By Iain Hosking - ihosking@ozemail.com.au - August 2, 2001

Take a moment..

Take a moment to go back in time...

Before the Internet or the MAC.

Before semi automatics, heroin and crack.

Before SEGA or Super Nintendo...

Way back.... I'm talking about hide and seek at dusk.

One potato, two potato, three potato, four. Red light,green light.

The corner shop.

Hopscotch, kiss chasey, elastics, jacks, kickball, dodge ball. Mother May I?

Hula Hoops.

Running through the sprinkler.

Milk moustaches.

An ice cream cone on a warm summer night - chocolate or vanilla or strawberry. But wait....

Watching Saturday morning TV... Hey Hey its Saturday, Marty Monstor, Fat Albert, The Groovy Goolies, Gigantor, Road Runner, Penelope Pitstop and Bugs Bunny.

Short commercials.

A million mosquito bites around your ankles.

Sticky fingers.

Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, Zorro.

Climbing trees. Walking to school, no matter what the weather.

Running till you were out of breath.

Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt.

Jumping on the bed. Pillow fights.

Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling downwas cause for giggles.

Being tired from playing....remember that?

The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.

War was a card game.

Water balloons were the ultimate weapon.

Baseball cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle.

I'm not finished just yet...

Eating Milo from the tin.

Remember when there were two types of sneakers for girls and boys and the only time you wore them at school, was for "P.E."

It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends.

When nobody owned a purebred dog.

When a twenty cents was decent pocket money, and another twenty cents a miracle.

When milk went up one cent and everyone talked about it for weeks? W

hen you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.

When you got your windscreen cleaned, oil checked, and petrol pumped, without asking, for free, every time.

When nearly everyone's Mum was at home when the kids got there.

It was magic when dad would "remove" his thumb.

When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents.

When any parent could discipline any kid, or use him to carry groceries, and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.

When they threatened to keep kids back a grade if they failed ...and did!

When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home. Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! And some of us are still afraid of them!!!

Didn't that feel good? Just to go back and say, "Yeah, I remember that! Remember when....

Decisions were made by going "Eeny-meeny-miney-mo."

Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "Do over!"

"Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.

Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in Monopoly.

Worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was "germs".

Having a weapon in school meant being caught with a slingshot.

Nobody was prettier than Mum.

Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better.

Taking drugs meant orange-flavoured chewable aspirin.

Ice cream was considered a basic food group.

Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dare".

Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors.

If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED!!!!

Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "grown up" life...

I DOUBLE DARE YA!!