Worried Witch, Remember this ?
Close your eyes and go back in time...Before the Internet...Before
semi-automatics, joyriders and crack....Before X-Box, SEGA or Super
Nintendo ...
Way back ........ I'm talking about Hide and Seek in the park.
The corner shop. Hopscotch. Butterscotch. Skipping. Handstands.
Football an old can. Fingerbob. Beano, Dandy, Buster, Twinkle and
Dennis the menace.
Roly Poly. Hula Hoops, jumping the stream, building dams. The smell
of the sun
and fresh cut grass. Bazooka Joe bubble gum. An ice cream cone on a
warm
summer night from the van that plays a tune Chocolate or vanilla or
strawberry or maybe Neapolitan or perhaps a screwball.
Watching Saturday morning cartoons, short commercials or the flicks.
Childrens Film Foundation, The Double Deckers, Red Hand Gang, The
Tomorrow
People, Tiswas or Swapshop?, and 'Why Don't You'? - or staying up
for
Doctor Who.
When around the corner seemed far away and going into town seemed
like
going somewhere. Earwigs, wasps, stinging nettles and bee stings.
White dog poo.
Sticky fingers. Playing Marbles. Ball bearings. Big 'uns and Little
'uns.
Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, and Zorro. Climbing trees.
Building
igloos out of snow banks.
Walking to school, no matter what the weather. Running till you were
out of
breath, laughing so hard that your stomach hurt. Jumping on the bed.
Pillow
fights. Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause
for
giggles. Being tired from playing....remember that?
The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team. Water
balloons
were the ultimate weapon. Football cards in the spokes transformed
any bike
into a motorcycle. Choppers and Grifters. Eating raw jelly. Orange
squash
ice pops.
Remember when...There were two types of trainers - girls and boys,
and
Dunlop Green flash - and the only time you wore them at school was
for P.E.
You knew everyone in your street - and so did your parents. It
wasn't odd
to have two or three "best" friends. You didn't sleep a wink on
Christmas
eve.
When nobody owned a pure-bred dog, 25p was decent pocket money,
Curly
Whirlys. Space Dust. Toffo's. Top Trumps. You'd reach into a muddy
gutter
for a penny.
Nearly everyone's mum was at home when the kids got there. 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 being sent to the head'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.
Parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! and some of us
are
still afraid of them.
Remember when .... Decisions were made by going " Ip Dip Dog sh!t ".
"Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest. Money issues
were
handled by whoever was the banker in "Monopoly". The worst thing you
could
catch from the opposite sex was germs. And the worst thing in your
day was
having to sit next to one.
It was unbelievable that 'British Bulldog' wasn't an Olympic event.
Having a weapon in school, meant being caught with a catapult.
Nobody was
prettier than Mum. Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better.
Taking
drugs meant orange-flavoured chewable aspirin. Ice cream was
considered
a basic food group.
Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true. 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-DARE YOU"