We dug our tunnels too. And, had dirt clod fights. Usually, the dirt clods would hit the ground and go off with a puff of dust. We had woods all around us and climbed the trees to the top. On a good fir tree we would slid down to the ground—on the branches. Why watch TV when there was real fun playing outside?
We never shot at each other with the BB gun. Luckily, there was only one BB gun. And, only one bow and arrow.
Today, the neighbors would have made sure we went to juvenile detention. Our only crime was to shoot at targets in a best man competition.
While I went into the sling shooting route, my brother loved shooting the BB gun and, later, Dad’s .22 and 300 mag. Whenever he went to the fair, he was shooting the BB’s at the target for a big stuffed animal. He got plenty of stuffed animals and made the arcade men mad getting so many stuffed animals with ease. When he was drafted in the Army, he scored a perfect in the marksman test and set an all time record for his PT test. All that tree climbing and football made us prime U.S. citizens fit to defend our nation.
In our day, today’s anti gun chowder heads would have been called “yellow-bellied chicken livers.” In our book, if you didn’t know how to shoot a gun, you have not grown up to be a man.
For those who would fight rather than make their point with words, we had that activity covered too. We always worked off a little energy with the boxing gloves. We got good at it. The predator bullies picking on the little guy would hear our words of warning: “Stop what you are doing or prepare to get hurt!” Our boxing skills were really, really good.
Thanks for the Fantastic stories!
I think you are perhaps a little behind me chronologically. But, right on about guns! Our school was NEVER open for business on the “first day” of deer season. Fathers were important back then and everybody had one and they wanted to go hunting and the school board wanted to go with them so that was that.
YES! on the boxing too! Boxing was required for all boys. And, if you didn’t get your ass in the ring you were shamed unmercifully and the power of shame works! Nobody refused to get in the ring and face their opponent and I dare say that fact contributed to a class of pretty strong and tough young men. One of whom, Bobby Roberts, died at the hands of an NVA sniper while doing his duty in the USMC. He had just turned 18.
ON TV, we didn’t have one. It was work, play, sleep, eat and when mom said “read” we did! I read hundreds of library books growing up because of her edict on that.