Grandma's Been There

Our food was processed, artificially flavored, chemically preserved and loaded with sugar and caffeine. We breathed secondhand and thirdhand smoke every day. We stuck our hands, arms and heads out the windows of moving cars. And we went outside to play by ourselves on busy city streets before we were old enough to go to school. We asked total strangers to help us cross the street. We were living on the edge.

In the 1950s and early '60s, looking and acting exactly like your neighbors wasn't a trend or a fad. It was a national obsession. For some, uniformity afforded comfort and security. For others, conformity was as comfortable as a straitjacket.

Once upon a time, there were no such things as zip codes. The post office identified neighborhoods by their zones. Any mail addressed to me or my neighbors came to Brooklyn 25, New York. We liked our zone.

Whether we like it or not, we're just a few weeks away from saying goodbye to another summer. No matter how young you are, I strongly suggest you pay close attention to this week's story and heed its advice. Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think!

From chalk slates to Etch A Sketch, Chutes and Ladders to Mouse Trap, we've got all the games. We've got hula hoops, Duncan yo-yos, Slinkys, toy soldiers, doll carriages and Colorforms. Come on downstairs and let's play!

During the school year, our weekends were precious. Monday morning may as well have been light years away when we bolted out of that school building on Friday afternoon. This week, we sing the praises of wondrous winter weekends. How sweet they were!

When I was nine, I borrowed a pair of tap shoes for a school play. I fell madly in love with those patent leather musical instruments. I was hypnotized by the noise they made on the wooden stage. I had to have a pair of my own.

After the last two episodes, we need to get outside and have some fun. So, grab your bathing suits, put on your Keds and come downstairs. It's summer in the city!

This is the second and last part of an episode titled, "Not What I Expected." Like last week's episode, it comes with a trigger warning because it includes accounts of physical, emotional and spiritual abuse. 

In some past episodes, I've alluded to the fact that my grammar school wasn't always a healthy or safe environment. This week, I'm going to go into some details. So, if you don't think you can handle listening to accounts of kids being physically, emotionally and spiritually abused, then you might want to skip this episode.