Back in the day, before 700 channels and video games, a refrain we heard frequently from Mom and Dad was “Go Play OUTSIDE!”

Limited only by our imaginations, we gathered with friends with our trusty Radio Flyer wagons loaded with scraps of wood, hammer and nails filched from Dad’s workbench and a lunch bag filled with grub to see us through until dinner, we’d head off to build tree houses, forts or rickety rafts.  Strapping on our skates and hanging our skate keys around our necks we’d race up and down the sidewalks of the neighborhood in our own version of Roller Derby.  A pack of playing cards and a few clothespins morphed our bikes into motorcycles as our pack would head off to the vacant lot for a game of softball or marbles.

We thought nothing of drinking from garden hoses or a communal bottle or two of Coke.  Just a quick swipe of our hand erased germs as the bottle passed around the group of sweaty kids.

Ranging far and wide on our adventures we became Roy Rogers or Annie Oakley defending the untamed west with our Daisy Air Rifles and cap guns, or archeologists unearthing long lost treasure. Tarzan and Jane swinging from vines, or the Swiss Family Robinson building a fantastic  multi level tree house.

Minor cuts and scrapes were handled with a little spit.   Wounds that bled caused us to limp home on our no-speed banana seat bikes to the tender ministrations of mom, usually consisting of hydrogen peroxide, mercurochrome and a band aid.

After dinner doors banged against the sides of the houses spewing kids out into the dusk for the last bit of play before the streetlights came on.  Gathering around an old tin can set strategically in the middle of the street to begin a game of Kick the Can.  Olly,Olly Oxen Free echoed between the tract homes as the seeker gave the all clear to come back to base.

As the sun sank lower in the evening sky, the street lights would begin to flicker on and the voices of mothers could be heard calling their broods in for the night as Dads canvassed the driveways for errant bikes and scooters.

Grab a glass jar with holes punched in the lid and let’s go catch some fire flies!  Last one to the corner is a Rotten Egg!