“Playing outside with your friends.”
“We could create fun with almost anything as our imaginations were up to the task.”
“Concerts were the biggest party of all. You spent half your summer either trying to make enough money to buy tickets or trying to score tickets. Camping out in front of record stores or department stores the night before tickets went on sale, everybody partying and listening to the music of the group you were trying to get tickets to. Good times.”
“Saturday morning cartoons were like an event that started at 6:00 a.m. and culminated with Looney Tunes at 10 or 1. Looking back, I realize it was all just a grown-up conspiracy so parents across the land could sleep the hell in.”
“Latchkey kid here. We had three house rules: 1.) Leave a note. 2.) Be home before dark. 3.) If you’re going to be late, CALL. Other than that, like the preacher in Blazing Saddles said, ‘Son, you’re on your own.'”
“As a kid, you could pretty much do whatever you wanted. We had the freedom to basically raise ourselves. During summer vacation, your parents were lucky to see you.”
“Getting to see Star Wars at the theater when it was first released. It changed my life. Then, getting to play with all the action figures and toys. Good times.”
“Neighbors looked out for each other and also watched EVERYbody’s kids. Yes, we ran all day and half the night, mostly unsupervised… But every neighbor saw you at one point during the day and either gave you a sandwich and a nice cold Coke or told you to knock off the horsesh#t, or they were gonna call your parents. ”
“Having the room to make mistakes without someone posting them online. Not having to answer decades later for everything young and stupid you said or did.”
“An immune system strong enough to neutralize all ingested gunk every time I drank from the outside garden house.”
“Collecting discarded soda bottles and taking them in to get the $.05 return deposit, then buying candy and more soda — it was life!”
“Listening to the radio back in the ’70s was just so much fun! Both the AM and FM dials played a huge variety of great songs day and night in every city and town. And the disc jockeys were outstanding, too. Plus, there were also fun and fascinating radio talk shows in the ’70s.”
“Talking to people on the landline felt special, especially long distance.”
“Going to bookstores or the library to browse and find something interesting to read. Reading lots of magazines and newspapers. Finding the movie section in the newspaper to read reviews and find out movie times. Saving up money, buying a new album, and reading the liner notes while playing it for the first time. Having a relatively quiet and spacious mind.”
100% Search YouTube for the live version of Chicago playing 25 or 6 to 4. Terry Kath is amazing. Not the same band after he died.
Thanks Izi for the memories.
#13 You'd dial 767-XXXX any 4 numbers after and you'd get Time, some of the numbers gave you a few minutes before disconnecting you, others only 30 seconds. It was a party line, you could talk to anyone who was calling time.
#5 starting 2nd grade I walked to school and home by myself. There were a couple occasions when I was in kindergarten and 1st grade where I did that because my brother wasn't around to walk with me. And during recess, we'd go to the strip mall half a block away. If you had a nickel you could get a small piece of chocolate and with a little more the candy cigarettes and things like that at the liquor store. Sometimes you'd find cans of beer behind the store in the trash.