September 19, 2017
Child's Play


As a child in the 1950s, I did my homework first, then I got to watch TV cartoons for one hour a day. After that, I had to go out and play. We played tag football, built forts, skated, made up weird make-believe role-playing games. The deal was that I was to come home when it got dark.

We were forbidden to go to an empty lot near the train tracks, but we did. There was a tunnel there we'd go walking up, fearing that rats would get us. We would watch for trains near the tracks and hide our faces from the conductor since we had been warned we'd go to jail for being near the train.

We would also play cards, Monopoly, etc. Summers were spent at the beach.  We had almost no media. We had books, comics, and magazines.

I am really sorry kids now can't have the childhood I had: parents easily avoided, freedom to roam, adventures involving imaginary villains and quests. As you might have guessed, I was a total tomboy until my teens.

These kids are going to have real trouble figuring out who they are and what they think. Their minds are never unoccupied or free from external forces.
 

Barbara


Posted by Staff at 10:57 AM