Summer fun.
Growing up I had a really neat pup tent. It was patterned after the tents used in WW2. Mine was green with flaps and had a constant oily smell, that I think was an attempt at making it waterproof. Leo had one too, and if we put them face to face and Mom threw a blanket over the top to cover the opening, the mosquitoes stayed clear for the most part. We could fit three in each tent on a crowded night, but it always made for more fun. We ate potato chips, assorted candies and drank Pepsis. We played poker well into the darkness, peed on the grass and after midnight walked around the neighborhood when all the lights were out. We raided old Mr. Oliver's fruit trees, and ate raw potatoes out of Mr. Bustin's garden till we got stomach cramps. Back in the tents, we played cards, told ghost stories, talked about the neighborhood girls and other forbidden subjects. Leo always seemed to crash first and others followed soon after.
These nights were always filled with lots of 'boys will be boys' stuff.
We really were, you know.
These nights were always filled with lots of 'boys will be boys' stuff.
We really were, you know.
My life in the 60's to the letter. We upgraded one summer and with the help of one father built a cabin, complete with bunk beds and a stove. No parent in their right mind would allow that today. It remains one of my most cherished memories. Your post dialed it in close.
ReplyDeleteaw, birdman, i love this stuff.
ReplyDeleteI love your nostalgic stories of childhood.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if kids of today will look back and think of the first time they surfed the internet or things like that?
what a great time...
ReplyDeletewhat brattcat said . . .
ReplyDeleteOH yea, the pup tent. Boy Scouts in South Dakota, troop leaders were a couple of fighter pilots from Ellsworth AFB. They taught survival to military personel so they supplied our troop with tents. Overnighter up at Sheridon Lake with a hike the next day to Mount Rushmore in the back country. Woke up on the hiking day to tents 1/2 way covered in snow. No wind, just a lot of snow. Those were the days.
ReplyDeleteWhat great memories.
ReplyDeleteNot something that would happen today!
ReplyDeleteOne more piece of evidence that you had an ideal childhood.
ReplyDeleteYou were adventurous and tough. There was no place for kids to pitch a tent in my neighborhood in Queens. I hated boyscout camp. We came home exhausted from lack of sleep and everything reeking of wood smoke. To this day, my idea of a weekend in the wilderness is a great rate at a swank hotel in Scottsdale.
ReplyDeleteNice memory.
ReplyDeleteLucky Birdboy you were, Lucky Birdman you are!
ReplyDelete