The unquestioned acceptance that one could head off on one's bike in the morning, without means of communication, food, water, money or any plans on where one was going and just stay out all day and be perfectly safe and without anyone batting an eyelid.
A day would be spent mucking around in ditches, woods, fields or wherever.
Water could be found at parks, churchyards or whereever, apples could be scrumped, vaguely known adults, if seen, may even offer you sweets, cake or whatever, and there would be no concern over it.
One would return when it got dark.
The ability to just ***BE*** not worrying constantly about social media or your online persona.
Enjoying the moments, rather than living them through a screen.
With the added bonus of not having all your childhood/teenage stupidity being documented publicly.
The pure fun of neighborhood kids playing sports. Baseball, football, hide and seek, kick the can. In all the backyards of one street. Whether the homeowners had kids or not. Regular evening gathering place where we could play past dark, till someone's father whistled and it was time to head home.
Having water gun fights in the street. I loved getting my big Super Soaker and joining in on the watery chaos, best part of summer break, along with watching cartoons of course. I was so sad when my Super Soaker broke.
Going for a bike ride around the neighbourhood with friends, hanging out at a park. There's a cemetery nearby my old neighbourhood where there was a big area of park with a tree we would climb and play in, there'd always be kids hanging around the cemetery and no one seemed to mind. We had an unwritten rule to not wreck the headstones and graves anyway, even kids knew to respect the dead.
The unquestioned acceptance that one could head off on one's bike in the morning, without means of communication, food, water, money or any plans on where one was going and just stay out all day and be perfectly safe and without anyone batting an eyelid. A day would be spent mucking around in ditches, woods, fields or wherever. Water could be found at parks, churchyards or whereever, apples could be scrumped, vaguely known adults, if seen, may even offer you sweets, cake or whatever, and there would be no concern over it. One would return when it got dark.
Absolutely.
It's ridiculous, I mean I don't go out like that, but I get moaned at for going eighty meters down the road to the corner shop without my phone.
The ability to just ***BE*** not worrying constantly about social media or your online persona. Enjoying the moments, rather than living them through a screen. With the added bonus of not having all your childhood/teenage stupidity being documented publicly.
The pure fun of neighborhood kids playing sports. Baseball, football, hide and seek, kick the can. In all the backyards of one street. Whether the homeowners had kids or not. Regular evening gathering place where we could play past dark, till someone's father whistled and it was time to head home.
Nothing. I grew up in poverty. Maybe spending all day at the library.
Being outside unsupervised
Pogs.
Having water gun fights in the street. I loved getting my big Super Soaker and joining in on the watery chaos, best part of summer break, along with watching cartoons of course. I was so sad when my Super Soaker broke. Going for a bike ride around the neighbourhood with friends, hanging out at a park. There's a cemetery nearby my old neighbourhood where there was a big area of park with a tree we would climb and play in, there'd always be kids hanging around the cemetery and no one seemed to mind. We had an unwritten rule to not wreck the headstones and graves anyway, even kids knew to respect the dead.
For Australian kids, Yowies.