Entertainment Capitol of the World?

You know, when I was younger I just couldn't wait till I was old enough to get out of Medina County. It was so boring growing up in the town of La Coste because we had nothing to do. We lived on a block with three other families that had kids all about the same age. And they were just as bored as meÐ'...

And every day my dad would have our chore list compiled, in excruciating detail, right down to how tightly the grass burrs we chopped out had to be compressed in the five gallon bucket to constitute it being full. My dad hated grass burrs, and I guess that was good, because most of the time we didn't wear shoes. Of course the soles of my feet were so tough that it really didn't matter. The streets around our house were all gravel, and we used to play on them barefooted. Now a days if I step on a grain of sand barefooted I start to cry..

But after the many hours of mowing grass, picking beans, cleaning the garage, and polishing shoes, we were able to take a little time for recreation. Of course we had no Nintendo, Computers, VCR's, Cell Phones, or even Air Conditioning. The only time we went in the house was to eatÐ'... And most of the time we ran out the door with sandwich in hand. Heck we didn't even have Kraft Macaroni and Cheese..

We had to make ice cubes in Aluminum metal trays with a big lever to break em loose.

That was after we defrosted the freezer, which seemed like a weekly job.

And if we were lucky we had some powdered Root-Beer mix if the Watkins Man had come by that week. If not it was just good old H2O.

I'm not sure if you've even heard of the Watkins man. But to a kid in the 60's, it was like going to the mall. About every two weeks, usually late in the day, this friendly, likeable, and salesman extraordinaire, would stop his green and white Biscayne station wagon in front of our house. My dad would usually purchase something, even if it were just the Powdered Root-Beer Mix.

But my siblings and I would stand at the rear of the car, anxiously waiting for him to put down the tailgate of that big station wagon. It was like being transported to a place where technology was King. We would stand at the edge of that tailgate and watch as he opened each case, displaying the latest in products for the modern home. We would watch in amazement as he demonstrated the latest in shower caps, ear hair removal, and a cure for warts. And if you're one of these people who like Kitchen Gadgets then hold on to your purse.

He had slicers, dicers, cutters and cleaners.

Bowls and pans, and sticks for wieners.

Knifes of every shape and size,

Sives and strainers and plates for pies.

Those little handles for corn on the cob,

That you stuck in the ends, and held like a knob.

A potato peeler that would dig out the eyes,

And cast iron pans, of every sizeÐ'...

Stop Me Please!

Anyway, you get the idea.. We would usually hound my dad into buying something we were sure we could not live without. And we'd all spend the next day arguing over whose turn it was to use it.. Whatever it was.

But mostly I remember the endless hours of playing with all the neighbor kids. We had a baseball field right across the street from our garage. We would spend all day playing baseball.. Even Two on Two.. Had to declare which side of second base you were going to hit the ball to.. And you had to make it to second base or you were out.

We played Kick the Can. We played football.. TackleÐ'... Not that Girlie two below stuff.. And yes some of the neighborhood girls would play.. I will withhold their names, for their sake. (You know who you are.)

We had a lighted basketball court in our back yard.. We played till all hours.

We went on bottle hunts.. Our major source of income. (Soda bottles: 3 cents, beer bottles: 2 cents) We had giant wire baskets on our bikes to haul our finds. You wouldn't believe what all we found along the roads.

We went swimming in the river, almost every day in the summer. We confiscated