My first memories of our home on Morgantown road are of a little two-bedroom, one bathroom house in a line of homes, several of which had been built pretty recently. Across the street from us was an empty field. Across the fence behind our house was an empty field. I think I've mentioned here before how one of my favorite memories is hearing a farmer on a "Poppin' Johnny" negotiate the kink in Morgantown Road North of our house and drop the tractor into "road gear" with the ensuing "Pop......pop.....pop...pop..pop.popopopopop as they passed our house. (I still LOVE to hear one run!)
We lived in farm country. Many of us worked on surrounding farms, cleaning stalls, bailing hay, plowing, planting, and harvesting crops.
Indianapolis itself was still a pretty quiet town in spite of its size and the fact it was the seat of Indiana government. The 20 or so miles between our homes and the State Capital isolated us VERY well.
In my growing up years we seldom saw indications of law enforcement...
I'm sure that's partly because there was little need for us to see law enforcement personnel regularly... there was little in the way of crime around us. It was no doubt also a function of the fact that even though the baby-boom had begun, we still had not seen the explosive growth other near-Indy communities were beginning to experience.
In this post I discussed the fact that many of us, (including me), started riding motor scooters in our neighborhoods at the age of 12. I rode my scooter until I was 16 when I bought a more "legitimate" two-wheeler, my Harley "Sprint" motorcycle at the age of 16.
But for almost 4 years I rode that motor scooter freely in our community, aware that I was very unlikely to ever see a State Trooper or Deputy Sheriff, and even if I did they were likely to look the other way rather than going to the trouble to stop a youngster on a harmless motor scooter.
How things have changed, huh? Where could you imagine yourself going today that you would feel comfortable allowing your 12 year old son to ride around the community freely (and TOTALLY illegally) on two wheels of any sort? Cops today certainly would NOT look the other way at such behavior, and lawyers and government functionaries would look upon parents allowing such behavior with disapproval, to say the least.
But we did okay in that environment, didn't we?
We didn't form gangs.
We didn't maim or kill one another.
We didn't threaten our teachers. We didn't phone bomb threats to our school.
We learned respect for hard work. We respected our elders and our neighbors.
And we actually learned how to read early in grade school!
You can never go home again.
But WOW, I SO OFTEN find myself wishing that weren't so these complicated days!
It's Friday.
You want to talk about something other than snow?
Here's your chance...
Regale us.
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4 comments:
Also remember that we had parents that loved us and we knew it. We were cared for and I think passed it on to our friends and acquaintences....what do you think?
Bo
The valley was a cool place to grown up in huh G.B.? Living next to the old bridge on Paddock rd. cutting a bike trail from there to the Community Center, having 5 acres to run our hard earned mini bikes, mopeds, garden tractors or anything that had a motor or pedels on it. Climbing trees and dirt clod fights. No video games, cell phones, computers. Just a bunch of neighborhood kids with bloody knees and dirt on our faces. I sure as hell miss those days.
GB for one thing, When we turned 16 we got keys to the family car. Not to the house. In fact I can never remember locking it. There was never a 3 day weekend away. With 7 kids someone was always home. We had just 1 bathroom also. I didn't know that it was not ok to brush my teeth while my little brother use the bathroom. We had no shower just a tub. My sister could and would bathe first and use all the hot water. I didn't catch on untill I was in high school. Take too long in the bathroom and someone knocking on the door (and saying I'll tell Mom). A fate worse than death. Did any of your Dads have a wide belt. It was applied on speical occasion. Witch I qualified for often.
You are for getting the law back then did everything by pen and paper. They would loose it before it was turned in. Now they have computors and it never forgets. Kids to are in the system for ever and ever. In most case today, the dads don't own a wide belt and would not know how to use it without leaving marks. Then HRS would send that same cop out take you away. Well I have said all I am going to say. But I will be glad when the Deer season is over so I can go fishing. H of C&H
H: Oh yeah. Dad and belt went together like a hand and a glove. Of course I rarely got it because I was the good one of the family.
I think CnC's tail end probably had it worn out by the time I felt the belt.
And then again, when Mom would grab a switch from a tree, those suckers stung like a bee.
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