Day 224 (Peach)

When childhood dies, its corpses are called adults and they enter society, one of the more polite names of hell. That is why we dread children, even if we love them, they show us the state of our decay. - Brian W. Aldiss


I miss my childhood.


I miss playing kickball. I miss gathering all the neighborhood kids for a game of baseball in the Spring, basketball in the Summer, football in the Fall and Winter. I miss Sideline Pop. I miss getting excited hearing the ice cream truck jingle. (Wait, who am I kidding, no I don't. I STILL get excited when that music plays.) I miss the candy lady selling penny Tootsie Rolls, nickel Fireballs, quarter water. I miss the frozen Kool-Aid in the Styrofoam cups. I miss the candy necklace. I miss playing Hide and Go Seek. I miss playing Hide and Go Get It two years later. (Wait, I still play that game, it's called dating now.) I miss my partners Larry, Chris, James, Craig, Mike. I miss nap time. I miss the graham crackers and chocolate milk for a snack. I miss the girls with the two ponytails on either side of their head, playing jump rope with their jellies on. I miss playing Criss Cross Applesauce in school. I miss coloring. I miss playing Duck Hunt and cheating when no one was looking by having the gun RIGHT on the TV. I miss watching Double Dare. I miss wanting to BE on Double Dare. I miss staying up late and watching Arsenio Hall. I miss going to McDonalds when it actually meant something. I miss actually enjoying King's Dominion and Busch Gardens. I miss field trips. I miss the lunch Mom used to make; the bologna and cheese with the mayo Miracle Whip, the little sandwich bag of chips, the single cupcake. I miss WANTING to drink Sunkist. I miss getting into fist fights, only to be cool minutes later because you're tired of fighting (and kids don't hold grudges). I miss going to the Children's Museum. I miss having (seemingly) infinite energy to do EVERYTHING. I miss milk racing (WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?!?). I miss being creative for Halloween; forget buying a costume, use that money for candy, I'll be a ghost. I miss going to the movies and actually seeing something WORTH your time. I miss the playground; slides and swings and monkey bars. I miss running through the sprinklers in the summer. I miss catching fireflies. I miss doing something that, as an adult you know is stupid; but as a child, it was mad fun, like messing with dogs. (Until that one day you go to mess with it, the gate is open. RUN! © Ghostface) I miss going to the pool. I miss summer camp. I miss the music. I miss my first girlfriend, Ashley. I miss the feeling of that first closed mouth kiss. I miss the feeling of that first open mouth kiss, and how much you thought it was NASTY. I miss hunching. (I know I wasn't the only one out there hunching A.K.A. dry humping.) I miss learning something new and it BLEW your mind. I miss playing with yo-yo's, marbles, jacks. I miss playing I Declare War and Go Fish and Old Maid. I miss the sleepovers. I miss watching A Nightmare on Elm Street for the first time, knowing good and full well I was scared. I miss sneaking behind my mom and watching Eddie Murphy Raw. I miss playing World Class Track meet with the pad, and knowing you were never fast enough to beat Cheetah. I miss the school lunches, especially when they made their own pizza on every other Friday. I miss the toys that came in Happy Meals. I miss when Happy Meals made kids HAPPY. I miss the Hardee's/Carl's Jr. commercials with The California Raisins. I miss note passing. I miss having that piece of paper come back with the "Yes" checked. (Actually, I got the third box, "Maybe") I miss when Puppy Love was just that; puppy love. I miss going to the zoo. I miss going to the aquarium. I miss snowball fights and water gun fights. I miss getting dirty and having fun doing it. Hell, I miss actually setting out on your day to get as dirty as possible because you knew it was going to be fun. I miss Chico Sticks and Laffy Taffy with the jokes on the inside. I miss Now And Laters. I miss corny jokes and thinking they were the funniest thing ever. I miss school plays. I miss being in D.A.R.E. I miss seeing Smokey The Bear and McGruff on TV (and in school!). I miss having fun on Easter doing Easter Egg hunts and getting that basket full of candy. I miss believing there was a Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus. I miss watching The Neverending Story. I miss He-Man and Transformers and Smurfs and Fraggle Rock. I miss Nickelodeon being a new channel. I miss WANTING to go to Sesame Street. I miss Reading Rainbow. I miss Brain Games and Saturday morning cartoons. I miss going to Plaza Skating Rink (P-Town knows what I'm talking about!). I miss foot races. I miss Michael Jackson's videos. I miss Conjunction Junction. I miss being amazed at fireworks. I miss McDonald's playground. I miss playing The Oregon Trail. I miss playing Number Munchers. I miss playing freeze tag. I miss playing Red Light, Green Light, Simon Says, Mother May I. (I actually miss the little electronic toy Simon.) I miss playing Candy Land, Chutes And Ladders, Sorry!, Trouble, Guess Who!, Life. I miss having my mom mad as hell at me because I played Pencil Wars with all my #2 pencils. I miss being a part of Pizza Hut's Book It! Club. I miss reading Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. (As a adult, I STILL feel Alexander's pain; I have them days now.) I miss reading Tales Of A Fourth Grade Nobody; Where The Wild Things Are; Where The Sidewalk Ends; A Light In The Attic; Falling Up; Superfudge; Choose Your Own Adventures; The Berenstain Bears books; Madeline (one of my FAVORITE books of all time, right there with Where The Wild Things Are). I miss reading Richard Scarry's books. I miss knowing almost every word to Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I miss watching Felix The Cat: The Movie, Rainbow Bright and the Star Stealer (hey, that was a good movie!), and having a cartoon crush on Jessica Rabbit and Ariel. I miss bath time.

I miss being tucked in at night. I miss my mom kissing my forehead so I can sleep good. I miss when Kool-Aid was the best thing ever.

I miss eating Peach Ice Cream while sitting on my front porch with my friends, laughing and talking the day away.

I miss having no responsibilities except for learning as much as possible and having fun doing it.


I miss being a kid.

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Now playing: Ghostface Killah - Child's Play
via FoxyTunes