OT: Something you miss from summers you had when you were young

[Hunt for 7]

I pretty much liked every response. Seems like many of us had the same summer activities. Wiffle ball was big. We also played tennis ball in the street. I guess that would be the CT version of stick ball. Telephone pole to telephone ball. Home run if it landed past the telephone pole. But you were allowed to catch it so some of us had a lot of HR’s robbed. Played hard ball in the hospital field and dodging security.

Going to the firehouse and the firemen would buy us sodas from the old time soda machines that were flat tops with the glass bottles hanging. 25 cents for a bottle of orange soda. Don’t remember if they were 10 or 12 oz.

Listening to both the Yankees and RedSox games on the radio while we played fast pitch Wiffle ball in my friends backyard. His Dad hooked us up with 3 spotlights and it was under the lights. In the garden was a home run and we had to get an adult to get the ball because we would inevitably stomp on some vegetable every time we tried to retrieve the HR ball.

My kids spend their days in their rooms playing video games, we were out from 8am until 9-10pm every day playing something. So happy I grew up in the late 70’s early 80’s.

 

[Deepster]

Once a year, every summer, my parents would pack up and take us to Sound View.

Tuna fish sandwiches (yuk) and State Line potato chips and a thermos of red kool aid. A transistor radio on the beach. The same wornout old quilt to lay on. A few trips on the merry go round, a Vecchitos italian ice (watermelon) and back home.

 

[borninansonia]

a tick-free environment.
I was played outside in the woods, and never saw a tick.

 

[Chin Diesel]

For the lightning bugs, we used to poke holes in the metal band aid containers and use those to catch them at a park at night.

 

[ColchVEGAS]

I really miss the no responsibilities part. Just hop on my bike with a fishing rod, and baseball bag right after breakfast and return home before dark. No cell phone, very little cash, and just seeing where the day took me. Could be pick up basketball, home run derby, or just fishing all day at the beach.

Now I have a career and two kids that rely on me. Being almost 40 kinda stinks, but the money is nice.

 

[Northbound]

Going down to the tire stores in Unionville and getting tire tubes for a Farmington River float. The stems on truck tires were the worst they were huge and could give you a good gash.

Beer balls

 

[Griffman]

Picking scabs off my knees.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Coventry Lake. Spent much of my youth in three houses (I think on Edgewater) owned by friends of the family. On big weekends there would be 5-6-7 families packed in those houses, kids in sleeping bags mostly. Waterskiing, tubing, swimming, volleyball, ping pong, Jarts, bocce, music playing all day and night. This was the mid to late 70s to early 80s. Parents often took boats to Lakeside to go dancing in the Disco era. It was kids of all ages and I was so envious of the older kids, they seemed so cool. It was an idyllic time, very care-free.

I think it's why certain music makes me nostalgic.

 

[Spaceman213J]

My friends and I would play wiffleball, basketball and would swim all day. My dad put up flood lights over our driveway so we would play basketball late into the night. We would also play ping pong in my friends basement because it stayed pretty cool down there.

 

[husky8273]

Nok hockey at the local public school VDC (vacation day camp)

 

[StllH8L8ner]

Pick up hoops until the lights went out. Unless it was at Seymour High School where the lights seemed to stay on forever.

 

[HooperScooper]

My youth

 

[Kitaman]

Being able to swim/wade in any lake/river without turning colors. Could also drink the water without fear, if thirsty enough.

 

[TheShot1990]

Jumping off the rocks into Roaring Brook in central CT. I have no idea if it's deep enough or clean enough anymore, but it was back then.

 

[husky99]

Skateboard for hours on the mean streets of Westport with a dime in my pocket to call home if needed. (Powell Peralta Ray Bones Skull and Sword Skateboard) delivered newspapers and cut grass to buy.

 

[dvegas]

 

[TRest]

Great thread!

• Riding your bikes behind the "Mosquito Man" as he went through the neighborhoods. What a great smell to that toxic, billowing smoke, it smelled like victory.
• Playing wiffle ball during the day then whacking lightning bugs with those same bats at night.
• Lil' Jimmy Italian Ice trucks.
• Skee Ball at the 18th Ave. arcade in Belmar. Where you got nothing but crap with all of your tickets but it was your crap.

The list could go on and on . . . . .

This reminded me of when some trees in the neighborhood would get sprayed (gypsy moths?) and we would all ride our bikes underneath smelling the fumes. I would like to say we were all lucky to survive but several kids I knew or their siblings died in various horrible ways.

 

[RuffRuff]

Grew up a bike ride away from the wiffle ball factory. We’d dumpster dive and bring home bats, stuff them with rags and play tennis ball bounce pitch in the front yard.

 

[Rocktheworld]

All the free time in the world.

Just freedom.

 

[Rich]

Hanging out with my cousins from the next town over and getting lunch a few times a week at places like BK (Burger Buddies!), D'Angelo's, various pizza parlors in North Haven and East Haven. Also lighting off illicit fireworks before and after the Fourth.

Also hunting for baseball cards at places like Caldor, Bradlee's, WaWa and various obscure local pharmacies, retail outlets and news stand stores that always low key stocked hard to find (then) brands like Fleer and Donruss.

Also reading whatever Stephen King had put out that year and catching up on his prior stuff published in the 70s and early 80s.

Playing video games on my Atari 2600, then Colecovision and Atari 5200 and finally NES and Coleco Adam and Atari 1040ST (Time Bandit was the sh you know what).

 

[Spaceman213J]

Grew up a bike ride away from the wiffle ball factory. We’d dumpster dive and bring home bats, stuff them with rags and play tennis ball bounce pitch in the front yard.

We would take black electrical tape and tape the bat up, but we would play normal wiffle ball. My dad took our lot to the side of our house and made a wiffle ball park complete with foul poles. I would also take some surgical/medical tape and wrap it tightly inside out at the handle so it had stick grip.
We had once used sawed off broom handles, but my brother swung as hard as he could. The bat slipped out of his hands and my neighbor who was pitching had to get a bunch of stitches in his leg. I could see his shin bone. The funny thing is that he had just borrowed a pair of my socks. I told him he could keep them and he told me not to make him laugh while he was laying on the ground.

 

[HCCForever]

As soon as my dad got four of us kids to the hotel in the station wagon (where sitting in the way back facing backwards was the best seat), he'd bolt out of OC for a couple of drinks. My mom handled it well knowing us kids drove him nuts on the ride to the shore.

We also had station wagons for the six kids in our family. Sitting facing backwards was the best until we changed to the County Squire. We used to have an assembly line in the morning making sandwiches for our daily adventures. The worst was when the spigot of the jug of juice that we had near our feet was accidentally opened resulting in a flood. My father was not too happy, but we soldiered on. Great memories as we would drive anywhere in a day since we didn't often stay overnight due to lack of money. I definitely got my love of driving from my father. He once drove to Canada from Hartford turned around and came home. Both of my parents (now gone) were saints dealing with our brood.

Outside of those trips, our summers were spent outside from early morning golfing to late night playing baseball with swimming in the afternoon.

 

[Ewekon]

I grew up in a family that was very loving and though we didn't have a ton of money, summers were always a blast.

One thing I miss a lot was playing Jarts or lawn darts. I remember having to wait until I was old enough and then loved it. I would play with my parents, brother, uncles and cousins.

I know they are banned in the U.S. now. I wish they would unban them. Is there anyone who can explain to my why they are banned, but I can drive 20 minutes and go to a place and drink and throw axes in a public venue?

College girls

 

[metsfan2323]

I miss playing baseball. The anticipation and adrenaline of a big game. Warming up with the catcher prior to taking the mound. Seeing my parents in the stands.

Strike one!!

 

[Monte]

--playing baseball in my Grandmother's back yard
--swimming in a nearby river
--roaming through fields picking blue berries
--riding my bicycle to the ice cream store
--eating hamburgers and swimming at a State Park
--playing Little League baseball
--riding in the back of an elderly friend's pickup truck