When I grew up I could not wait to get out of school. Depending on the season we played whatever sport was in season. We donned our plastic helmets and pads and played tackle football in front yards. We played basketball in driveways. We made our own ball diamonds in backyards grabbing our wooden bats and baseball mts and kept our batting stats all for fun.
Most people went to church on Sundays. I rarely did but most people did. Nobody played organized sports on Sundays.People did not even practice on Sundays. There were no SELECT SPORTS TEAMS. The only select teams were when you got selected by a neighborhood friend. The only travel we did meant going to a friend's house or a nearby ball field to play.
We did not grow up playing video games. They were not invented until we were in junior high school. We could not imagined being more fascinated playing a fantasy video game than playing the real thing. We rather played ball for the fun and love of the game. We did not have to have specialized coaches and we certainly never felt constant pressure to perform. Jeans and a t-shirt felt like a uniform to us.
Sure we played organized sports but I remember having more fun playing for fun. I did not have to pay enormous fees to feel special or travel to play ball to boost my self esteem. Select teams when I grew up were those players chosen for all star teams. I never got selected for those teams but went further in sports than every single one of my childhood friends. Most of them did not even play ball in high school.
We did more than play ball. We rode our big wheels, bikes, built forts, road dirt racing tracks, shot bb guns and raked leaves or mowed yards to make money. We enjoyed playing pin ball machines, going skating and to the movies.
I learned to work to save for things I wanted. They were not just given to me. I worked seven weeks to pay for a stereo I wanted badly. Many a Saturday I spent raking pine straw from the towering pine trees in our front and back yards. I helped my grandmother with paper routes. I thank God my mother and grandparents taught me how to work. They instilled a work ethic in me which Brenda and I have sought to pass onto our boys.
The few times I went to church we never heard of children's church. I listened to Brother Fowler preach at the First Church of the Nazarene in downtown Lufkin. I did not understand any of it but I still had to endure it on special occasions like revivals and holidays. People dressed up for worship services. They wore their Sunday best. Nowadays people dress down for everything and especially church.
I also thank my maternal grandmother for installing in me a love for reading. I have mentioned it before, it was her who took me to get my first library card. I had great pleasure in taking Turner to get a library card this summer. I spent many waking hours lost in the adventure of books and watched Turner do the same this past summer.
As a child we used our imagination. Every toy did not include batteries or electronics. Punishment for us included being punished to stay inside. Now punishment for children is making them go outside. Our parents had one standing rule, "Be home by dark." We pushed that rule as far as we could scurrying home with the last glimpses of daylight.
When we got in trouble we got spanked at home or at school. We did not dare backtalk a teacher or any elder for that matter. We were taught to respect authority. We respected teachers, coaches, law enforcement officers, fire fighters and our friends' parents.
Life was simpler and seemed happier. I really shudder to think what life will be like for grandkids. It would not hurt for all of get a little taste of days gone by and go back to simpler times.
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