Until Crickets Guide You Back
Best news I've gotten in a very long time: Miranda got us fifth row tickets for the White Stripes at the Fox. Now I have to tear my room apart to find my "I Heart Meg" button. I'm excited to see them again. I hear that Meg has curls now. I'll keep you posted.
And then, of course, there's Loretta Lynn at Harrah's August 21.
And that's my summer. Two concerts. Yup.
Remember when we had Summer Vacations? No school, no work, no responsibilities.
My most pressing concern was how I was going to get myself a soda, sometimes walking two miles to the shady tavern down the road, fifty or so pennies weighing down my pockets. Wow, we were REALLY into soda back then. Why wouldn't my mom just give us an endless supply to keep us off the streets?
Then there was the summer when my sister and I became mini-entrepreneurs. We'd buy junk food at Aldi's and run a little concession stand in the neighbor's basement. And we'd charge the neighbors, like, fifty cents to watch our copy of Can't Buy Me Love or Adventures in Babysitting.
We'd watch The Price is Right every...single....day. Sadly, my sister and I knew that as soon as it was over, the mailman would be pulling up to our mailbox for the day's delivery (though nothing was ever for us). Why this was our highlight of the morning puzzles me to this very day. Plus, our mailbox was about 1/8 mile away from our house.
Then, we'd play "Chef Joe" and make fake menus. My sister was the sassy waitress. Everyday she'd take my order and tell me, "We're all out of the pizza today. Might I suggest the grilled cheese?" and "No, sorry, we don't have Coke today. Can I get you a glass of cherry Kool-Aid instead?"
I know it's hard to believe, but my sister and I weren't COMPLETE couch potatoes. There were about five or six other kids in the neighborhood (and when i say "neighborhood" I mean "the two other houses near us"), and we'd play all kinds of stupid shit: the countless games of Spotlight (which is like Hide and Seek, but at night and using a flashlight), Ball Tag, Ghosts in the Graveyard (run! run! run!), Army Ball. Man, my entire neighborhood went nuts during the summer.
You don't get that as a grown-up, and it's a bit unfair. That's why I've decided to just do a half-assed job at work from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Anyone with me?
And then, of course, there's Loretta Lynn at Harrah's August 21.
And that's my summer. Two concerts. Yup.
Remember when we had Summer Vacations? No school, no work, no responsibilities.
My most pressing concern was how I was going to get myself a soda, sometimes walking two miles to the shady tavern down the road, fifty or so pennies weighing down my pockets. Wow, we were REALLY into soda back then. Why wouldn't my mom just give us an endless supply to keep us off the streets?
Then there was the summer when my sister and I became mini-entrepreneurs. We'd buy junk food at Aldi's and run a little concession stand in the neighbor's basement. And we'd charge the neighbors, like, fifty cents to watch our copy of Can't Buy Me Love or Adventures in Babysitting.
We'd watch The Price is Right every...single....day. Sadly, my sister and I knew that as soon as it was over, the mailman would be pulling up to our mailbox for the day's delivery (though nothing was ever for us). Why this was our highlight of the morning puzzles me to this very day. Plus, our mailbox was about 1/8 mile away from our house.
Then, we'd play "Chef Joe" and make fake menus. My sister was the sassy waitress. Everyday she'd take my order and tell me, "We're all out of the pizza today. Might I suggest the grilled cheese?" and "No, sorry, we don't have Coke today. Can I get you a glass of cherry Kool-Aid instead?"
I know it's hard to believe, but my sister and I weren't COMPLETE couch potatoes. There were about five or six other kids in the neighborhood (and when i say "neighborhood" I mean "the two other houses near us"), and we'd play all kinds of stupid shit: the countless games of Spotlight (which is like Hide and Seek, but at night and using a flashlight), Ball Tag, Ghosts in the Graveyard (run! run! run!), Army Ball. Man, my entire neighborhood went nuts during the summer.
You don't get that as a grown-up, and it's a bit unfair. That's why I've decided to just do a half-assed job at work from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Anyone with me?
posted by Joe at 5:37 PM
2 Comments:
*singing* Memories...
Mom never bought us soda because it would be gone the next day. Don't forget Dane was there, too. He was a soda junkie, too. It is sad that getting a soda or the mail was the highlight of the day.
I liked playing "Chef Joe". Chris was the one who started it, we kept it going.
I think if we lived in town our summers would have been different. I'm sure we would have known someone with a pool or went to the city pool. Maybe hung out with a deliquent and did petty vandalism.
Remember when you and Darrell used to prank the phone operators??? Remember going to the waterslide in Farmington? What about Pogo ball? The memories are endless.
"Games of Release" just sounds dirty, like a porn. I love it.
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