I remember going home from fishing by hopping a slow moving freight train. We grabbed the ladder that went up the side of box cars, held on and rode for about a mile....we dropped off when the train started to pick up speed. I wonder how many others have done something like that.
I remember when the school bus got back after basketball games it dropped us off at the school and my buddy and I hitchhiked (or walked if no car happened to pick us up) the 5 miles from the school to our home. And nobody (neither our parents or the school) was a bit concerned about it. I wonder how many others experienced the same thing. --- To be honest, if we got back to the school before 11pm we would catch a ride with a man who worked the 3 to 11 trick at the Lackawanna Railroad Tower in the town where we went to school. Maybe half the time we made that ride.
I remember when my buddy and I used to hitchhike to the movie in a town 12 miles from where we lived...and nobody was concerned or worried about it. In the summer we'd do it a couple of times a week.
I wonder how many others experienced things like that.
I remember when just about every boy in our school older than 11 carried a boy scout pocket knife to school every day. And we played 'mumble-the-peg' at lunch time in the school yard. No body was concerned. I wonder how many others had similar experience.
I remember a couple of deer seasons when I wanted to hunt with a friend or relative after school, I carried my hunting rifle to school on the school bus and stood it in the corner of the coat closet in my home room all day then went hunting after school. I wonder how many others had similar experiences.
We had 7 man made private lakes in my home town and I remember when the kids in town were welcome to go swimming, fishing, row boating and ice skating in all of them. I wonder how many others had the same kind of experiences.
I remember when if walking along the road and someone offered us a ride, we took it without hesitation or fear. Even when we were only 8 or 9 years old. I wonder if others did that also.
I remember when "go outside and play" was my mother's watch word when I was pestering her. Winter, summer, spring or fall....the rule was to stay withing hearing distance or be home for supper (lunch).
I remember when we didn't ask our parents if it was "okay" to climb trees - we just climbed them. Most of us even had a favorite. I don't think I knew anybody who never fell out of a tree. I was one of the lucky ones who never broke a bone falling out of a tree.
I remember walking along the railroad track to find partially burned flares (called fusee's) that we would pick up to take fishing to keep the mosquitoes at bay when we went night fishing for bullheads.
I remember going "dump picking" to find returnable soda or beer bottles that we'd gather and take back to the stores to get the deposit - 2 cents on small bottles and 5 cents on quart bottles. I wonder if others had the same experiences.
I remember going to the "picnic grounds" on the 5th of July looking for change that got dropped at the American Legion 4th of July Picnic...I wonder if others did likewise.
I remember when we played baseball when we felt like playing and could get a bunch of kids together. Our rules, no umpires, no coaches, no adults at all....and to keep things moving 4 foul balls andf your out. Ditto with football....tackle with no pads, no helmets, no referees, no coaches, no adults. our rules. 4 downs to make the field from where ever you started and the field was seldome more than 70 yards and often was only about 50.
Can you even imagine giving a kid today that much latitude? If you did, the police would be coming after you with a list of charges as long as your arm. Yet my generation grew up that way...this really was the land of the free. And to be honest you had to be pretty brave to try some of the things we did or tried to do.
I remember when the school bus got back after basketball games it dropped us off at the school and my buddy and I hitchhiked (or walked if no car happened to pick us up) the 5 miles from the school to our home. And nobody (neither our parents or the school) was a bit concerned about it. I wonder how many others experienced the same thing. --- To be honest, if we got back to the school before 11pm we would catch a ride with a man who worked the 3 to 11 trick at the Lackawanna Railroad Tower in the town where we went to school. Maybe half the time we made that ride.
I remember when my buddy and I used to hitchhike to the movie in a town 12 miles from where we lived...and nobody was concerned or worried about it. In the summer we'd do it a couple of times a week.
I wonder how many others experienced things like that.
I remember when just about every boy in our school older than 11 carried a boy scout pocket knife to school every day. And we played 'mumble-the-peg' at lunch time in the school yard. No body was concerned. I wonder how many others had similar experience.
I remember a couple of deer seasons when I wanted to hunt with a friend or relative after school, I carried my hunting rifle to school on the school bus and stood it in the corner of the coat closet in my home room all day then went hunting after school. I wonder how many others had similar experiences.
We had 7 man made private lakes in my home town and I remember when the kids in town were welcome to go swimming, fishing, row boating and ice skating in all of them. I wonder how many others had the same kind of experiences.
I remember when if walking along the road and someone offered us a ride, we took it without hesitation or fear. Even when we were only 8 or 9 years old. I wonder if others did that also.
I remember when "go outside and play" was my mother's watch word when I was pestering her. Winter, summer, spring or fall....the rule was to stay withing hearing distance or be home for supper (lunch).
I remember when we didn't ask our parents if it was "okay" to climb trees - we just climbed them. Most of us even had a favorite. I don't think I knew anybody who never fell out of a tree. I was one of the lucky ones who never broke a bone falling out of a tree.
I remember walking along the railroad track to find partially burned flares (called fusee's) that we would pick up to take fishing to keep the mosquitoes at bay when we went night fishing for bullheads.
I remember going "dump picking" to find returnable soda or beer bottles that we'd gather and take back to the stores to get the deposit - 2 cents on small bottles and 5 cents on quart bottles. I wonder if others had the same experiences.
I remember going to the "picnic grounds" on the 5th of July looking for change that got dropped at the American Legion 4th of July Picnic...I wonder if others did likewise.
I remember when we played baseball when we felt like playing and could get a bunch of kids together. Our rules, no umpires, no coaches, no adults at all....and to keep things moving 4 foul balls andf your out. Ditto with football....tackle with no pads, no helmets, no referees, no coaches, no adults. our rules. 4 downs to make the field from where ever you started and the field was seldome more than 70 yards and often was only about 50.
Can you even imagine giving a kid today that much latitude? If you did, the police would be coming after you with a list of charges as long as your arm. Yet my generation grew up that way...this really was the land of the free. And to be honest you had to be pretty brave to try some of the things we did or tried to do.