Lots of milk( often powder if short ), biscuits, gravy. It was considered a badge to get an older brothers coat because he was older and did things. Lots of basement/garage ping pong, dirt lot baseball. Street hockey in the streets. Rock throwing at most everything. Hunting golf balls at the golf courses. Wiffle ball. Swimming until you puked or were dizzy such that you felt you were still swimming when you went to sleep. Toughened foot soles in summer from wearing no shoes. Gardens. Kool Aid in the afternoon. lawn mowing. Going in basements or garages because they were cool. Riding to gas stations to get air in the tire. Pine cone fights, water balloon fights, rainy day board games and I remember the neighbor had a den full of decades of National Geo-graphics. We’d read those and clip the maps in case we started off for Australia, they’d come in handy. A bit of depression but also excitement at the end of summer with going back to school.
We picked string beans in the summer and it became competition who could pick the most and make the most. We all did it, or at least my friends did it so we knew no better to complain. Went the Lemonade or Kool-aid stand route beside the road. Marched off each summer morning walking a mile plus to the lake for swimming lessons as long as lightning wasn't around. Stayed out of the water 1/2 hr after we ate. We went on picnics on our bikes taking rotisserie chicken(yes back then from the general store), root beers or Crush. Now kids are not safe to take those bike trips and sit by the stream, fish alone etc.
I remember I had to Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF! People figured you didn't need candy if you took money. Wondered if that money ever got to the poor kids in poor countries. Probably not. I didn't need that much candy anyway. We never really thought about rich or poor--although you had to be really poor for us to take notice--shack living of a classmate outside town. UNICEF money should have gone to them.
Transportation by car was never an option. We walked or biked-so your friends remain the ones in the town neighborhood.
We did the best in school we could as we knew there was more out there we wanted to be part of (the great unknown). it was a pride thing-who wants to bring home a bad grade? Teachers were good then, and some were bad-that never changes. The good ones you remember fondly, the bad ones you blame. Then there was that scary "ruler" held by the princi*pal..remember he is your "pal".
Weekly walk to the library with my library card, feeling real small looking up at that raised desk where the librarian satso she could see everything. Then to the basement to the Children's books. Was cool down there in the summers. Real quiet.
We never missed what we didn't know about. We did not go without.
And you know what we never knew about was child abuse, molestation etc.. But a few years I learned a neighbor was said to have molested his kids(one committed suicide)-he traveled around the world for a company..no one mentioned it til after he died. The damage he must have caused. Relatives guess knew but was never talked about. I thought he was a nice guy, always friendly. I guess we were protected-quietly. I think about that.