Childhood.
So brief…
yet somehow packed with enough memories to last a lifetime.
Before bills, responsibilities and schedules took over…
there was just play, imagination and hearing your mother call you home.
WE ALL HAVE A GROWING UP STORY
No two alike.
Here’s mine, share yours, or like and comment.
I loved to play outside and inside nonstop.
Inside involved having those plastic army soldier figures that stood up and could be placed anywhere.
The battle commenced on my signal and many were lost until I reset the game.
Outside…
I wouldn’t come in until I heard my mother calling out, someone saying she was, or it became too dark to play anymore.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD
That’s how it worked in Brooklyn, New York when I was growing up.
You not only played in front of your own home but in others too — even around the block.
Many times you could go into another neighborhood…
but not for long.
Everyone had their own turf so to speak.
MOM SPEAK
When it was time for anyone to come in, you could hear mothers loudly calling their children and kids saying:
“I gotta go!”
I am sure mom told them ahead of time that when she calls…
you better come.
Other kids would tell you if your mother was calling so as to help you out.
You don’t play by the rules…
you may not get to go out and play again.
THE GAMES
I also played stoop ball.
In front of my house was a small set of stairs and you bounced a spalding — one of the most coveted balls to have — against the stairs.
If it came back on a bounce, that was so many points.
If it hit the curve of the step…
that was more points.
If you dropped the ball…
NO POINTS.
A STICK & A BALL
Stickball was another great game.
Your mother’s old broomstick without the broom or an old mop stick with some tape wrapped around it plus a spalding ball made for a game.
What incredible fun too.
We also had tile guns made out of clothespins and wood propelled by rubber bands.
Ingenious in my opinion.
I saw them for sale in stores thirty years later starting at seven dollars.
Who knew?
MORE GAMES
We had pea shooters too.
Large straws that you spit peas or lentils through at anything that moved.
I also learned how to throw a top from the overhand and underhand position.
Underhand was standard, but if you could throw overhand…
you could split someone’s top or win it.
AND MORE…
I learned how to use a yo-yo too.
There was so much you could do with these and those Saturday morning commercials between your favorite cartoons showed you how.
Another good game was pitching for dimes, pennies or nickels.
Closest to the edge won.
You could win quick or lose quick in this game.
You just never knew.
Losing for a kid is devastating.
BASEBALL CARDS
Same with baseball cards too.
You threw them instead of coins.
Collecting cards was a big deal back then.
You bought a pack of cards for a nickel and got a huge piece of bubble gum too.
Your friends would challenge you to a pitch for cards.
If your card stood against the wall, they had to knock it down or lose.
Premium card games with famous players like Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays were tense!
HIGH STAKES?
Handball was very common to play.
You slapped a ball against a wall and could keep hitting it as long as it stayed in front of you.
When ready, you slapped it into the next space and the other guy had to return it.
We used to play for stakes we called “asses up” — sorry — meaning the loser stood bent over against the wall and the winner got three hard, soft or medium throws to your rear end.
Ah yes…
childhood diplomacy.
MISCHIEVOUS GAMES
I learned how to make a stink bomb too.
You took an ordinary pen with a spring load inside the lower portion, inserted a blue-tip match in the bottom and used a folded bobby pin below for a trigger.
The combination of materials produced a stink.
Popular…
but confiscated quickly if done at school.
SLINGSHOT
My slingshot days didn’t last long and I am sure the whole neighborhood was happy for that.
I had a doozie.
A real decent unit and I fired marbles with it — deadly to say the least.
One day I took aim and fired on my own hand.
It hurt for days and days.
I gave that hobby up willingly.
Couldn’t chance a quick shot.
REMEMBER COMICS?
I collected them and used to buy those items listed in every comic book.
The itch powder.
Sneezing powder.
And other silly things that a kid absolutely had to have.
During the summers, water balloons and water pistols ruled the day.
I even learned to build my own racing cart out of abandoned baby carriages and skateboards too.
You made a deal with someone to push you in them and then you pushed them.
Simple.
Fair.
Fun.
CHILDHOOD
Most amazing thing what we call childhood.
So brief…
yet packed full of all sorts of things.
And somehow…
the older we get…
the more priceless it becomes.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
Been expecting you