My favorite toys.

The Patton army set came with tanks, jeeps, trees, plastic rocks and an entire set of gray German figures.
Johnny and I spent all afternoon setting them up and then mowing them over with a bowling ball.

http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/r...nsman/toys.png

The pump was a bitch, I played with the pistol much more.

http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/r...nsman/guns.png

My brother and I have many famous fights. We were brutal to each other, and my parents didn't try to teach us to treat each other better.

I remember when I was about seven, I had a pajama bag that I kept on my bed. It was a stuffed octopus dressed as a rock and roll player, complete with a guitar, granny glasses, and long, yellow straw hair that fell in his face. I called him "Shaggy Beatle." This was around 1966 or '67. I came home one day to find that my brother had given Shaggy Beatle a crewcut because his hair was "too long" and he looked "like a hippie." To this day, I am the open-minded liberal and he is the conservative accountant. :lol2:

I have a deep scar from my right arm.... From when during spring break one year at our Christian School. We lived on property from by the church and by the school.... I ran with my brother and his friend to our house my brother was getting some clothes he was going to stay a week at his friends, and I ran up the hill with them they got in front of me and came through our patio door into the other door leading into the house and slammed the door playing in my face I reacted by putting my arms up in front of my face to stop the door and my right arm went through the french door paneled glass slicing deeply into my right arm... It was white and you could see all the little vein looking things so it was deep. They had to take skin from my upper and lower arm to sew it back together. I still have that scar to this day :)

My grand parents and I were very close,I miss them so much,I wish they had lived to watch my son grow up then for him to learn things from his great grandpa & great grannie.One of my many favorite things we did was when gramps amd grannie went to town for supplies,we lived wayyy out in the sticks folks.There was a place called Richardson Farm Supply(wich still stands today) that u could get about anything under the sun at.They had a coffee murchant that roasted beans and ground them up for ya,then there was a bakery where ..before we headed home ..we stoped for a bite to eat.OH let me tell ya they made the best cream puffs any where..they were huge to a small 5yro.I always ate one after my lunch and got one to take home for later.I ask both of them so many questions about this and that till I fell asleep with my head in grannies lap to barely wake up as she carried me in the house to bed..to feel that way one more time in my life would ne a treasure.

Some of the best times we had was playing secret agent which was
very popular in the mid 60s. My Uncle Johnny, who I mentioned earlier
in this thread, and I each had a Secret Sam Attache Case
complete with gun and scope and plastic bullets that fired out of the
side by pushing a button.

http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/r...Picture9-3.png


We were die hard fans of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.


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And we didn't miss watching Get Smart with Agents 86 and 99. Johnny had a crush on Agent 99. So did I actually.


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And then.... there were The Avengers, with Diana Rigg who was Johnny's hard on for years.


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And then there was the king of agents, James Bond.


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It was a great childhood with terrific memories. We could be anyone we wanted to be and that included being a Secret Agent Man...

Coming home from school and seeing the eye twinkles and look of love on my parents faces after afternoon delight. never had one problem with recognizing that my parents had heat for one another. Guess it was a good thing my dad went to work at 4 AM and got home early! Gave them time without all of us! Sure, I didn't quite get what was going on for some years, but when I did figure it out, I realized I was a very fortunate child.

Was it a perfect childhood, hell no! Had some very fine moments, though. Much to be thankful for.

ALH
 

Once I came home from school and one of my aunts was taking to my grannie about sex..she told grannie, at your age u should be done with that,both grand parents said at the same time..nope never will happen.My aunt was perplexed cause she didnt think of sex at there age was a good thing.To he sex was just or makin abies,now I think of it it may be what my uncle was so grouchy..he hardly got any.

Yesterday, I was walking into a Target in Saint Paul and had this odd feeling suddenly of my dad walking next to me. Now, he was really tall. 6'5.

Then, I remembered how his gait was a bit off. I could precisely remember that right leg movement.

Thennnn, I remembered how much fun we would have going shopping. How did I go nearly 30 years and forget that? Wow.

Sure glad I finally remembered. The actual store:

http://www.bitroads.com/images/Pictu...illeTarget.jpg




.

My adopted dad had his church secretary watch us sometimes when they were out on speaking engagements. I remember that was one of most fav times. My brother and I were able to play outside, and swim and watch movies. We werent able to watch tv, or swim together at home. I think of that woman often and thank God for her. Those times with her were some of my best memories.

Birthday #7
 

Not favorite but funny looking back on it. For my 7th birthday I got a red Huffy bike, umm yes a girls bike uggg. Anyway I also got a new pair of PF Flyers, they make ya run faster and jump higher don't ya know, but they don't make you fly and land easy.

My grand parents lived on a small hill in a new development, meaning the road was cut up every time a new house was built to run sewer to the house. I was so proud of my new bike and how fast I could ride it and so on.....I had to show them how good I was. I rode to the top of the hill, came buzzing down it, yes with a playing card and a clothes pin in the spokes.....I hit a pothole in the road and over the handlebars I went. Landing on my hard head, that must have heard 1000 times that day, slow down ya gonna get hurt, ya gonna tear up that new bike etc......Well of course I got up crying like a girl, scratched up my new bike, Moma was crying harder than me, I did have a HUGE goose egg on my forehead and skinned up knees and elbows. After all the crying was done, I announced if it had been a blue boys bike I wouldn't have got hurt like that :bicycle::rofl:

My mom used to cut my bangs so short that I used to walk around with both eyebrows raised so they would look longer.

My mom used to cut my bangs so short that I used to walk around with both eyebrows raised so they would look longer.She would say, "stop that! Or your face is going to stay that way!"

True Story
 

My little brother was the youngest of 8 I was number 7. When he was born the doctor's cut the umbilical cord too short and they had to remove the whole belly button deal and he ended up with a smilie face with dimples.
So, when I was about 5 he was 2-3 and I would catch lady bugs and keep them, with my hand semi cupped, in my belly button. (don't anyone call peta I always let them go so they could live). He was so fascinated that I could do that he would shriek with laughter.
When he died it was mid October in Michigan, cold, brown outside and gloomy. I came home from the hospital and the ceiling in the house was covered in swarms of lady bugs. It blew everyone away.:bigladybug:

swinging & digging in the sandbox - very gratifying.

I'm not sure if it's my favorite, exactly, but it sure stands out.

I grew up in the woods in Canada- no cars, no running water, no electricity - with hippyish parents. Because they thought it was important to be totally honest with me, they told me there was no santa from the start. But later, I suppose they started to feel bad about it- what if they'd robbed me of some essential childhood fantasy? So, they created a stand in: Dr. Winter.

Dr. Winter was a dirty clown. He had a bedraggled-looking clumpy clown wig, and a grimy face. He was also mute. He came "down from the mountains" specifically for my birthday, when he would take me into the woods, give me gummy bears and a harmonica, and sit with me on the snow, silently, in a clearing for a bit. The extra-unsettling part was that we lived in a town of approximately 50 people, cut off from civilization but hundreds of miles, and this man did not look at all familiar to me. Creepy.

When I was a kid we had his store owned by some folks who came across the water with my gramps way back ...anyhow they had and still after many generations,still have the same store...same name and all.Anywho on hot summer days I would ride my bike to the store and for .25 I could buy a big sour pickle..I 'd buy two cause I wanted one for later whan I got home.They were so sour it would near lock my jaw trying to eat it,to this day I still love sour pickles only I get them by the jar now...yum.

My cousin Alan used to make us sick. He'd take chocolate cake and stuff it in a glass and then soggy it up by pouring milk over it. made me gag like oatmeal makes me gag.

Anyway, here's dad and me and my favorite socks.

http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/r...ionsman/62.jpg

one favorite childhood memory
 

I was six years old. One day in particular when my grandmother let me play in the rain. There was not a thunderstorm going on or any lightening so it was not dangerous. At my request, she fixed me up with my blue towel "Superman Cape" and let me go out in the rain and play. When I was little, I was always thinking I was a cowboy (i.e. Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers, etc.) , a secret agent or an action figure. (action figure like Superman, GI Joe, etc.) And who was the TV cowboy good guy who had the beautiful horse with the blond mane named Champ??? I was him too. In these fantasies, I always got to be with the girl. LOL!

I tell you, I dearly loved my grandmother. She was dependable in that I always knew what she said to me was the truth. I could count on that every single time. I stayed with her a lot when I was little. Both my parents were alcoholic. I sincerely do not believe the poor souls knew fact from fiction. They did the best they could considering the circumstances. I indulged myself in the same addiction from teens until I was in my early thirties - 30 or 31. Then I had a moment of clarity one day where I saw I was becoming just like them. I did not like what I saw. I am one of the fortunate ones who sought and found recovery. A lot of people who are afflicted with this never make it into recovery. I am eternally thankful for it. Out of my many, many blessings, this one is the most valuable and I have a truly thankful heart for it - now and forever. I will always protect it. :)

This pleasant childhood memory I described here is not my favorite childhood memory but is certainly a high-ranker. I had forgotten about it until yesterday when I played in the rain with my dog. :) It is neat how things long forgotten will suddenly get triggered and come into your memory.

Was this too much information? LOL! It is all good today - one day at a time.

EDIT:
I am a big cut-up, love to joke, play and laugh but my sobriety is something I hold in high regards and take very seriously. It is totally my responsibility and only mine ... to keep it in a safe place. I am thoroughly experienced in doing this very thing ... and I really would not want it any other way. *grin*

Man, I need a second cup of coffee.

Peace.

When mom worked half days on saterday I would catch the trolly and ride down town then when she gt off work we went to the A&W rootbeer shop for ice cold frosted root beer and a burger,this place was set up like a soda fountain with all the fixings..then we would take in a movie or just go anywere we wanted.

Riding the Nancy Hanks train every summer to the Davison's in Atlanta for school clothes. It was bittersweet, as it signified the end of summer and the beginning of another school year, but I loved the train ride.

You mean besides playin ball with the gang, getting my first real bike, or making out with that hott little Mary Jo? Wow..soo many..well I'll pick one. Our gang lived on a spookey alley we called Snake Alley. This older kid use to dress up in a Dracula costume with the fangs, cape, makeup, the whole shot, and hide in Snake Alley around sundown. Our gang sat on the back steps every damn night wth our guns, talking, and waiting for Dracula to appear in the alley, and then we'd run home yelling Lol! I think our parents hired that kid.

the day my dad taught me how to ride my new bike.

Sitting in my grandpa's lap as he drove his huge CAT bulldozer.
Going to Alaska to visit my grandparents in the summer, or looking forward to their visit around Easter...
Feeding Jake, my grandpa's huge German Shepard or petting Kat, my grandma's mean white cat...
I miss them a lot today.
~SAB

Don't remember much of my childhood really, but I do remember my grandparents, and I'm very greateful for that.

Watching television in the basement rec room while my mom prepared dinner and we waited for my dad to get home from work. I used to watch Rocky and Bullwinkle, Sherman and Peabody, and Megilla Gorilla. I seem to remember Barbara Walters as a young news anchor. But, I could be making that part up.

Being an animal spy
 

My Pop told me that if you can remain still for an hour that the animals will forget you are there. I spent many quiet hours in the woods sitting just a little off a game trail and being still so I would blend in and watching the animals and birds coming and going.

I would lie in the grass and part it so I could see dirt. Then I would lie there, very still, and look at all the little creatures bustling about their business. I had a giant magnifying glass so I could watch their movements; I would make notes on them in my “field journal”, which was actually an old notebook my uncle gave me.

A Classic
 

When I was really little like '62-'63
we lived next door to a big family with
real good lookin' kids in high school.

The littlest kid, about 6 years old,
was named Butchie and he was
always hanging around where he shouldn't.

His sisters who were in high school
were gorgeous, and very popular,
and one night his
oldest sister Connie had a date.

So Butch was hanging around the bathroom
watching her get ready to go out. As it happened
the bathroom door was partly opened and he
saw Connie insert a Tampax.

He was a chubby, stocky little kid with white
curly hair and dimples, and he walked around like
he owned the house —real sure of himself.

So he goes into the living room where Connie's
date is sitting on the sofa waiting for her.
And Butch says, "Connie'll be with ya in a minute,
she stickin' a candle up her butt."

Here's remembering childhood, great stories and
the early 60s with Bobby Vee........

I wrote this for my grandmother (Guelita) the day of her funeral...January 14, 1998...this is and will always be my favorite and most poignant childhood memory.

AVER ESA MUNECA…


She was peddling hard on her sewing machine, trying to finish up the last little bit of the colcha (quilt)she was making. The Atlas sewing machine head on a Singer cabinet, modified for her so she would have her sturdy machine and a convenient cabinet to sew on. I must’ve been about 7 or 8 I guess, when I first noticed this gift of hers.

My Guelita, she sewed lots of things. She made curtains of all kinds, cojines (cushions), colchas, no doubt, and even clothes for me. And I would sit at her feet, in front of the screen door, while she sewed. She was sewing a short set (you know, a matching top and bottom)for me for school/play. Every time she finished a little more of it, she’d make me try it on. Then she could see where she’d need to make changes. Usually she’d cut a little strip here, a little piece there, and those little leftover pieces would float on down to the floor. I’d pick them up and grab my baby doll and try to wrap it around her little, chubby body in an attempt to create/design something too, just like Guelita was doing for me. It never worked quite the way I’d hope, but I still tried.

Guelita didn’t talk a lot, especially when she sewed. She concentrated on what she was doing, thinking her own thoughts and only God knows what those were. I was a little girl so she didn’t have much conversation for me. I just sat there quietly, and played with my doll baby and wrapped the little pieces around her and when I got done with that, I’d pick up the remnants of threads and roll those all up unto a little ball. Then I’d look around for something to do, feeling bored and waiting. I hated to wait. But I knew better than to leave from there. I never left.

That day, Guelita finished the outfit for me. Then she did something I will never forget. She thrust her hand out to me where I was sitting, waiting and said, “Aver, damela”, (let me see, give her to me)and even as she said so, I placed my baby doll in her beautiful, long fingers, her hand tired yet still strong and almost regal with her fingers extended in an impatient pose. I placed my doll baby in her hand and watched her as she brought her up to her machine, disrobed her and started to cut something for her from the same cloth as my outfit!

I stood up, excited but keeping myself at a safe distance so as to not exasperate her and cause her to stop. She was very fast as she sewed a few seams here and some there, and a hem and a flounce and voila! My doll baby had the exact same short set I did!

Guelita handed her back to me without a word. There was no pomp and circumstance, no big grandiose speech or even a little word of loving kindness. But it didn’t matter! In that moment I knew she loved me without having to hear her tell me so.

And that day, I loved her the most.

I absolutely loved selling Girl Scout cookies. Talk about a maniac!! If I wasn't number one in sales there was hell to pay. :)

Duchess

I Love Lucy and the Flintstones

One of my fondess memories was when I was about 11-12 years old. I grew up in the City of Los Angeles and I used to be a "paper boy." I worked for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. (Like many newspapers it is no longer in existence and yes, there was a time when people sold newpapers on the corner.)

Anyway I sold newpapers on the weekend in front of a Supermarket. At the front of this store was a donut bakery. (We were poor and my twin sister and I had never had a birthday cake from a bakery.) With money I made from that job I was able to buy our first special ordered from the bakery birthday cake. It was made of cake donuts, filled with whip cream and strawberries. The look on the faces of my brothers and sisters when I brought that cake home, for our birthday surprise..... Let's just say a bunch of kids were very happy and stuffed with a bakery cake.