- Joined
- Apr 12, 2011
- Messages
- 943
The sun has finally come out and I cleaned the pool over the weekend and filled it up. My daughter immediately got in even though the water was freezing (about 65 degrees since we don’t have a heater). She called some friends to come over and they got in for a bit, but then complained about the cold water and wanted to come inside and play. Now the temp was about 90 degrees outside and the sun was shining bright and these kids wanted to play video games. My daughter for her part was unfazed by the cold water and wanted to stay out and play.
This all got me thinking back to when I was a kid (I’m not even 40 so I’m not that old of a fart yet). We didn’t have the video games and computers and internet access like kids today, and the last thing we ever wanted to do was come inside.
I clearly remember a normal day would start with me and some friends getting together and heading to a empty field in the neighborhood that bordered some swampy woods. The field was loaded with black berry bushes and brambles, and we would wander through taking the berries right off the bush and eating them. We would follow that up by going to the fig tree and sculpin vine.
We would eat honey suckle drops from the flower stems and pull up wild onion to chew on. We would head to the park and swim in the bay and around lunch time get a 5 gallon bucket and some raw bacon and fishing poles. We would go out on the dock, bait a hook and drop in the water and within minutes a crab would grab a hold. We would haul them up most the time they would just be hanging on with a pincher. We’d throw them in the bucket and after having 5 or 6 go back to my house and start a fire in a ring of bricks and get the old cast iron pot we always left outside. We’d boil the crabs up right there and when they were finished crack them open with a pocket knife and pull the meat out and eat right from the shell.
We would spend the afternoon traipsing through the swamp trying to avoid the deep mud I lost a couple of shoes in mud that went up past my knee). We would poke at snakes and play army with toy guns that looked like real ones.
This is all as a 9 or 10 year old (my daughters age)
Now a days I’ts Mario Cart and youtube and kids staying indoors all summer because “it’s hot”. I grew up in Florida without air conditioning!
I have started trying to get my daughter out as much as I can and teach her some things and show her you can have fun in the outdoors. She has taken to it a little, but the amount of time we can get away isn’t much, plus it is hard here because there really is no place to just take off and do an overnight anywhere close by. It’s all metro or state parks where you have to register and camp in certain areas for a minimum 2 day stay and stuff like that .
Well I guess I sound like an old fart even though I’m not even 40 yet, but I think the kids today are really missing out. I guess I have rambled long enough, although I could go on for hours with the great memories of growing up, real Americana type stuff.
Why not share some of your own favorites.
This all got me thinking back to when I was a kid (I’m not even 40 so I’m not that old of a fart yet). We didn’t have the video games and computers and internet access like kids today, and the last thing we ever wanted to do was come inside.
I clearly remember a normal day would start with me and some friends getting together and heading to a empty field in the neighborhood that bordered some swampy woods. The field was loaded with black berry bushes and brambles, and we would wander through taking the berries right off the bush and eating them. We would follow that up by going to the fig tree and sculpin vine.
We would eat honey suckle drops from the flower stems and pull up wild onion to chew on. We would head to the park and swim in the bay and around lunch time get a 5 gallon bucket and some raw bacon and fishing poles. We would go out on the dock, bait a hook and drop in the water and within minutes a crab would grab a hold. We would haul them up most the time they would just be hanging on with a pincher. We’d throw them in the bucket and after having 5 or 6 go back to my house and start a fire in a ring of bricks and get the old cast iron pot we always left outside. We’d boil the crabs up right there and when they were finished crack them open with a pocket knife and pull the meat out and eat right from the shell.
We would spend the afternoon traipsing through the swamp trying to avoid the deep mud I lost a couple of shoes in mud that went up past my knee). We would poke at snakes and play army with toy guns that looked like real ones.
This is all as a 9 or 10 year old (my daughters age)
Now a days I’ts Mario Cart and youtube and kids staying indoors all summer because “it’s hot”. I grew up in Florida without air conditioning!
I have started trying to get my daughter out as much as I can and teach her some things and show her you can have fun in the outdoors. She has taken to it a little, but the amount of time we can get away isn’t much, plus it is hard here because there really is no place to just take off and do an overnight anywhere close by. It’s all metro or state parks where you have to register and camp in certain areas for a minimum 2 day stay and stuff like that .
Well I guess I sound like an old fart even though I’m not even 40 yet, but I think the kids today are really missing out. I guess I have rambled long enough, although I could go on for hours with the great memories of growing up, real Americana type stuff.
Why not share some of your own favorites.
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