Different Times with Special Memories

     I believe that all kids have special memories of their childhood but mine are memories that are long past but worthy of preserving.   In the late 50’s and early 60’s we spent most days outside especially when the weather was good.  Much of our time outdoors was filled with our imagination exploring, creating our own fun and playing games. 

     Structured play existed in organized sports but they only occupied a small portion of our time, the rest of the time our playtime outdoors was limited only by our imagination.  We had more contact with others (kids & adults) in our world because we were not limited to only backyard play.  We played in our neighborhood, which for my friends and me included many neighboring streets. 

     Street vendors were a common sight in my younger days.  I guess these guys were the entrepreneurs of their time.  We were always anxious to see the snow cone man or Mr. Softee ice cream truck on our block.  If we were without change but near home it was a race to get money before they passed us by.   The snow cone man was just a guy with a snow cone machine in the trunk of his car, something that would be frowned upon these days, I imagine.  The Mister Softee ice cream truck was much fancier and I guess would be considered more of a legit business.  My favorite food vendor was the tamale guy, who pushed a cart around the city streets yelling “Hot Tamale” as he strolled down the street. Street vendors pushing food carts were the prerequisite of the food trucks today.

     I also remember the pony guy who would gives pony rides to kids which may or may not include pictures depending what you're parents could afford.  The thing I don’t remember is if he came by on a regular schedule or he was called for special occasions.  However it happened it was a pretty special memory.

     Last but not least was the milkman.  He would delivery milk door to door, early on it was a horse drawn carriage then later they had milk trucks.  My memory is just of the delivery trucks not the horse drawn carriages.  They kept the milk cold with blocks of ice and all the kids would chase the truck down the street screaming for the milkman to throw us some ice which wouldn’t seem like a big treat today but it was then.  Most of the time he would stop the truck and throw out a big block of ice, which hit the street and broke into what seemed like a thousand pieces.  Kids would scramble to get the biggest piece they could find then brush off the dirt and grit so you could enjoy the cool ice on a hot summer day.

     I hope and expect kids of today will also have a special memory that they can share with others someday.