Once upon a time when life was simpler and I was around 11, 12, 13?, we played Kick the Can practically every night in our summer neighborhood in Ogunquit. We lived on a dead end, rocky, dirt road that was a hill. While our parents were, wait, I have no idea what our parents were doing because we were outside playing. We didn't really give them much of a thought. Anyway, there was always a bunch of kids and we had a perfect stump in our yard from where we kicked the can. Our (wall-less)outdoor shower was jail. We ran around everyone's house and hid and giggled and strategized.
One night, my friend Melissa and I were hiding behind the Armstrong's house (they were not home) and we were getting bored/silly waiting for our chance to rescue the prisoners. We started doing handstands against the house and cracked a window. That is how sturdy these "houses/cottages" were. The force from our feet hitting the house, cracked the window. We just about peed ourselves from horror and laughing. We vowed never to tell anyone and we didn't for a long time. The house was sold and remodeled before my sister ratted us out about 15 years later. That was probably the worst thing I have ever done that I kept secret of for so long. (Please read that as I was such a goody goody that breaking a window and not telling was a huge thing for me.)
One other time, we had a rousing game going with tons of kids and this girl, I think her name was Sarah (she was visiting someone), kicked the can and missed and kicked the stump and broke her toe. I think we moved the can from the stump after that mishap.
We also had great games of Capture the Flag on a field at the bottom of the hill. It was just a fun place to be in the summer. I barely remember watching tv there. Of course our tv was about 12 inches with antenna ears on top.
Feel free to chime in with what you parents were up to while your kids were running amuck around the neighborhood, Mom. I also have a feeling my sister will chime in on this one......
5 comments:
I have a feeling that adult beverages might have been involved on the parent side...that's what ours did when we were running amuck.
A bit of a tnagent here, but I remember the tradition on the 4th of july when your Dad would set off extra fireworks down at the field at the bottom of the hill (you know, the place that now has 5 or 6 house smushed on it now?). That was such an exciting and special part of the holiday.
We played hours and hours of flashlight tag so much fun!
I loved playing those games when I was a kid too. This makes me feel so nostalgic for those times!
We lived one house from the corner and played a "game" in which we pretended to beat each other up until a car stop stopped and we ran off laughing our butts off. Dumb, innocent fun...the good ole' days.
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