Sitting here thinking about what it was like when I was a kid. I couldn’t wait until summer vacation, knowing schools out and spending time with my friends. I grew up on the Atlantic coast so swimming and water sports were a big part of my summer fun. We couldn’t go swimming in the ocean until the end of June, actually we would take our native dive the long weekend in May and we quickly remembered that we need to wait until the water and air temperature was a little warmer. Average air temp in Nova Scotia in May is 60 F and the water is not any warmer…. Brrrrr!
So, I spent my days according to the high tide schedules. We would coordinate our day with the time of the tide and swim until the water turned. So sometime this would leave the morning open. Today, this differs for my boyz, but my house as a child; sleeping in was not a normal occurrence. You got woken by the noise of the daily house activities. My father worked shift work and my Mom was a domestic goddess, so there was no 8 to 5 in our house. It was easier to get up and do something with the day.
First you would contact your girlfriends and find out what was going on. If swimming schedule was for the afternoon, then we would try to get enough coins to head to the penny store. Sometimes we would walk the main road and look for lost money and if you found a quarter… you just won the kid-lotto and you had money for everyone. When I was young both of my parents smoked cigarettes; my Dad his whole life until I was a teenager and my Mom started in her forties until she was in her seventies. Then, all my siblings and in-laws smoked. My Dad also smoked the pipe and chewed bar tobacco (not snuff). So because I was so young my family would buy me Candy Cigarettes. Can you imagine this as a role model but it was very accepted during the time. I even bought the “candy sticks” (current name) for my kids when they where little just cause it was a fun memory for me. Each package contained ten white candy sticks with red tips. I sat after dinner and eat my cigarette with my family. Then we had the licorice cigars, I didn’t eat them because I don’t like licorice. Then you can’t forget the Cracker Jacks when it had a real prize worth digging for!
We would hope that the tide water wasn’t high early on a Saturday mornings. You couldn’t miss Saturday morning cartoons. This was the time I would curl up on the “couch” in front of our 12 inch black and white TV with 2 channels (CBC & CTV - no cable in the country). I would look forward to Casper the Friendly Ghost, Bug Bunny & Road Runner Hour, Quick Draw McGraw, Jetsons, Yogi’s Gang, Woody Woodpecker, Pink Panther, Gumby & Pokey, and my favorite H. R. Pufnstuf. Then, we all loved Scooby-Doo & Shaggy in that Mystery Machine Van, who ran around solving mysteries. So, what was in those Scoobie Snacks that made them see ghosts and monsters, as well as a talking dog. As I grew older I had a different understanding for these snacks where actually a metaphor for cannabis. As a child, I didn’t have a clue and actually Bugs Bunny & Road Runner was pretty violent if you really analyze it. To me, it was great animated fun and imagination.
As the youngest of three girls, I got all the Barbie hand-me-downs. I did like playing Barbies but my favorite doll was the Flatsys Doll made by Ideal. They where made of a soft vinyl with wires inside the limbs, neck and body so that it can be posed. Another great metaphor for children. What would it be today? Realistic Teenage Barbie ...complete with flat chest, braces and acne; pull her string and hear an outpouring of sassy, bratty phrases. Or, CyberBarbie... complete with sports car, iPhone and impants. My favorite toy was to irritate my parents with the Klick-Klacks or Clackers. It was two hard balls on a string with a ring in the middle. The point was to get the two balls swinging back and forth against each other. It was hard to get started but after you mastered it and got fastest the louder the noise which drove my family crazy. It was common to get hurt or hurt others walking by and eventually taken off the market.
I use to enjoy sitting and drawing the “Love Is…” comic strip. I drew, so many of these cartoons which I couldn’t tell you how many. As an adult, I realized that these characters are naked; you know definitely which are the boy and girl. As a child, I didn’t think anything of it. I remember being curious why the man would change hair color from straight black to curly blonde and sometimes have a mustache.
Then of course, we can’t forget the 8 Bit Atari gaming system. The three major players during my childhood were Apple, Atari and Commodore. My brother was the first one to own one. He had the Atari Pong… Wow!! It was a two dimensional game that simulated table tennis. You had a controller paddle to move the ball back and forth across the screen with a pong sound and try to score. You could play solo or against another player. I can’t tell you that I played it for hours but I was fascinated by the game and loved the funny sound it made when it hit the ball back.
So, back to summer vacation… my school break activities is completely different than our house today. They still hang with their buds but running down the street to knock on their door of their friends house to find out what the day will changed to text messaging “waz up?”. Plus, getting up early has been replaced with staying up late and sleeping in to noon. I am sure my boyz are having just as much fun as I did… but differently.
“Love Is… what makes life come alive”
So, I spent my days according to the high tide schedules. We would coordinate our day with the time of the tide and swim until the water turned. So sometime this would leave the morning open. Today, this differs for my boyz, but my house as a child; sleeping in was not a normal occurrence. You got woken by the noise of the daily house activities. My father worked shift work and my Mom was a domestic goddess, so there was no 8 to 5 in our house. It was easier to get up and do something with the day.
First you would contact your girlfriends and find out what was going on. If swimming schedule was for the afternoon, then we would try to get enough coins to head to the penny store. Sometimes we would walk the main road and look for lost money and if you found a quarter… you just won the kid-lotto and you had money for everyone. When I was young both of my parents smoked cigarettes; my Dad his whole life until I was a teenager and my Mom started in her forties until she was in her seventies. Then, all my siblings and in-laws smoked. My Dad also smoked the pipe and chewed bar tobacco (not snuff). So because I was so young my family would buy me Candy Cigarettes. Can you imagine this as a role model but it was very accepted during the time. I even bought the “candy sticks” (current name) for my kids when they where little just cause it was a fun memory for me. Each package contained ten white candy sticks with red tips. I sat after dinner and eat my cigarette with my family. Then we had the licorice cigars, I didn’t eat them because I don’t like licorice. Then you can’t forget the Cracker Jacks when it had a real prize worth digging for!
We would hope that the tide water wasn’t high early on a Saturday mornings. You couldn’t miss Saturday morning cartoons. This was the time I would curl up on the “couch” in front of our 12 inch black and white TV with 2 channels (CBC & CTV - no cable in the country). I would look forward to Casper the Friendly Ghost, Bug Bunny & Road Runner Hour, Quick Draw McGraw, Jetsons, Yogi’s Gang, Woody Woodpecker, Pink Panther, Gumby & Pokey, and my favorite H. R. Pufnstuf. Then, we all loved Scooby-Doo & Shaggy in that Mystery Machine Van, who ran around solving mysteries. So, what was in those Scoobie Snacks that made them see ghosts and monsters, as well as a talking dog. As I grew older I had a different understanding for these snacks where actually a metaphor for cannabis. As a child, I didn’t have a clue and actually Bugs Bunny & Road Runner was pretty violent if you really analyze it. To me, it was great animated fun and imagination.
As the youngest of three girls, I got all the Barbie hand-me-downs. I did like playing Barbies but my favorite doll was the Flatsys Doll made by Ideal. They where made of a soft vinyl with wires inside the limbs, neck and body so that it can be posed. Another great metaphor for children. What would it be today? Realistic Teenage Barbie ...complete with flat chest, braces and acne; pull her string and hear an outpouring of sassy, bratty phrases. Or, CyberBarbie... complete with sports car, iPhone and impants. My favorite toy was to irritate my parents with the Klick-Klacks or Clackers. It was two hard balls on a string with a ring in the middle. The point was to get the two balls swinging back and forth against each other. It was hard to get started but after you mastered it and got fastest the louder the noise which drove my family crazy. It was common to get hurt or hurt others walking by and eventually taken off the market.
I use to enjoy sitting and drawing the “Love Is…” comic strip. I drew, so many of these cartoons which I couldn’t tell you how many. As an adult, I realized that these characters are naked; you know definitely which are the boy and girl. As a child, I didn’t think anything of it. I remember being curious why the man would change hair color from straight black to curly blonde and sometimes have a mustache.
Then of course, we can’t forget the 8 Bit Atari gaming system. The three major players during my childhood were Apple, Atari and Commodore. My brother was the first one to own one. He had the Atari Pong… Wow!! It was a two dimensional game that simulated table tennis. You had a controller paddle to move the ball back and forth across the screen with a pong sound and try to score. You could play solo or against another player. I can’t tell you that I played it for hours but I was fascinated by the game and loved the funny sound it made when it hit the ball back.
So, back to summer vacation… my school break activities is completely different than our house today. They still hang with their buds but running down the street to knock on their door of their friends house to find out what the day will changed to text messaging “waz up?”. Plus, getting up early has been replaced with staying up late and sleeping in to noon. I am sure my boyz are having just as much fun as I did… but differently.
“Love Is… what makes life come alive”
