Remembering when

Remember when kids just hated it when it rained. They wanted to go outside and play, so they waited for the rain to stop. That's what I remember.

Yeah, sometimes on a hot day mama allowed my brothers and my sister and me to run outside and take a shower bath in our play clothes, but not if the weather was threatening..

"Come on inside," mama would call. "It's thundering and lightning."

We had lots of fun outdoors. We would play hide and seek, jump rope, Red Rover, and we would catch lightning bugs after dark. There were backyard ballgames, roller skating on sidewalks, sling shots, and backyard croquet.

Inside we entertained ourselves with Hi-fi's and 45 RPM records and 78 RPM's. I still have several of those old 78's, mostly by country artists who have died, like Webb Pierce, Marty Robbins and Red Foley.

We played card games, like Old Maid and Go Fish, and there were tinkertoys, erector sets, and jacks which could be played inside or outside on the sidewalk. We played dominoes, checkers, and monoply too.

Remember when there was only one television set and one black telephone for the entire family? The tv set had to warm up before the screen would show the picture. Even then, the picture was snowy and faded in and out.

We watched The Lone Ranger and Tonto, Howdy Doody (the freckled puppet) and Buffalo Bob. There was Captain Kangaroo, The Red Skelton Show, and I love Lucy, The Honeymooners, The Clampetts, Mr. Ed, the talking horse, Lassie, and Gunsmoke.

We ate at home, not out. Eating out was a rare treat for the family.

Mama was always home to fix a homecooked supper.

Remember how it was in school? If we got a paddling, we got another one when we got home. Getting a "switching" was a common occurence in some families. But I have to say I don't remember mama ever taking a switch to any of us.

If a student didn't make passing grades, he failed and was held back another year. Does that happen anymore?

High school kids went steady and the girl wore his ring on a string around her neck.

The girls wore bobby socks and saddle oxfords, wool pleated skirts and sweaters to school, no jeans or long pants.

I can't recall there being a dress code. No one ever overstepped the unwritten bounderies.

I remember in high school when some official decided the girls would wear those awful blue one-piece gym suits. Actually, they were modest but I was embarrassed to show my legs. I'd never worn anything that resembled shorts. We also wore them whenever we played intermural basketball before the student body.

Remember when there were no self service filling stations? The guy who ran the station pumped the gas, checked the oil, and cleaned the windshield, free of charge. That was part of the service all stations provided.

Remember when women wore nylons that came in two pieces. They held them up by using garter belts that fastened around the waist, beneath the outer clothing. Pantyhose hadn't been invented.

If you owned a pedigree dog, you were rich. Most people had mutts or hunting dogs that helped put wild game on the table.

A penny saved was a penny earned. People would bend over to retrieve a penny they had dropped. I'm not sure that's true these days, even in these stormy economic times.

Citizens were patriotic, honored Old Glory and the soldiers who served in all wars.

Many of the famous movie stars we watched were patriotic and served their country with honor.

Some left the fame and fortune of Hollywood to join the military during World War !!.

Tyrone Power joined the U.S. Marines after Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese. He was a pilot, flying supplies into Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He also flew wounded Marines out of war zones.

Clark Gable enlisted as a private in the Army Air Corps in 1942. He attended aerial gunnery school, then flew operational missions over Europe in B-17s.

James Stewart entered the Army Air Force as a private, and became a colonel. He was a bomber pilot who took part in hundreds of air strikes over Germany. Later he became a reservist, reaching the rank of Brigadier General.

Ernest Borgnine was a US Navy gunners mate, 1935-1945.

Lee Marvin was a US Marine who received the Purple Heart.

Charles Bronson was a tail gunner in the Army Air Corps, on B-29s.

George C. Scott of Patton fame, was a decorated U.S. Marine.

John Russelll was a Marine who was wounded and highly decorated for valor at Guadalcanal

Eddie Albert was a US Naval officer and was awarded the Bronze Star for heroic action.

Audie Murphy was the most decorated serviceman of World War !!. He earned the Medal of Honor and numerous other awards, including two Purple Hearts.

These brave men were among millions of soldiers honored on Memorial Day.

They paid the price for democracy.

We must not forget them.