The doom and gloom that kids have today is not what we remember. It may just be selective memories on our behalf. We tend to block out all the bad, Most of us went camping in Ireland or went up the road on a family holiday. The time scale you were away did not matter because it felt longer. The people we met while away we did not have facebook or mobiles to keep in touch with the people we met. We had an address on a scrap of paper with bad hand writing symbolizing a friendship. Thinking about my own child hood in the late 80's and 90's here are some things i remember
On a Friday night, Sitting in a sun lighted area with your friends during a summers day. the lights come on. You think to yourself "oh crap its late" Thinking of ways to hang with your friends who seemed to always be allowed out longer than you.
Walking by a phone box and seeing the lip of a callcard hanging out. A slight trill came up as you slide the card out hoping that this is one you do not have. I myself placed these in a photo album that i think is still somewhere in my childhood room.
UN-appropriate toys for kids. Between Rambo and some kids toys with badly placed parts. i remember an E.T finger that seemed to look like a dildo. With Rambo yes there was a cartoon. but yet when you have seen the Ghostbusters had a movie why can i not watch Rambo? We did not have a good system but was what gave us nightmares between Pennywise from Stephen Kings IT and Chunky from Child's Play we did have an X rated childhood. seeing and playing with things that we should not of been introduced to. You can not imagine kids of today playing with Dajango or collecting the lads from The Expendables
Taking up the whole T.V in the house. Playing this dam thing for hours. When a game dose not work blowing the dust out of it always works.. You could not remember where 3 hours of your day went. Where i lived our local video shop. (called square Eyes) got in games for SNES and megadrive!!!! It was a war between the 2. I myself had the Snes and was trilled with hours of street fighter 2 and super adventure island (my sisters fave game) and Mario of course. When you knew someone at school had the same computer it forged life long friendships.
Dam on a cold winters morning before school jumping in front of a big toe shot and this thing slapping agents your leg!!! In a playground with 4 or 5 games going on was like missiles going around. But yet playing outside no matter what the weather was freezing boiling rain no matter what spending hours playing get goals gets you in or wallzies. This would have to be one of my most memorable times as a child. I remember buying a pair of goal keepers gloves that were of course made for an adult. went you went to make a save the tip of the glove your finger had yet grown in to bending back. No suck things as cross bars back then.(took me ages finding that pic)
For me not my strongest point looking back at my copy books, Was never that good at School. I just remember doodling all over the front of one of these. been told never write in text books. The only thing i did enjoy about school was i was in a room with 30 like minded people who did not want to be there. Home work was a pain, I found i spent more time doing home work than anything else but yet that might just be the selective memories kicking back in. So i give a big up yours to every math teacher that said "Are you going to walk around with a calculator in your pocket all your life?" Little did they know.
Oh and milk money!!!! I could not find pictures of Monaghan Milk that were giving out to us as kids. Not to sure if kids still get the same prints on the carton that we got in the 80's and 90's.
Eating Crap. But did it taste good, Back when things called sugar and E's were allowed in our sweets. our little sugar filled minds gave us energy for the day from our sugar on corn flakes to the sweets we ate. I was more of a crisp man myself. Would kill for a bag of mummy's now.
Now you never tend to see kids out playing. Just guessing that is is that we live a bit more in a paranoid state.
I do hope when i have kids i will be able to let them play out side run round fields have loads of friends and just enjoy being a kid and not grow up in to teenagers over night at the age of 5.
Well i hope you enjoyed this. Was nice for me writing and i hope this will get your own memories back.
