Kids Today

You KNOW you are OLD when you start saying (or thinking) "Kids Today have so much more than We had when We were kids".  This is quickly followed with a litany of "I remember when I was young..."

I see the grand-god-kids and my friends' children or grandchildren with elaborate backyard playgrounds and homes overflowing with toys and age-appropriate electronics in every room.  

I remember when I was young:

If I wanted to get somewhere I had three choices: my bike, walking or the CTA bus.  Mom never learned to drive so getting chauffeured around was never an option.

If I wanted to swing or slide there was the nearby park. 

No cable or DVDs but I did have Howdy-Doody, Romper Room, Garfield Goose, Kukla, Fran & Ollie and, of course, the Mickey Mouse Club.

My toys? A hula hoop (I was pretty good at it), ice skates (Greenbriar Park in winter), my Lena-the-Cleaner doll (complete with mini Spic-and-Span), jump ropes (I could even double-dutch), strap on roller skates and books (Trixie Belden!  I had them all).  I also had an extensive paper doll collection, a 45 rpm record player, and Barbie & Ken.  And I had my pet, a turtle named Letty (actually a series of Letty's).

Ah, to be a kid in the 50's and 60's!