Child of the 70's and 80's (etc)

Oakhill Drive Kids circa 1980 (?)

I must, I must, I must increase my bust


Does anyone remember that chant? I recall reading that in Are You There God?  It's Me, Margret by Judy Blume when I was a "tween"... although they didn't call it "tween" back then, did they? I was a "preteen" and my step mom had a pink bust exerciser (I can still hear the creaking it made every time it was squeezed together) and the 3 of us girls used to do the exercises and chant the song and giggle like crazy. Then we'd go out and ride our banana seat bikes, skate, or "sail" (with the aid of a bed sheet and a skate board) down the street.

With 5 kids in the family, my parents always had a houseful of kids and they were good about keeping us busy and sometimes entertained. We each had our assigned weekday to do our laundry and we could trade or allow a brother or sister to do laundry on our day if needed. My parents had the washer/dryer on the weekend. The boys had the outdoor chores and the girls prepared dinners a week at a time.

And all of us kids had paper routes so we made our own spending money. Sometimes we'd gather up neighborhood friends and walk through the field to Taco Bell for their Pintos n' Cheese or to Pinocchio's for their buttery garlic bread and we'd feed the jukebox and listen to Journey. If we had enough money we'd hit the bowling alley. And it was always a special treat to get a Cherry Limeade at Braum's (still is).

Our grocery store was across the way, Safeway, and my dad used to buy the cheapest beer possible - Scotch Buy - which came in generic looking white can with green print (store brand).  Next door was Treasury Drug which held the allure of cheap nail polish and perfume and a little further down the strip mall was TG&Y and Anthony's (where I got my first 501's! :-)      ).

My parents bought some old arcade games which we kept in the garage and I remember the glow of the race car game across our faces on those hot summer nights.  (This game would give you a little shock sometimes when switching into 4th gear!) I can't recall the other games we had in the garage but I distinctly remember when we finally got our pool! I remember that my parents said that some inspectors would be coming by to mark the gas and electric lines so that we could plow the back yard for a garden. This was right before we left on a road trip to Ft. Walton Beach, FL (sigh, love those beaches). The utility guys showed up and said they were there to mark the lines for the "POOL" and we mindlessly corrected them and said "PLOW" (dumb kids). We finally got a clue when we returned from Florida a few weeks later and found a pool mostly installed in our back yard.  We still weren't sure it was for real....now THAT was a great summer!

Here's to more great summers and more great memories as they bubble up in my mind!