This time of year I do like to think back on my childhood summers…who doesn’t remember some of these things?
Mr. Softee….
Everyone swore I was psychic or had incredible hearing, I could hear his truck music blocks away. The night my folks were finally going to let me get a banana split, he got in front of my house and his compressor caught fire! My Dad put it out with our hose…
I was crushed…lol but he was back in a day or two….
Going to movies …
I cannot believe I found this photo…..sadly it is shut down now…
It was a great time for BBQ’s in the back yard…
we would go to a spot and buy fresh corn, and my Dad would soak it in a tube of water and then grill it with the husks on….
We had a tine round charcoal grill back then….something similar to this…
Playing kickball in the street even after the streetlights came on…biking up to the community swimming pool, going to the “mall” Parmatown….It was only stores connected with a covered walkway…they had the best Woolworths!
Playing Jarts with our folks in the backyard when we got old enough not to do bodily harm…lol
Playing with our Barbie Dolls out in the front yard…this was the one I had, we went to the toy store up at Parmatown and they were all out of the blonde ponytail one, but I loved my Bubble Cut girl, This is the case I had also…dressing them all different way, and the clothes were so cute!
And the shoes, oh those shoes….I was always losing at least one…lol
And the goodies and treats???
Remember when marshmallows came in boxes????
and of course the candy store…
and a special treat was to go to McDonalds….
Once in a great while we even got to go to a family restaurant….
It is still there, after all these years….
I grew up in a very special neighborhood, there was every ethnicity, every income, every kind of job. The ladies got together once a week for coffee and talk, they called it the “Topps Club”, but it had nothing to do with losing weight. :) They would each get a “Secret Pal” for the year and buy them little goodies for each holiday, birthdays and such, then at the end of the year they would find out who their “pal” was. it was a lot of fun…every summer half the block ( we didn’t know the other half at all, not sure what that was about) would have a huge summer picnic with games and prizes for the kiddos and all the food you could eat! Remember what watermelon tasted like back then??? Sweet as candy…..
Then the kids would all go to bed, safely, alone in their houses with the doors and windows unlocked and the parents would sit in one of the garages in the backyards ( with no fences either) and enjoy the beer kegerator in the old fridge… it was a good place to grown up, safe and sound and happy…
I was very fortunate to have a happy childhood….what are your favorite memories of summer growing up?
