Curtsys and Childhood Games

This morning while watching an episode of the television classic, I Love Lucy, there was an episode where Little Ricky was supposed to perform on his drums, but got a bad case of stage fright. I noticed that the children coming in to play their instruments entered and did something you don't see much anymore. The boys would enter and bow, while the girls would enter and curtsy. It occurred to me that you don't see little girls do a curtsy anymore. Perhaps in certain contexts, such as the courts of royalty, a curtsy would still be done. However, it seems that even after artistic performances, the bow is now done by both genders.

This led me to think about other things that children used to do that you rarely, if ever, see happening. We didn't have Nintendo DS, iPods, and other gadgets that keep kids occupied today. We played simple games, such as Four Square, Jacks, Red Rover, Marbles, Spinning Tops, Duck Duck Goose, and Jumping Rope. Jumping Rope was mainly a girls' game, and the jumping cadence was accompanied by unique stories in the form of rhymes. The stories sometimes related to other girls jumping into, or out of, the rope, while each end of the rope was spun by another girl. I found a website with many of these games and lots of jump rope rhymes that you can visit by CLICKING HERE.

For boys, Marbles, Dodge Ball, and Kick Ball were favorites. Kick Ball was a game played with a big inflated ball that was much like baseball, except that you kicked the ball rather than batting. One of our favorites was playing with wooden tops that you would spin by wrapping a string around and tossing to the ground while pulling back on the string. Many tops had metal points, but the folks at Duncan, the yo-yo company, made a safer top that had replaceable nylon tips. These were a lot of fun.

The things kids have to play with today are pretty cool, but sometimes I wonder if they are missing out on the simple joys and toys of days gone by.

Ding Ding!

This week I have noticed a number of traffic counters deployed on various thoroughfares around Parker, Colorado. I am not sure why the counts are occurring, but I have to assume that a study is underway for planning which roads may need upgrades. These counting devices consist of a pressure hose stretched across the roadway and every time a set of tires rolls over it, a counter is incremented.

This got me thinking about another pressure hose device that used to be very common. Back when gasoline was purchased at a "service station" (they actually pumped your gas and performed other maintenance checks), there was a pressure hose across the vehicle paths that was connected to a loud bell. When a car entered the pump area, a loud "ding ding" was heard, notifying employees that a customer had arrived. I don't remember when the last time I encountered one of those was, but it has to be years, maybe even decades ago. Still, the sound is indelibly written into my memory to the point that I would instantly recognize it if I heard it today.

This makes one think . . . how many of today's adult drivers have no recollection of this once-familiar sound? Many people cannot remember a time when the station personnel pumped gasoline, checked fluid levels and tire pressure, washed the windows, and wore uniforms with the oil company's logo on their shirts. For that matter, how many people now driving remember gasoline selling for less than 35 cents per gallon?

One other thing provided free by service stations were roadmaps. One thing I have always loved is maps, and as a young kid, I was always glad when I could pick up a new road map at a service station.

Speaking of gas stations, I recall that the more expensive gas used to be called "High-Test" or "Ethyl". I believe Ethyl Corporation made an additive that boosted octane. However, it contained lead, and was eventually phased out of motor fuels. Every brand of gasoline tried hard to differentiate its product from the competition. There was Texaco's Fire Chief and Sky Chief brands. Super Shell with the mysterious additive "TCP" was also available. I remember my dad joking that TCP stood for a "TeaCup of Phillips". Phillips 66 future merger partner used the slogan, "Conoco! Hottest Brand Going!" Many other brands have been merged out of existence, such as Skelly, Apco, D-X, Gulf, and Sohio/Boron. Humble, Esso, Enco, and others were rebranded Exxon. Cities Service is now Citgo. Atlantic and Richfield became Arco, and now is part of BP if memory serves. More obscure brands included Gibble Gas, Hess, Fina, Pure, and Clarke.

Ding Ding!