The Good Old Days

Lots of things have been going through my mind this weekend, no doubt because the seasons are changing and there's a hint of change in the air. But it made me think of my younger years and things I used to do as a kid. Remember flying kites? Do kids still do that? Surely they must. We'd get a new paper kite every year and assemble them in the front yard. Then we'd head for Grandma's where there were open fields to fly them. I was born and raised in the Five Points area of Raleigh, just off Whitaker Mill Road. What's now regarded as the inside beltline prime real estate market. If you're familiar with the area you know there aren't many places to fly kites these days. Maybe a school yard or the yard at the church, but certainly not in your own front yard with all those wires overhead.
And I can remember going to the bowling alley, first with my family, but then as a teenager on a date. Oh my, do kids still go bowling on dates? I'm thinking not. I know my son used to go bowling with his church group in his teen years, but that was quite some time ago. I was never very good at it, but it was just something you did. We'd get those smelly shoes that hundreds of people had worn before us, and would continue to wear after us. Simple times.
And can you remember Putt Putt golf? I loved the short little golf clubs and the colored balls. Pink, blue, green, and my favorite, yellow. I was HORRIBLE at putt putt. I'd try about 5 times and then pull out that little yellow nub of a pencil and scratch through that hole. Hated that game. And yet my family always played on vacation. Argh! The horrible memories that brings back, especially when I started dating. Here again, I can't imagine kids still do that sort of thing on a date. As much as I disliked it, they don't know what they're missing.
Without a doubt my favorite of all time was roller skating. Oh my, I can still remember my first pair of skates that came with their own key! Every year as my feet grew, I could enlarge those skates to fit me. I can still remember going to a roller rink with a girlfriend who gave me her old skates when I was about 13. They were white with wooden wheels and a stopper on the toe. Oh my, it was just the most exciting time in my life to enter that building, lace up those skates, and venture out on the rink with the masses. I can still see that disco ball with the lights flashing in time to the music.
They say you can't go home again, but as long as we have our memories we can go anywhere. Close your eyes and see where your imagination can take you.