Play. Girls’ play. What does that word even mean, to a kid of the 21st century? As a child of the ’50s, I can tell you what it doesn’t mean.
1950s
So You Think You Can Dance?
Well, I for one sure couldn’t! Mind you, I was only 13, it was 1958, so whaddya want, right? Well. At the community group ‘youth’ dances which I started attending, hoping to meet a [Good grief! What was my rush?!] boyfriend, dancing was a necessity… unless you wanted to spend a couple of hours holding up the wall.
Goodbye to an Embarrassment of Riches
English newspapers! A whole big bunch! If only we had fully appreciated them at the time.
The Day I Beat the Machine
Spelling, back in the day
I was always a pretty good speller. I would see the word once, in my school book or a library book, and somehow it was burned in my memory.
9 cents
It was 1955. Having just turned 10, I’d earned a very special right – my dad said I could help in the store by serving customers.
The Steeple
Gonggg! …Gonggg! …Gonggg!
Bells are ringing out across the rooftops. I have to cover my ears, they’re so loud. And to my six-year-old eyes, the church’s tall steeple looks like it’s trying to touch the sky.
The Good Old Days
Back in the ’80s I went through a songwriting phase. Most are kind of embarrassing to me now, but this one still resonates with me – and just maybe it will with you, too. Here are the lyrics.
Grade Four – or, How I Learned to Start Worrying and Fear School
Oh sure, the photo looks innocent enough. But I can tell you this. My teacher that year – who shall remain nameless (to spare any progeny she may have had… although I doubt she had any; she would have scared off any would-be suitors) – Miss X, made my life a living hell. I used to come home crying. Here’s the thing, though. I can’t for the life of me remember any details of her cruelty. I must’ve buried the memories. <shiver>
Legacy From a Dapper Granddad
And what a handsome man he was!
Crossed Eyes and Dotted Tees 