think about it.

We played Mama's and Daddy's, teachers and students where you said "yes Mam" and "No Mam".. Todays kids games have to be "rated"...