We played a lot of Red Rover and neighborhood Hide and seek.
And playing marbles. Tiger eyes were special. And Plunkers were the big ones.
I remember my first day of school with new shoes from DOIGS (shiny with buckles) and white knee high socks, brand spanking new.
I remember as a little girl, getting skipping ropes and learning Double Dutch - then the SKIP-IT came out - that contraption you put around your ankle and whirled around to skip with.
I remember Glo-Globs - some space age material you put under a light and hung from your nostrils in the dark to freak people out.
My best acquistion was the newly introduced SuperBall - now that was cool (gotta check out this link:
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/superball.htm
We all had frisbees.
I remember a neighbor boy putting a firecracker in another girl's coat that had a hood and all hell breaking loose! It all worked out fine.
And the (hmmmm) Whiz-it? the little toy you would wind up with the little rubber knob on your Mom's hardwood floor then let it fly around.
We collected glass bottles in the ditch and cashed them in at JLA for bubble gum. If you found one of the larger bottles you felt like you were rich. We'd buy Mo-jo's and Giant Sweetarts and candy necklaces that would make your neck all sticky. Sponge toffee, jawbreakers and baseball card gum that went hard after about 5 minutes. The wax tubes with a "freshie" like material you would suck down.
Our Moms would write us notes to take to the store to buy them Cigarettes. Matinee.
A pair of skates and a new wooden toboggan were great Christmas gifts.
And coming home to Mom's cookies and a good feast in front of the Gigantic TV (that you had to flick by hand) and watching the Monkees, Brady Bunch, Get Smart and movies like the Creature from the Black Lagoon were so much fun.
Skipping, climbing, playing, floating toothpicks down a stream, new rubber boots and a new leather ball glove from Woolco- they were all so much fun.
Thanks for reviving some of my memories. I can still remember the smells and sounds of summer as a kid.