Grabbed from another site, but thought it would be a good entry to start off the month of April with , and for your enjoyment during the long weekend ahead for me.. (off on Friday and Monday – watch the mobile blog for additional pictures this weekend)

Close your eyes (metaphorically speaking) and go back in time…

o Before the Internet or the Apple Mac.
o Before semi-automatics, joyriders and crack…
o Before SEGA or Super Nintendo…

Way back…

o Hide and Seek in the park.
o The corner shop.
o Hopscotch.
o Butterscotch.
o Skipping.
o Handstands.
o Football with an old can.
o Beano, Dandy, Buster, Twinkle and Dennis the menace.
o Roly Poly.
o Hula Hoops, jumping the stream, building dams.
o The smell of the sun and fresh cut grass.
o Bazooka Joe bubble gum.
o An ice cream cone on a warm summer night from the van that plays a tune

Wait……

o Watching Saturday morning cartoons….Popeye, Willie E. Coyote and the Road Runner, Tom and Jerry, and Bugs Bunny
o When around the corner seemed far away and going into town seemed like going somewhere.
o Earwigs, wasps, stinging nettles and bee stings.
o Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, and Zorro.
o Climbing trees.
o Building igloos out of snow banks.
o Walking to school, no matter what the weather.
o Running till you were out of breath, laughing so hard that your stomach hurt.
o Jumping on the bed. Pillow fights. Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles.
o Being tired from playing….remember that?
o The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
o Water balloons were the ultimate weapon
o When baseball cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle.
o The smell of opening up a fresh wax pack of baseball cards, and chewing on the (or trying to enjoy) the 15 year old gum stick inside.
o Eating raw jelly.
o Orange squash ice pops and Jubblies.

Remember when…

o 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.
o Football was played in the playground with shoes – and you got into trouble at home for scuffing them.
o You knew everyone in your street – and so did your parents.
o It wasn’t odd to have two or three “best” friends.
o You didn’t sleep a wink on Christmas Eve.
o When nobody owned a pedigree dog.
o When 25cents was decent pocket money
o When you’d reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.
o When nearly everyone’s mom was at home when the kids got there.
o It was magic when dad would “remove” his thumb.
o When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents.
o When 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.
o When being sent to the principle’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….

o Decisions were made by going ” Row, sham, bow…!”#¤% ”
o “Race issue” meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
o Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in “Monopoly”.
o The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was germs.
o And the worst thing in your day was having to sit next to one.
o It was unbelievable that ‘British Bulldog’ wasn’t an Olympic event.
o Having a weapon in school meant being caught with a slingshot.
o Nobody was prettier than Mom.
o Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better.
o Taking drugs meant orange-flavoured chewable aspirin.
o Ice cream was considered a basic food group.
o Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.
o Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors.

If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED …and doesn’t it make you feel old (but good !).