The Age of Innocence

Time moved slower in the sixties and seventies. I don't understand how it could have been that way, but it was. Kids were kids. We had our household duties, like cleaning the dishes after meals, and cleaning the house from top to bottom on Saturdays, but somehow there was always time to play. After school, there was always time to walk down the road to Mr. Rucker's grocery store, where a kid could get a Coca-Cola in a real glass bottle for 25 cents, and a free piece of candy thrown in from time to time. The store was right next to the Coosada town Post Office, which sat right next to the railroad tracks. We kids used to put a penny or two on the tracks, and come back later to see if we could find it smashed flat. We never had any fear of being abducted. We had free run of the whole town of Coosada. If we wanted to ride our bikes all the way to Millbrook, that was fine. We would roam the neighborhoods looking for anybody that wanted to play Old Tin Alley or cut bike trails in the woods. We could always sneak through Mr. Hall's pasture to get to the old swimming hole, sometimes getting shot at (he probably wasn't aiming.) Our biggest fear was getting attacked by neighborhood dogs, hence the solution of always carrying a big stick.

When we got off of the school bus every afternoon, we went inside for a snack and then hit the neighborhood. We'd stay gone until dark, or until Mama would honk the car's horn to call us back home for supper. We didn't have computers, video games, or even much television for that matter. We only got four or five TV stations, and that depended on the strength of the signal to the bunny ears wrapped in tin foil on top of the TV set. Saturday mornings were reserved for cartoons like Roadrunner, Bugs Bunny, Tom and Jerry, Foghorn Leghorn, and Porky Pig. Rainy days stunk because we couldn't play outside. Inside days consisted of card games, jigsaw puzzles, singing and dancing to the 45's on the record player, or making up skits to perform on our makeshift stage (the large fireplace hearth.)

Yep, times were simple then, when kids were kids. When no swear words were allowed on TV or radio, and Ricky and Lucy slept in separate beds. When Mamas and Daddies ruled the roost and there was no talking back. When going to church was as natural as eating, sleeping, and breathing. When suppers were shared together around the table, and evenings were spent together in the family room catching up on the events of the day. When weekends were for cartoons, yardwork, and church. When neighbors were friends and days were long. This was the Age of Innocence - and it was mine.