I'm glad you want to sit and listen to some more
stories today. I'm still tired from playing Hop Scotch yesterday! I've
thought of a few more things we enjoyed doing, so here goes.
I could roller-skate most any time, but there were
only a couple of weeks a year for ice-skating. If it rained very hard and
then got very cold there was a low stretch of yard that would fill with
water and freeze. My skates were just blades that I would fasten to my
shoes. Your shoe-skates are much better. However, I had a swing that was
better than yours! It was tied to a limb of our apple tree. You could
swing so high you felt like your toes would touch the sky!
I spent a lot of time riding my bike. One summer, our
town held a big race. The course ran from the center of town to the school
and back again, which was less than a mile. I decided to use my brother's
bike instead of my own. There was not rule against it. Boys' bikes simply
went faster and I wanted to win. It's fun to win once in a while. I think
all my girlfriends were much more interested in looking pretty. I must
admit that it was difficult to look graceful on a boy's bike. In those
days, girls did not wear slacks, only skirts. Oh well, at least I won!
On nice days, I rode my bike to school instead of
taking the school bus. That way, I could stop on my way home at my
Grandma's. She always had homemade cookies for me, and we worked on crafts
together. I especially liked stringing little beads on threads to make
pretty necklaces. Some days, I just watched her make quilts. Through the
years, she had already made two for each of her grandchildren. I still
have mine. I've been saving them for my two daughters.
I remember one neighbor who became an especially good
friend. I was always welcome at his house. He had an old horse that he
taught me how to ride. That horse was always willing to go for a ride, but
when he had had enough, he headed back to the stable. It didn't matter
whether I wanted to quit or not!
From there, I went to play on my friend's streetcar!
That's right .. a real streetcar. It didn't go anywhere, but I could run
up and down between the seats, pull the cord, and ring the bells.
Sometimes when I came back past the house, my
neighbor would be sitting on his porch. Then I knew I was also welcome to
go inside. He had so many music boxes in every room. I wound one after the
next till that house was filled with music. My favorite was in the
bathroom. It held the roll of toilet paper. When you pulled the paper out,
it played "Happy Days Are Here Again".