Sights, sounds, smells, and stuff from my childhood. Do you remember the smell of swimming pool water drying off you as you lay on cement, the grass, or a towel? Your tiny transistor radio blaring away AM tunes? Remember the one earplug that it came with? So you got Mono Tinny Sounds pouring in (or out) of just one ear?

Do you remember your older sisters teaching you how to Dance? Or did you use those footprints you put on the floor? From the Waltz, to the jitterbug, to Wa...a wa...tusi? And the world's easiest dances: The shuffle, the twist, and the stroll. Sometimes, you just held your girl for slow dances and just swayed to the music.
Remember playing every sport? Just depended on the Season. But you had baseballs, softballs, basketballs, maybe even a Volley ball too! Gloves for the outfield, gloves for the infield, catcher's mitts, and first base gloves. Remember smearing saddle soap in the gloves, putting either a League baseball, or a Softball in there to form a pocket? Tying it up with twine (and remember twine?) to get that deep pocket. That smell of glove, soap, and leather...lovely.
How about stealing your sisters forty five record player to bring to a party, or the pool? Getting that thick cylinder so you could put five records on at time. And one was always a slow song if girls were around.
Sock hops and School Dances? Starting out in Grade School where all the boys were on one side of the gym, and all the girls on the other? And you were wearing a sport jacket and tie with enough Brut on you to make flowers jealous. Oh, and don't forget Brylcream or Pomade to shape your hair. When just a few years later that would label you a "greaser", dry hair and madras shirts, and whamo zamo, you were a surfer dude. Long hair...well, hippie!

Cars were everywhere, and being worked on when you weren't at the pool, lake, or beach. And if you weren't playing the sports you just did last summer. Cars and girls went to together like rootbeer floats. Remember those?
How about the giant July 4th Picnics and playing softball, kids against adults? With enough hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and sodas to feed a small army.

Grape Nehi, Orange soda, and Thom Thumb sodas were our beverages of choice. Adults drank Coca Cola out of the big 12 oz bottles. You drank the six ounce bottles.

Oh, and Dairy Queen, can't forget those. Soft serve cones, dipped in chocolate. The Dairy Queen in my little town is still in the hands of the same Family that opened it in 1953. In 1965, when I started to "date"- the kind of dates where Her mom, or your Mom drove you to the movie, or dance, or an older brother in his jalopy. Sometimes they dropped you off at the DQ and told you they would be back in an hour. Well the Owner of that DQ knew none of us kids had tons of Money. So every Saturday Night if you showed up as a couple, you got a large Shake for the price of a small, a tiny bag of fries (free), and two straws.

And the couples might range in age from 13 year olds, to your Mom and Dad.

In High School, mini-skirts were becoming a thing. Girls had to learn to slide in and out of chairs, cars, and desks with enough concentration to retain their ladylike entrance and exits. Meanwhile, it was all us guys could do to even hold our concentration in the presence of those killer skirts. And every Class had at least one girl called: "Legs." And pantyhose came in eggs.

Music was all over the map, and you listened to all of it. And singers could sing. Blue Jeans became a big thing, along with hip huggers on the girls, and bell bottoms on the guys. And vests were worn by both sexes.

Then the muscle cars came out, and a Mustang could make you the most popular guy in school, until the Camaro, Barracuda, or Trans Am showed up. And the sound of those beefed up engines, six pack carbs, and hurst speed shifters is something that still gets the blood moving.

Okay, I think I shall stop here. It was fun being a child of the Fifty's and Sixties, and a young man of the Seventies. But that is a different time.