After my Mother and I came back to Tennessee, we lived with my grandmother, 2 aunts, an uncle. I am an only child and had lots of grown-ups to teach me how to live and have fun, as well as learning responsibility.
We, as Terri did, played outside. We played from the minute we got out of school until dark. The neighborhood I lived in had lots of families with children, so I never lacked for someone to play with. I loved skating on the sidewalks, riding my bike in the street - yes in the street, playing kick the can, hide and seek, or dressing up dolls....on the big porch of our house.
My family, all of them, were fun. We would all get in the car with my uncle driving, and ride around town, just looking at billboards or signs. Do you remember Burma Shave signs? We loved reading those. Christmas at our house was wonderful - food, music, company, wrapping presents and trying to guess what it was. There was lots of laughter. We got our first TV when I was 13, and it was a black and white. We found a piece of plastic at a dime store that you taped to the front of the TV and it made it look like it was in color! We took vacations together, going to Florida or to Kentucky to Mammoth Cave, etc.
I loved going to school and walked to and from my elementary and Jr. high schools. I never played hooky or got in trouble that I remember. I was a cheerleader in Jr. high. By the time I got to high school, my uncle got a job at a TV station that was just beginning in Chattanooga, as an engineer. We all packed up and moved here and I went to high school.
I graduated when I was 16 and went to work for an insurance company.
Now, how about your childhood growing up.
Sounds like you had a wonderful childhood. I also played outdoors a lot, even in the winter. We lived close to a grain elevator and they sold coal in the winter, so when it snowed, the coal piles were mountains for us to climb. We played hide and seek, the older kids taking a younger one with them to hide, that way all ages could play the game, since the young ones sometimes didn't hide too well. I never had a bike, but I loved my skates and a scooter. I know this sounds awful, but it seemed we were happiest when Dad wasn't home. He always seemed to be mad about something, I know now, it was probably that he was mad at himself and took it out on everyone around. My father at that time, liked to stop off at the bar after work and also loved to chase women, so I imagine when he was home, he was thinking about what he would rather be doing. I don't know, but he seemed to like to make it miserable for others in the house.
ReplyDeleteOh what a nice childhood. It is nice to get to know people better. Blessings
ReplyDeleteWe were blessed, weren't we, in so many ways! Not to say kids today aren't blessed, but the freedoms we experienced, without the fears of today, will never be repeated. Blessed.
ReplyDeleteThose of us here that grew up during this same time period all have similar memories. It was a good time to be a child. We played outside with our friends -- lots of fresh air and exercise. We lived on a dead-end street, with 26 kids in the neighborhood. My brother, sister and I all walked to school with our friends. I was around 13 when we got our first TV, but we could only watch one show in the evenings before bedtime and on Sat. mornings. We played softball and rode our bikes in the street. No worry about cars unless one of the parents was coming home, then we moved to let them through. Everyone looked out for each other. Like Terri said, we were blessed, living without the fears of today.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very nice childhood. Thanks for sharing it. I was a Cheerleader Wannabe in Jr. High. Almost qualified but not quite. I was a Majorette for awhile. I also danced. Once upon a time I was very athletic. ~:)
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