Innovative Toys

Growing up, we had the most wonderful, exciting toys and games you can imagine. And that IS the word, isn't it? Imagine, Imagination?

No one had heard of video games, kids didn't sit in front of TV's watching cartoons. They were only on early on Saturday mornings, and I don't recall spending much time in front of the black and white, 4 channel TV.

So what did we do?

When I was born we lived in a "double" on Rural Street. They're called "duplexes" now. We moved out to the "country" when I was four, but I can still recall a little bit about living there. Our version of a playground was sliding down our stairs on our butts.

Over and over.

I'm surprised we didn't end up with splinters that would have been hard to explain.

Video games? I suppose the closest we came to that was when we would sit in front of our neighbors oven and stare at the little window and the light inside.

Ok, I have never claimed we were the brightest bulbs on the street.  But I do remember sitting in front of an oven that looked like this and thinking it was funny letting our mouths drop open and utter, "uhhhhhhh".  I don't know how my parents resisted hitting us upside our heads to make us stop.

We had a tiny backyard that was bare of grass.  I suppose when you have four little rugrats running around, there would be no way you could manage to keep a little grass growing back there.  My brother Mike loved it since he could spend hours creating roads in the dirt for his little cars.

Our neighbors who shared the half of the double had only one son.  At the time it seemed like they were rich.  Ricky had every toy you can imagine.  Of course we weren't allowed to play with them.  Not sure I can blame them, who would want 4 rugrats destroying your kid's toys.

Since my siblings were 6, 5 and 4 years older than me, naturally there were some toys that I was too little for. 

To this day, I can still remember the most coveted thing my siblings received. They each got a package of what I referred to as "Dick Tracy Sparkledy Paints". 

Of course I was not allowed to touch them.  But OH how I wanted them.

For my 50th birthday, my sister bought me a "sparkledy" paint kit.  It wasn't Dick Tracy, but it'll do. 

I am saving it for some special time when I can share it with some other little girl.

Spare the Rod

Living out in the country.

What should you have to worry about? Especially in 1964.

Summertime comes and all four kids are out of school. With a handful of houses around, the kids run outside in the morning and you might see them for a bite for lunch and later when it gets dark. Checking on them now and then. Back in 1964 as now, there was daylight savings time, which meant dark was nearly 10 pm.

So, the kids go out to play in the morning. The oldest is 11, next 10, next 9 and then one five year old. Plenty of neighborhood kids around, all older than your youngest. Day after day, same routine. The kids play together in the yard, down at the "crick", run down to the neighborhood "cafe/restaurant", throw dirt clods in the fields, whatever it is that kids do in 1964.

But.

Somewhere along the way, the 5 year old doesn't seem to be around. Midday, 1, 2. Wait! Where IS she?

At first the panic doesn't set in. You know she's somewhere. Kids don't disappear.

Then you begin asking the other kids. They're clueless.

You keep looking. No where. And you realize that another girl is also missing. The neighbor girl who's 7 is missing too.

You look. You look. Don't panic. She's here somewhere. All the kids begin in the search.

Don't think about the "crick". DON'T think that she could be somewhere in the creek next to the house. The water is shallow. Well, it's shallow around by the house, but go east and it get deeper.

Everyone is looking everywhere. How long do they all look? Is it minutes or hours?

I can't tell you how long they looked.

All I know is that Robin and I sometime in the late morning made our way to her sister's trailer. It was parked way way in the back of her parent's property. Her oldest sister was married and she and her husband were away.

I don't remember going back to the trailer, only that we did. What I do remember is that Robin's sister had a big console color TV. I don't think we had ANY sized color TV back then. Robin made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

The only memory I have of the whole incident is sitting in front of that TV when my mother opened the door and grabbed my arm. I remember being lifted off of my feet and my mom yelling her head off about where I had been. I seem to remember a good "whoppen" on the way home too.

I cannot imagine her panicked state.

But I do remember she interrupted a good lunch and TV show. What was she thinking?

Sorry Mom.