(Singing) “Back in the day when I was young I’m not a kid anymore but some days I sit and wish I was a kid again”- Ahmad - Back in the day
Wow!! So how about the two phones to the left?! I only had the one in the middle and the one on the right. Was an 80’s baby so that phone to the far left was before me! My bad old heads lol. But I remember playing snake on the middle phone and the noise the buttons would make while dialing out! Annoying but as long as I can keep in touch with somebody is all my mom cared about. Minute phones were the worst so a 10 minute maximum was required or that bad boy would cut right off on you. Technology was never as important as it is now. People have to have the Iphones and Samsungs and just simply fit in with everybody else. I personally like Blackberry but call me old school, that’s fine;) Selfies and Social Media is the everyday norm and if you don’t have either one of those accounts (Instagram, facebook, twitter, snapchat), people frown at you like, why? I’m sorry but there is more to life than living behind a phone, tablet or computer! Unless I’m writing of course. Our day by day in the summer or after school was Double Dutch or Rope, Hop-Scotch, Board Games (Monopoly), Barbie or some type of Figurine, Nintendo or Sega. Water gun or balloon fights, tag, knock knock zoom zoom (the neighbors hated us for this). Not everybody did this but we stayed busy. We ripped and ran up and down the block but never the “streets” until we were of age, like 16 at least. That’s no better but now they start at 12 but I guess the parents just keep getting younger and younger so theres your answer. I grew up around “old school” type of adults. When grown folks are talking, drinking, smoking...you go on about your business and don’t dare sit in their face unless you want to get popped. Don’t run your mouth about what goes on in the household, you get off the phone at a certain at a certain age, you stay upstairs when grown people are downstairs unless told to come down and/or when the street lights came on, you come in or when your name is yelled. You speak to everybody when they either walk in your house or vice versa, you were a child and they did not have to break their neck to speak to you first. Anyway, we didn’t gossip about such and such Brazilian weave (we still had box braids and barrettes and ballies), kids, lifestyle or worried about what people thought when you walked out the door. Mainly because our parents or older sibling dressed us.
Cartoons and the newest Disney movies kept us up at night and even past our bedtimes. It got us up in the morning also while eating breakfast and getting ready for school. My favorite was Beauty and the Beast, The Land Before Time (oldie) and Pocahontas. There were many more but you get the point. Having a day at the pool and a cookout with family and friends was pure fun! Not worried about how your body looks at 11 years old and it was a family environment. Nobody twerking and being put on Youtube and posting everyday life occurrences on Social Media to prove you have a life….we get it. Some things should be for your man’s eyes and remain personal for family only. I would listen to Q 102...yes I listen to anything appealing to the ear and power 99. I hate the radio now but it changes with the times so I’m used to it at this point.
I remember going to my cousin’s houses (Germantown, West or Southwest) in the summers because I hated Norristown!! And still do! Did anything to leave for the weekends. Anyway, but we would always find something to do and always found other girls to hang out with around the way. Of course the catty girly things would happen and we would get mad for a second but nothing too crazy. Nobody was worried about weed, $700 weave, or boys for the most part. They all got pregnant before me but we were old enough when they started having kids. We would have pizza nights and stay up watching scary movies or music videos when they became popular on Pop up Video, Bet or Mtv. I would be scared to death staying in Germantown because my cousins dad had a million big ass dogs! They would rarely come in the house though, just being a punk I guess. When not around each other, we would be on the phone for hours talking about nothing important but just to keep in touch with one another. We would always make up dances (we loved to dance, especially reggae) and just laugh at the smallest things. I still do honestly (lol), just goofy like that sometimes.
Your very first relationship, kiss, sex, or bff was special. Awkward lol but special because nobody knew what they were doing unless he/she was older than you. No pressure was put on me by friends or the guy and I always did what I wanted when I wanted anyway so he respected that. Yall would sit and talk on the steps or phone for hours, mainly because he was not allowed inside so you had no choice. Momma/Poppa/grandma did not play that! Saying I love you for the first time actually meant something even if you didn’t know what love was. Just the feeling alone was good and comforting and yet very simple. Courting lasted a lot longer and you guys liked one another and that’s all that mattered. The bff was most likely just like you in a lot of ways and honestly this is the type of person you will not ever run into again. Over the years either you change or they change but you always say to yourself, “I miss that person and how were as friends. What happened?”
Things were just simple and to the point. If only we could go back and relive certain time periods…
Dannie.
