Games

Before iPods, before computers, before TV, before electricity even, there was life. Hard to believe, but I even recall having fun way back then.

There were card and board games, of course, tricks to play on people, things to do outside that didn’t need any equipment. Honest!

At school, we would spend every recess and lunch hour outside, no matter what the weather. We had no play structures, except, maybe, a swing. The games that we played that required no equipment included hide and seek, tag, prisoners’ base, and in winter the fox and hounds. Naturally there was wrestling and just running around chasing each other.

A bat and ball created softball. I remember playing on the softball diamond that my brothers and sisters had used. I know that because the base lines were carved into the soil by hundreds of running feet over many years. One idiosyncrasy that our diamond had was that it was on a side hill so that getting from second to third was up hill, but the dash to home was a breeze.

That hill was great in winter, because everyone brought a sleigh to school and we slid down that hill and dragged the sleighs back up by the hour.

Winter was great!