Now Hear This: The glorious days of childhood
We made it! Hard to believe I know, but we did.
Made what?
Made it from childhood to adults. Can I get an amen.
Most of us anyway. For some the transition was never completed. I know, because I love living in a “make believe” world. And, please don’t burst my bubble.
If you listen to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the people who keep tabs on our youth, those of us who were kids 20, 30, 40 and even 50 years ago, should never have made it.
We played in the dirt, for goodness sakes – even ate it on occasions. Went barefoot all summer. Cut our feet on glass, rocks and tin cans. Fell out of trees, and broke our arms and legs, and somehow we survived.
We didn’t have childproof lids. No locks on medicine bottles. No emergency 911. But, don’t forget doctors made house calls.
No seat belts. No air bags. On a warm summer day or night, we rode in the back of a pickup truck hanging over the side. No helmets when we rode our bikes to the drugstore where we bought a coke (in a bottle). We all shared the same bottle, and nobody died. Drank water from the garden hose. Ate watermelon till we popped on the screened-in-porch.
We played outside all day – everyday – with our friends. We walked over to their house, and just walked in. Nobody locked their doors.
When the street lights came on that was our cue to head home. No cell phones. No playstations. No video games. No, 500 TV channels to choose from. No personal computer, and no Internet chat rooms.
Talking on the phone for more than five minutes was not allowed. Our junk food consisted of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. cereal, or whatever was left over from lunch or dinner. An occasional Baby Ruth or a Moon Pie with a soda water. Popsicles, homemade lemonade and ice cream.
And, we were not overweight because we played outside ? all day, every day.
Yes, we had occasional fights with our friends, and blood was shed sometimes. But we got over it, and remained friends. There were no lawsuits. Our parents didn’t act like idiots during our little league games. In those days we played for fun.
If we got in trouble in school, too bad. We had to suffer the consequences. Our parents didn’t rush to defend us, with their lawyer on speed dial because we had to take responsibility for our actions. A concept totally foreign today.
And, “time-out” was when you stopped playing ball to get a drink of water, not standing in the corner for punishment for talking-back to your parents. The power of a mother’s eyebrow back then was enough, believe me!
As teenagers we hardly ever got in trouble after 11 at night. That’s because we weren’t allowed to be out past 11. Period! We wore cloths that fit, and everything was well hidden. We wore suits and ties to church. A tattoo was what a sailor got in some foreign port. You could definitely tell the guys from the gals, and on Saturday nights boys wore lipstick on their collar like a medal of honor.
Marriage was serious business, and we raised our children just like our parents raised us.
And, then it happened. Parents lost control. Children began telling the grownups what they would and would not do. Where they would go, and what time they would be home. Peer pressure became more feared than parent pressure. And, don’t ask them too many questions ? their stress level is already maxed-out!
If you’ve made it, congratulations.
(Hope Hines is a television sports reporter and a Nashville personality.)