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Codeine

(25,586 posts)

244. Being a kid in Wyoming was a bit surreal at times.

Wed Mar 5, 2014, 08:49 AM

Mar 2014

There was a year-round fireworks stand a short walk from one of the places we lived -- kids could gather up their pocket and couch cushion change and buy all manner of potentially hand-removing explosives, and my friends and I regularly went on unsupervised walks/hikes/wandererings armed with our own personal .22 rifles, which just about every ten-year-old boy had.

And later, as a southern California teen, we discovered a K-Mart that sold black powder to teens. I can't imagine it was legal even in the 80s, but we could buy a can from the outdoor/hobby department no questions asked. Many a plastic film canister or Dr. Pepper can was pressed into service as an impromptu bomb casing.

In retrospect, I'm very lucky to still have ten fingers, two eyes, and the ability to hear.

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Old time play. What passtimes from your childhood will never be again? [View all] applegrove Mar 2014 OP

Lawn darts. With metal tips. Pretzel_Warrior Mar 2014 #1

Oh yeah. It is a wonder we survived childhood. Though I look at people who applegrove Mar 2014 #2

Oh yes, we didn't have a trampoline but my friend did Pretzel_Warrior Mar 2014 #11

We used to play on a tippy raft in the lake at the cottage. All of us would get on, 8 people. applegrove Mar 2014 #15

I still have 3 sets pipoman Mar 2014 #5

Lol. :) it would be fun to buy some off eBay Pretzel_Warrior Mar 2014 #12

That's where I got mine 10 or so years ago, pipoman Mar 2014 #31

Really? Wow. Pretzel_Warrior Mar 2014 #37

Lawn darts, aka Jarts, that's what came to mind 1st, for me... GReedDiamond Mar 2014 #17

We played outside with regular darts pinboy3niner Mar 2014 #20

I got a lawn dart stuck in the aluminum siding My Good Babushka Mar 2014 #77

Here is my Memere and Uncle playing lawn jarts in 1969. RadiationTherapy Mar 2014 #154

That's some great footage. My grandmother has a bunch Pretzel_Warrior Mar 2014 #165

We used to play with them in the dusk dark. AngryOldDem Mar 2014 #232

Saturday morning cartoons Fumesucker Mar 2014 #3

I loved "Rocket Robin Hood" and "Max the 2000 year old mouse". applegrove Mar 2014 #4

Cecil and Beanie Fumesucker Mar 2014 #7

The SuperFriends! Codeine Mar 2014 #118

and Schoolhouse Rock. LWolf Mar 2014 #161

Walking home GP6971 Mar 2014 #6

Yeah. The world has changed. I walked 10 minutes home from school at the age applegrove Mar 2014 #8

Same here. 1960 was a different time and place. Nika Mar 2014 #55

I remember how large black and white console TVs would blow picture tubes occasionally. Nika Mar 2014 #56

The thing I miss more than anything in the world is my Dad, who was a commercial pilot ,,, Nika Mar 2014 #60

I remember how we would fix our own TVs... KansDem Mar 2014 #74

You Forgot To Mention The Tube Tester! ProfessorGAC Mar 2014 #235

we played in the woods! Liberal_in_LA Mar 2014 #157

Has not changed as much as paranoid people think it has. nt Logical Mar 2014 #185

Or being able to ride your bicycle, put it in the bike rack for the day, Cleita Mar 2014 #9

Not true. Aristus Mar 2014 #211

I lived in a small town in the forties and I was able to ride Cleita Mar 2014 #212

I wasn't calling you a liar. Aristus Mar 2014 #213

The post was about childhood memories. There was no generalization. Cleita Mar 2014 #216

I did this when I was 6 and 7! stuntcat Mar 2014 #199

Knockers/Clackers and Balllon in a Tube - both NOT safe for kids Tx4obama Mar 2014 #10

Haha. I remember balloon in a tube but it never Pretzel_Warrior Mar 2014 #14

It sure did stink. No telling what was in there. n/t Tx4obama Mar 2014 #18

I loved clackers! n/t Ms. Toad Mar 2014 #95

We still sell that balloon stuff at my market. Codeine Mar 2014 #109

I still have my clackers at my house in Germany. Those things scared the crap out of me. Blaukraut Mar 2014 #122

Balloon in a tube! Totally forgot about that! yardwork Mar 2014 #193

We made Christmas trees with the wire. The games of tag and hide-n-seek Thinkingabout Mar 2014 #13

Grampa's adding machine. JVS Mar 2014 #16

Decent music! William769 Mar 2014 #19

I think every generation says that Pretzel_Warrior Mar 2014 #22

Maybe. But it's my generations music that counts. William769 Mar 2014 #23

Riding bikes behind the DDT truck. MindPilot Mar 2014 #21

ah man�.same here haha�. dhill926 Mar 2014 #25

And model glue that actually glued models MindPilot Mar 2014 #27

yeah�.it worked in both ways you mentioned... dhill926 Mar 2014 #28

Oh, holy shit, yes. We had fun, but god knows what sort of effect it Nay Mar 2014 #96

LOL, me too! I thought I was the only idiot! nt Logical Mar 2014 #187

The guy in the truck would yell at us, but we didn't care, the allure was just too great. Throd Mar 2014 #201

1. Playing with mercury from "accidentally" broken thermometers MannyGoldstein Mar 2014 #24

Oh brother. My brother and I were sorting through boxes of junk Pretzel_Warrior Mar 2014 #40

We were perplexed by our first mercury. Enthusiast Mar 2014 #68

My dad PasadenaTrudy Mar 2014 #100

Metallic mercury is not particularly dangerous FarCenter Mar 2014 #127

That's very reassuring! Thanks! MannyGoldstein Mar 2014 #136

no...I played with some mercury in chemistry lab too and broke thermometers but... wildbilln864 Mar 2014 #203

Vaporous Mercury, Even If Elemental. . . ProfessorGAC Mar 2014 #236

Loved to play with mercury from old thermometers. northoftheborder Mar 2014 #168

it was pretty cool stuff to play with.... madrchsod Mar 2014 #180

Dealing with people without an agenda. Even here. n/t flvegan Mar 2014 #26

playing with cardboard boxes - converting them into kind of non-winter toboggans or sleds to Douglas Carpenter Mar 2014 #29

Some kids here, and many in other countries, will still play with boxes pinboy3niner Mar 2014 #32

Yup nadinbrzezinski Mar 2014 #33

I remember Vietnamese kids with incredibly complex Jackpine Radical Mar 2014 #175

Oh, the joy at our house whenever we got something big in a box! Grammy23 Mar 2014 #34

Me too, Grammy23. Enthusiast Mar 2014 #69

You just took me down memory lane. I remember when my dad got a new refridgerator SummerSnow Mar 2014 #183

Spencerport, outside of Rochester- I was just thinking of refrigerator boxes last week NBachers Mar 2014 #70

Scottsville NY JustAnotherGen Mar 2014 #101

must of been particularly popular in upstate New York. My memories of playing with boxes were in the Douglas Carpenter Mar 2014 #171

Yep that was fun newfie11 Mar 2014 #76

My friend and I made a fort out of the large one from the refrigerator. City Lights Mar 2014 #145

And forts. nt LWolf Mar 2014 #163

Chemistry sets, woodburning kits, Vac-U-Form VScott Mar 2014 #30

I burned the sh*t out of myself with my new woodburning kit IDemo Mar 2014 #84

Woodburning was the best. Did that in Cub Scouts. Codeine Mar 2014 #117

Chemistry Sets Was The 2nd Thing I Thought Of ProfessorGAC Mar 2014 #237

Rafting in the sloughs on rafts of old logs, polly7 Mar 2014 #35

LSD themed media jberryhill Mar 2014 #36

This should give you a decent flashback demwing Mar 2014 #38

No, God no, I just want to forget jberryhill Mar 2014 #41

Vaguely remember that face. Freaky feeling. applegrove Mar 2014 #43

Very. Freaky. jberryhill Mar 2014 #45

My younger siblings 2naSalit Mar 2014 #222

Drugachussets Guy Whitey Corngood Mar 2014 #98

Yep, that about sums it up jberryhill Mar 2014 #123

Jumping rope. winter is coming Mar 2014 #39

I loved Chinese jump rope. liberal_at_heart Mar 2014 #42

I know, right? laundry_queen Mar 2014 #61

double dutch shanti Mar 2014 #140

I rarely see kids riding bikes, shooting baskets, or doing much of anything outdoors. nt Ex Lurker Mar 2014 #44

I was just thinking about that the other day. Codeine Mar 2014 #46

I think it depends on how the neighborhood is set up. liberal_at_heart Mar 2014 #48

They are mostly micromanaged today. Cleita Mar 2014 #51

I waited until my kids were big enough where I felt they could fight off an attacker if someone liberal_at_heart Mar 2014 #58

That's a good concern. I didn't think about that. n/t Cleita Mar 2014 #87

True...and I find that unspeakably tragic. Lizzie Poppet Mar 2014 #89

I don't know why things changed so much. Cleita Mar 2014 #150

As an entire culture, we're sort of "pulling in" on ourselves. Lizzie Poppet Mar 2014 #169

Homework. My kids have hours of it. Codeine Mar 2014 #112

I've gotta agree for children that young. Cleita Mar 2014 #147

That's so sad. Le Taz Hot Mar 2014 #99

Kind of like my old neighborhood back in the forties Cleita Mar 2014 #152

In my suburban neighborhood in Minnesota Jenoch Mar 2014 #195

Incredible edibles, plastic creature makers, pinball... gulliver Mar 2014 #47

Ha! I was trying to think of the name for Incredible Edibles. Thanks! adirondacker Mar 2014 #57

Climbing trees especially the neighbor's trees. Sognefjord Mar 2014 #49

I used to play in a pillbox Skittles Mar 2014 #50

Is that Norfolk? PumpkinAle Mar 2014 #52

yup Skittles Mar 2014 #53

Wow - we must have been near PumpkinAle Mar 2014 #54

my favorite swim spot was Hemsby Beach Skittles Mar 2014 #64

Very nice spot PumpkinAle Mar 2014 #132

here I am as an English schoolgal! Skittles Mar 2014 #202

I used to have a kilt like that PumpkinAle Mar 2014 #219

Kick the can...into the evening hours! nt adirondacker Mar 2014 #59

yes, kick the can under the street lights grasswire Mar 2014 #63

Casting lead soldiers jmowreader Mar 2014 #62

I'm just waiting for my kids to be a little older Codeine Mar 2014 #110

My old crystal radio kit. Shooting bottle rockets at each other Recursion Mar 2014 #65

3 Stooges Matinees at the nearest movie house Contrary1 Mar 2014 #66

I got you all beat. Enthusiast Mar 2014 #67

And then popping up and shouting "I'm a new man!" IDemo Mar 2014 #72

It always amazed me..... A HERETIC I AM Mar 2014 #73

"Rolling around half the yard, falling off a stone wall then getting up... ChisolmTrailDem Mar 2014 #192

LOL....well, nothing we ever did required being rescued by a government agency! A HERETIC I AM Mar 2014 #221

We were heroes at school but our parents, ChisolmTrailDem Mar 2014 #233

Playing in the swamp next to our house csziggy Mar 2014 #71

Yeah, we were gone from the house all day, too. We got called in at dusk, when dinner Nay Mar 2014 #102

Oh yes - we had wild animals to play with csziggy Mar 2014 #148

When I was 10 or so my friends and I would sneak down to the tracks behind the grocery store leeroysphitz Mar 2014 #75

Swinging on vines. Spending the whole day in the woods, until our neighborhood built a swim club. livetohike Mar 2014 #78

Epic hide-and-seek games after sundown- callous taoboy Mar 2014 #79

Yep. And ''Kick the Can''... Octafish Mar 2014 #91

catching all types of bugs and reptiles- callous taoboy Mar 2014 #80

Cleaning out the ashtrays after your parents' cocktail party Orrex Mar 2014 #81

40's for me. My parents didn't smoke, but their friends did. n/t Cleita Mar 2014 #88

I remember going "pollywogging." spartan61 Mar 2014 #82

We used to go to a nearby ditch an catch the polliwogs. SalviaBlue Mar 2014 #134

Yes. LWolf Mar 2014 #162

Yes! and newts! along with every insect that hatched their larva in small ponds or pools. Definitley adirondacker Mar 2014 #170

Strike-em-out CanonRay Mar 2014 #83

My kids to many things mentioned here FreeJoe Mar 2014 #85

Playing outside bigwillq Mar 2014 #86

Our community pool was a swamp with fish and snakes. chrisa Mar 2014 #90

Yes! TroglodyteScholar Mar 2014 #92

Jacks. I never see kids play jacks any more. Also hopscotch. nt Nay Mar 2014 #93

Hopscotch here, too...and kick ball. babylonsister Mar 2014 #104

The kids still play hopscotch in my neighborhood, Codeine Mar 2014 #106

Enjoying a Hostess fruit pie and Saturday morning cartoons. nt MrScorpio Mar 2014 #94

Being kicked out of the house and told to come back when its gets dark. aikoaiko Mar 2014 #97

Aurora monster models! PasadenaTrudy Mar 2014 #103

Or any plastic models. Codeine Mar 2014 #108

Did you get into the anatomical models? MindPilot Mar 2014 #240

My list: PasadenaTrudy Mar 2014 #111

Spirograph! Codeine Mar 2014 #113

Ebay PasadenaTrudy Mar 2014 #131

Do you have a "traditional toy" store in your area? jmowreader Mar 2014 #166

We made jewelry with gum wrapers notadmblnd Mar 2014 #105

You know, I can STILL make a bracelet out of gum wrappers!!! nt Nay Mar 2014 #116

I couldn't notadmblnd Mar 2014 #125

They used to play cat's cradle in Eritrea too. applegrove Mar 2014 #142

Making creepy crawlers! indie9197 Mar 2014 #107

Remember Shrinky-Dinks? Codeine Mar 2014 #115

I loved Shrinky-Dinks! Raine1967 Mar 2014 #130

I loved doing that. texanwitch Mar 2014 #184

We had enough kids in my neigborhood to make up baseball teams randr Mar 2014 #114

Parents Not Worrying About Where You Were otohara Mar 2014 #119

My wife freaks out if the kids even leave a specific part of the yard. Codeine Mar 2014 #121

Yep, same for me. indie9197 Mar 2014 #126

That's the #1. LWolf Mar 2014 #160

No Bottled Water otohara Mar 2014 #164

One day my best friend and I took off at 700 am.... Logical Mar 2014 #189

Playing Cops and Robbers or treasure hunt in the woods Blaukraut Mar 2014 #120

Twack somebody on the back of the head with a stick launched rotten apple. alphafemale Mar 2014 #124

We had rotten apple fights. Good times. aikoaiko Mar 2014 #234

Badminton, croquet, paint-by-numbers. narnian60 Mar 2014 #128

paint by numbers...lol. i completed some crappy pbn pics Liberal_in_LA Mar 2014 #158

Finding cray-fish in the local creek (they're all gone now) and a "high dive" that was 2 storeys Squinch Mar 2014 #129

when does a kid get to sit in the yard with a stick anymore? Carlin on kids. Whisp Mar 2014 #133

scottie dog magnets larkrake Mar 2014 #135

Paper kites that cost about 10 cents in the 60s indie9197 Mar 2014 #137

Smear the queer indie9197 Mar 2014 #138

wire bracelets? shanti Mar 2014 #139

Message auto-removed Name removed Mar 2014 #141

We had that I think. applegrove Mar 2014 #143

Message auto-removed Name removed Mar 2014 #144

That sounds about right. I can't think where I played that though. I just recognize applegrove Mar 2014 #146

Going 'exploring' in the steep ravines, streams and cliffs and meadows which were our 'next door' lunatica Mar 2014 #149

Handball shenmue Mar 2014 #151

Jacks. Skidmore Mar 2014 #153

clackers . those hard balls hanging on a string that you clacked together Liberal_in_LA Mar 2014 #155

Nunchucks! bettyellen Mar 2014 #156

card table set up with 1000 piece puzzle Liberal_in_LA Mar 2014 #159

Chemistry sets with real chemicals kimbutgar Mar 2014 #167

Message auto-removed Name removed Mar 2014 #172

Message auto-removed Name removed Mar 2014 #173

Runing around in the woods with a single shot .22 Jackpine Radical Mar 2014 #174

We used to catch the ferry over to Shelbyville Arugula Latte Mar 2014 #176

What was the purpose of tying an onion to the belt? Tx4obama Mar 2014 #191

It was the style at the time. SQUEE Mar 2014 #196

No, it sounds like some sort of internet hoax from EIGHT YEARS ago, links below Tx4obama Mar 2014 #197

LOL WTF? good catch nt indie9197 Mar 2014 #208

It was a rant by Grandpa Simpson.. SQUEE Mar 2014 #210

That's so funny! Arugula Latte Mar 2014 #238

Makin' fun of the OP? That's a paddlin'. nt Codeine Mar 2014 #194

Oh my I made those bracelets out of wire too :) SummerSnow Mar 2014 #177

playing hide and seek after dark... madrchsod Mar 2014 #178

Message auto-removed Name removed Mar 2014 #179

Lead soldiers and indians and my spring cannons we used to shoot lit qtips at make believe forts Drew Richards Mar 2014 #181

Message auto-removed Name removed Mar 2014 #182

Those were totally boss. Arugula Latte Mar 2014 #186

Message auto-removed Name removed Mar 2014 #188

Whiffle ball 6 hours a day! Hitting into moms garden was an out! nt Logical Mar 2014 #190

Standing outside your friend's house yelling "Ohhhh Debbie!" Ino Mar 2014 #198

Secret decoder ring, yortsed snacilbuper Mar 2014 #200

Ooh! Making chains from soda pull tabs. tanyev Mar 2014 #204

Every kid riding his bike to school with his baseball "mitt" on his handlebars. brewens Mar 2014 #205

Just being outside and able to roam the neighborhood wercal Mar 2014 #206

Staying up late on Saturday nights watching scary movies on UHF deutsey Mar 2014 #207

Yo-Yo's? PD Turk Mar 2014 #209

Anything with a toy gun. Riding a bike sans hands and helmet. Skates with keys. Hopscotch. WinkyDink Mar 2014 #214

Frisbees and hula hoops kwassa Mar 2014 #215

Came home from school, changed, and "stayed out" until the street lights came on. Junkdrawer Mar 2014 #217

you could also tie them to the end of Han solos pistol and pretend they were lasers el_bryanto Mar 2014 #218

Riding in the bed of an El Camino at 70 mph. Throd Mar 2014 #220

Marbles!! 2naSalit Mar 2014 #223

I remember my mom putting my brother and I outside on cold, cold winter days applegrove Mar 2014 #224

When it was really cold 2naSalit Mar 2014 #225

my brother and me Skittles Mar 2014 #228

You are so lucky to have black and white applegrove Mar 2014 #229

trailer baby! Skittles Mar 2014 #231

Thos booties were made for ass kickin'... Hassin Bin Sober Mar 2014 #243

Bending beer cans to fit our shoes RoverSuswade Mar 2014 #226

Buying M-80s and Cherry bombs by the gross traveling through Wyoming defacto7 Mar 2014 #227

Being a kid in Wyoming was a bit surreal at times. Codeine Mar 2014 #244

playing a record backwards Iris Mar 2014 #230

Catching fireflies in a jar during the Summer. Rarely see them any more. KittyWampus Mar 2014 #239

Gangsta' rap and slow jams for me. Jamaal510 Mar 2014 #241

Over The Line. A 9 inning baseball game played with as few as 4 people... cherokeeprogressive Mar 2014 #242

Throwing M 80's on Mr Johnson's roof in the middle of the night. . B Calm Mar 2014 #245