Bill's Memories

From Brother Bill to the rest of the family remember when...

before the internet or the MAC Before semi automatics and crack Before Nintendo... When every vote counted..

Take a minute from your busy day to go way back...

I'm talkin' bout hide and go seek.. Sittin' on the porch.. Home made break and butter.. Red Light, Green Light.. Lunch tickets..

Penny saver bread.. Penny candy in a brown bag..

Red Rover. Red Rover.. Hula Hoops and Bobby socks.. Banana splits, the hatchery, and root beer floats.. Wax lips, and Mustaches. The smell of the sin and rain.. Wait....

Watchin' Saturday mornin' cartoons.. Or back further, listening to District Attorney and Green Hornet on the radio.. Catchin' lightening bugs in a jar.. Makin' sling shots and guns out of slats..

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

Bedtime..two to a bed if you were lucky.. Ray fallin' out of a tree.. going to Denison to get a lemon Ice Cream cone if we were good.. A cherry coke from the drug store.. Cops and Robbers.. Cowboys and Indians.Takin' your sled hooking on cars.. going to the creek and swimming naked.. Always seeing who was the best.. at Pool, cards, shooting, golf, and any thing..

Wait there's more

Eating Kool-aid mixed with sugar.. Laughin' so hard your stomach hurt.. Being tired from competing ....remember that?

Wait there's more.....

..There were two types of sneakers ( Keds & PF Flyers). ..It took five minutes for the black and white TV to warm up. ..Nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there. ..a quarter was a good allowance. ..girls neither dated or kissed until late high school. ..our mom wore nylons that came in two pieces. ..you got your windshield cleaned, oil checked, and gas pumped without asking. ..Cracker Jacks had free prizes in the box. ..They threatened to hold kids back a grade if you failed. and did.

Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of drive by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents were a much bigger threat..

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

..decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo." .."Race issue" meant who ran the fastest. ..being old referred to anyone over 20. ..the worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties. ..it hurt when dad pinched you with his grip. ..having a weapon in school meant having a sling shot. ..nobody was prettier than mom. ..scrapes and bruises were made better by a kiss. ..getting a foot of snow was a dream come true. ..it was unbelievable that "dodge ball" wasn't an Olympic sport.

Remember when.... .."Oly-oly-oxen-free" made perfect sense. ..The most embarrassment was being picked last. ..War was a card game. ..baseball cards in the spokes was the hit. ..taking drugs meant cod liver oil. ..ice cream was a basic food group. ..older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fierce protectors.

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

Thanks for taking the time to reflect with me. Bill

Thanks for the response to my attempt at writing memories.

When we were growing up....even before the most votes made you the winner...A "mandate" was when Donna and Nancy had a chance to go out....

Turn the lights out.... set back and remember when...

I'm talkin' bout when we left our gloves in the field playin' baseball...wore leather helmets without face masks...the first bar was called a Marietta... Went to the pool hall to get mom's dad to come home for supper...smakin' on home made tomato soup..

wait there's more...

Playin' with clothes pins...listenin' to radio (what ever dad wanted to listen to) .rollin' marbles down a steep bank of cardboard...makin'like we were flying with sheets...puttin' two chicken feathers into a corn cob and then throwin (it acted like a helicopter)...

I'm talkin' bout jumpin' into a creek , naked, over our head, and grabbin' onto a branch to get out....crawlin' under chicken roosts to get our gum which fell out...

When down town meant racing 6 blocks to see who was fastest...after a full meal. watchin' Ray eat potatoes and gravy before he had room for strawberry shortcake..

Laughing so hard your stomach hurt at a Calcutta, when Larry took off his bandage after he was bought... changin' rules every time we played cards..

There's still more.....

seeing Dales team kick a field goal with 3 minutes to go and a 39 point lead (against me)... going' to the stands after the Catholics had a dance and lookin' for money...delivering milk in a wagon on Christmas eve ( I can still see the large snow flakes fallin' so slow to the ground).

Scooping coal at the railroad so we could get some to take home to feed our furnace. Still tryin' to figure out how everyone knew who was going to get the last sack of feed in the railroad cars....

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

We did things together as a family...Admired the girls who wore Angora sweaters...decisions were made for the good of the people...not politically...The best athlete played...the average baseball salary in the majors in 1973 was equal to the salary of A-Rod's one day salary...

The drive in features Veronica Lake, Roy Rogers, and Gabby Hayes....for another quarter you could see more at the circus...

playin ditchem'....getting the car for the first time...watchin' Jerry race on a motor scooter... milk was good for you...backin' Dales teams ...strutting when ever some one got an award in the family...

Get up off your duffs and write something....Dale needs help for his books...Live your life by what you want them to say on your grave marker...not your record coaching, not how much money you made, but what you did with your life....

If this helps you remember, than you are walkin' down the right path.

Thanks for takin' the time to reflect.....Bill