I am going to make a little detour here in part 2 before closing out the elementary school years in part 3.
I would be remiss not to speak of the joy and importance of being free to just be a kid during those formative years.

The day would truly begin when the end of school bell rang. A sweet and joyous sound, actually not marking the end of school, but rather the beginning of fun and adventure. During school we would talk amongst friends deciding what to do before the street lights came on. (It was the official time you had to be in the house or else.)

A typical school night would find myself, and the other 8-10 kids in the neighborhood all playing together outside; sun or snow. We would play from after school until dinner time. My dad would stand on the front porch and whistle for my sister and I to come home. Dad had two distinct tones to his come home whistle. The first time he whistled it was sharp but pleasant, because you knew a home cook meal was waiting. If he had to repeat, the second was shrill, and said without words I had about a minute to hit that porch. If I wasn’t there yet, and he had to yell my name, even God said “ That boys in trouble! “ Our neighbors, Frank and Marge Baum, would call their kids Larry, Terry, and Mark with a bell.

After dinner, we would watch “ Popeye the sailor “ cartoons on the “Barnaby” show then right back outside. We would play wiffle baseball ( played with a plastic bat,and plastic ball with holes) on the field we built. The field also supported our football games during that season. If at least one set of parents were out on their porch after dark, we got to play flashlight tag. Our neighborhood ,like many others during that time, was filled with the sounds of adult neighbors talking while their children play. A stark contrast to today’s empty yards, and just an occasional wave to other people on the street.

Saturdays were always magical whether during the school year or summertime. After the morning shows I talked about in Chapter II, we would grab our gloves, bats, balls and head to my second home, Lakeview Park. Along the ¾ of a mile walk we would stop, pickup friends, and say hello to their parents. We would play pickup games of baseball, football ( tackle without pads) or basketball all day long. The difference between playing ball in the neighborhood and the park was the interaction with guys who we sometimes didn’t know. This brings us to the importance of personal interaction with others as a kid.

Some people believe everything you need to know can be found on the internet. Certainly most any fact can be found. You can interact with millions of people all over the country and the world instantly. With all this knowledge and communication, why is there so much violence among preteens, teens, and even young adults today? I believe much of it is caused by a generation of young people who looked at a monitor rather than someone in the eye. When you’re put in situations with other kids, such as a park , face to face, with limited adult supervision, you learn to work things out. When we, and another group of guys approached the only diamond left at the same time, the potential for violence was there. Many in today’s world would pull out a gun or knife to try to show who’s the bigger “man.”

In our situation, because both groups had experience dealing with others face to face on a human level, a compromise was usually struck. Were there times when it turned to “violence?” Of course; boys will be boys. It was however, the exception rather than the rule. Our “violence” was a fair fistfight which was broken up as soon as someone was clearly the loser before they were seriously hurt. Most of the time we would become friends and friendly rivals. Bullies are a growing problem among young people today. Some kids are even resorting to suicide. When I was growing up there were bullies, but they weren’t a problem long. Usually the problem was solved by the person being bullied and his or her friends. If it got passed that to the school, a very large and nasty football coach would “council “ the bully after hours in an empty locker room. Of course, many methods which worked well in the past are now politically incorrect. Where has political correctness taken this country?

What was your favorite thing about growing up?