American Childhood Memories - Part 2

When I asked the question on Facebook about "Favorite Childhood Memories", the response was fantastic and brought tears to my eyes.

Thank you ALL who shared your memories with me!   This will probably go down as one of my favorite posts of all time!

* Riding in the back of a station wagon! Unrestrained 

*July 4 1976
 
* Playing in the woods....not coming home until dark
 
* Going to the San Jacinto Monument.
 
* Going to garage sales with my Papa.

* Running through the clothes on the line when the winds blowing in the spring   

* Had to be home when the street light came on.
 
* Sitting in my fave tree in front yard reading Nancy Drew books all summer.
 
* Spending hours looking for 4-leaf clovers and making clover-flower jewelry!
  
 * Going to bed at grandmas at dark and watching the older kids through the bedroom window play under the street light as my grandma a scratched my back. Hearing the hum of her fan.
 
* Running through fresh clothes hung up on the line outside to dry.
 
* Listening to turn the page books on the record player.
   Big Red Floats
   Crawdad fishing
 
* Playing on the beach with my brother and listening to the adults play cards as we went to sleep at the beach cabin.
 
* Catching lightening bugs in a jar on summer nights:)
 
* Family reunions w/all your cousins - swimming all day and then going in the big meeting room after supper and playing $.05 bingo with everyone until bedtime.
 
* Playing baseball with all the neighborhood kids, on summer nights until the street lights came on!  
*  Sleeping on a screened-in porch with a box fan blowing on you.
* Sleeping in my Mamaw's house with nothing to cool you but and open window and an attic fan, with the chirping of crickets wafting through the night air. 
 
* Drinking dr.pepper with peanuts in the bottle. Returning the bottles for 5cent deposit.
  
* Visiting my cousin in NC during the summer. We would swim in the creek during the day and catch fireflies in the garden at night. It was a carefree time. No worries No heartaches. I hope my children can experience times like those. Thanks for helping me think of then:) 

* Playing outside in the summer until 10:00 bed time out in the dark with no worries. We knew when we had to come in and we did. We washed our hands and feet and got into bed. Baths were reserved for Sat. nights so we'd be clean for church. Included in those summer nights were sitting on our elderly neighbors porch and visiting with her.
 
* Two week family road trip in a rented RV during the early 80's--- RV only had an 8 track tape player in it. We listened to sooo many oldies that trip... Funny Face I Love You... D I V O R C E ... In 1814 took a little trip....

 *Riding my bike and playing outside until dark. This included all over my neighborhood and going into everyone's houses. We felt safe until my 13th birthday in 1980.....we were throwing water balloons to each other and a streaker ran by! Scared us to death....Oh the '70's and early 80's gotta love them   

* Fourth of July outside dinner at grandmas: )
 
* Vacations with my family are by far my best memories....probably the reason I still love to travel. 

* Riding bikes till dark and playing at friends houses
 
*  Catching locusts and sticking them to the screen on your front porch. 
* Getting my first basket in a game.
  
* At home it would be my record player and my 45's and LP's. My other memory is driving to my aunt's house in Eunice NM every summer. We would leave in the middle of the night because it was cooler (and I would sleep!) I had my crayons and coloring books in the back seat (NO seat belt). While we were there I would walk to the grocery store with my aunt. Sometimes she would let me go by myself and sign for her account! We would also walk to the post office every day to get her mail-everyone had PO boxes! I would love to go back there one more time 
 
* The sound of the screen doors sporing when you opened and shut it
 
* Spending weeks during the summer at my grandparents who lived out in the country. We would explore the woods & I loved to pick those lacy white flowers & my grandma would put food coloring in the water & the flower would change colors! Also, this set of grandparents had no air conditioning--the windows were left wide open at night, and they had NO INDOOR plumbing!! I don't think we thought anything about it back then! Also, my grandmother would take us to an old country church sometimes for Vacation Bible School.  

* My buddies and I would play army in our woods and all over the neighborhood until after dark. We also had incredible bottle rocket wars.
 
*Being able to go walking down the street to play with all the KIds in the neighborhood. Not coming home till dark and knowing if we got in trouble at one place we would get in trouble all the way home  

*Riding horses after school way out in the woods behind what is now Boomtown. I wouldn't get home until after dark.
 
* I am from Lubbock,Texas, raised on a farm. We lived in Lubbock for several years, then moved back to the farm when I was a freshman in HS. We didn't have a swimming pool, so when it got hot during the day, we put on our bathing suits and played and waded in the irrigation ditches. I also had the fun chore of hoe cotton, shelling black-eye peas and snapping green beans.  

* Rebuilding engines and working on cars with my dad. I rebuilt and sold cars to help buy my TransAm!
 
* When we lived in town, we would walk to the local park, play games, then walk home, eat supper and play outside till dark.
 
* I loved riding around town with my Grandfather, Owen in his DeSoto. It was either a 55 or 56. I can't remember but it was two tone green and did have a Hemi.

* Catching tadpoles in a pickle jar. Picking berries, rinsing them with a garden hose, and eating them just like that!
 
* My Grandfather, Jessie would take me crabbing at Port Neches park. We would catch so many that it took hours to clean them and my Grandmother, Gladys would cook them the same day. 

* Crabbing in bridge city with family.








All of these memories are part of growing up in AMERICA!   I feel blessed to be here and blessed to share these memories with great people.  

Thanks for contributing to this post.......
Debbie