David UGA marsh view
School seems to start earlier and earlier for kids these days. We always started classes a few days before Labor Day. Now I can tell when school is back in session by how much happier my friends with school-aged children are, because the kids are out of their hair again for most of the day.
If you grew up in the 1960s or 70s, you know we didn’t have that same level of parental involvement in our summer activities. It was much more relaxed. We pretty much ate whatever we wanted and only had to be home by the time streetlights came on. We used to walk around the neighborhood shooting BB guns or having pinecone wars. We’d build forts out in marsh hamlets. Of course you rode your bike without a helmet. Falling was an art form, because you had to land without splitting your head open or breaking any bones. There were no certifications required to babysit either. If you were at least 12 and able to dial 9-1-1, you could get some pretty sweet babysitting gigs.
Looking back, one of the bigger “what were we thinking” moments growing up during those times was the game we’d play by jumping on our bikes and riding behind the mosquito fog truck that came through the neighborhood at dusk spraying clouds of DDT. The “winner” was the last guy able to keep behind the fog truck the longest. This might explain why we are the way we are today! Anyone else remember swinging so hard that one part of the swing set would come off the ground? Or jumping off the roof of the house holding one of your mom’s bedsheets as a parachute?
Unfortunately, technology killed one of the most time-honored rites of passage for middle school boys. Playing Ding Dong Ditch demanded nerves of steel and speed! You had to creep up to the front door, ring the doorbell then run as fast as you could before the person opened the door. The Ring doorbell video camera brought an end to that. Kids today can’t even make it to the front steps without being on camera!
Come to think of it, the three months between school years were probably the most dangerous times of our lives for those of us who grew up back then. But they were also the most memorable!
