Back in the Day

I received an e-mail recently that took me WAAAYYY back. It was one of those that reminds you of what life was like when you were growing up. It brought back so many funny memories and experiences that not only I went through, but everyone in my generation. I was born in the '60's, so you may or may not be able to relate to these depending on your age. Here are some things that I remember...Indulge me.

• I remember learning how to ride a bike by my older sister letting go of the sissy bar while pushing me down a 70 degree incline, yelling at me to stop before I reached the intersection. She taught me how to ski in much the same way (there were no snowboards).
• I remember playing in my Wonder Years-like master planned community in south Orange County, where every time I got in trouble with my friend Jacqui, not only did her mom bust us, but then she marched me back to my house where she told my mom the whole story. The general opinion back then was that it took a village to raise a child, and there was safety in that.
• I remember my brother sending me to kindergarten with a big plastic button on my jumper that said, "Nixon is the 1!"
• I remember my sister kicking Greg Frank's ass when he picked on me for my lisp one too many times.
• I remember getting suspended from first grade because I smacked Greg Frank upside the head with my metal Barbie lunchpail, with a full glass Thermos inside. I guess he didn't learn to stop making fun of me from my sister's ass-kicking. My mom was proud of me and said I could do whatever I wanted during my suspension. I chose the ice cream counter at Thrifty Drugs.
• I remember getting into water/goop fights with my older brother and sister that actually escalated to the point of bringing the hose into the house. We started them off by grabbing everything we could find in a spray or squirt bottle and when we had gone through all of the Flex shampoo, conditioner, and even the dishwashing liquid, we had no choice but to bring in the big guns. Time Out was always called when any of us got something other than water in our eyes. My brother and sister are both older than me and were my heroes back then. They still are.
• I remember the toys back then...lawn darts, BB guns, Click-Clacks, Slip 'n Slides...what were they thinking? :)
• I remember emergency trips to the hospital (I was a very sick kid and these excursions were common) where my mom drove like a bat out of hell to get me there in time, and holding me back with her arm so I wouldn't fly through the windshield. There was no such thing as a car seat and forget using the seat belts. They were only there to burn your butt on really hot summer days.
• I remember my sister and I being allowed to go on dates with our older brother ONLY if he was going to a drive-in and ONLY if we agreed to lay down in the bed of his pick-up while we were on the freeway. Anything else, of course, would have been dangerous. He covered us with a blanket, and tied down the blanket so IT would not fly out.
• I remember my brother's idea of babysitting my sister and I was to stretch out the feet of our zip-up flannel pajamas (while we were in them), tie them into a knot and hang us from a doorknob.
• I remember my dad buying my mom the very first Ford Thunderbird with power EVERYTHING! Then one summer while on a roadtrip up north, the power windows went out while the windows were up and then the air conditioning quit. My dad would yell at the three of us in the back seat to all pile over on the far side of the car so that he could open the door a bit while we were moving to let in some fresh air. He didn't want any of us to fall out on the freeway, because remember...seat belts were out of the question.
• I remember riding in the back of a station wagon, or if we were riding in the Thunderbird, lying across the back up against the rear window.
• I remember my brother and his friends hiding in the bushes and throwing dirt clods at our neighbor Holly Veloux, knowing now that he probably had a crush on her.
• I remember building forts, making mud-pies, blind man's bluff, learning to ride our skateboards on a hill, speeding down that same hill on our bikes, knowing if our chains fell off we were just screwed. But that was all okay as long as we headed home when the street lights came on.
• I remember 1979 well because it was the year of our first microwave, VCR and stereo that you could record on without having to be quiet. My family stood around the microwave for hours putting absolutely everything we could find in it for exactly ten seconds while standing by in amazement when it actually got hot! Our VCR had a remote, but it was attached to the VCR by a long cord and we had to move the couch three feet closer to the TV so we could actually USE the remote. And the stereo...My dad demonstrated how to tape Kenny Roger's The Gambler album (yup, vinyl) onto a cassette tape, and in an overly dramatic tone said, "SEE? You can TALK while it's recording!" while we all stood together and marveled at modern technology.

My parents had the same best friends for thirty years, who also happened to live up the street. For awhile our families were so intertwined, we weren't sure who lived where. Then one of their sons, Steve, died in a plane crash. He was the sweetest and kindest of all the kids. The Wonder Years were officially over, but not without leaving behind some incredible memories.

We went to high school, started driving, changed friends, and life went on. Not that life became less exciting, but that's another story...