Amusing Ourselves
I REMEMBER-
When I was a young lad, my grandparents were cotton farmers over in Holy Ridge Louisiana.(East of Monroe). We used to take turns spending summers there. I loved riding on the tractor with my grandpa, plowing cotton until I got tired, (about noon).We had to look for things to do, there were NO electronics like today. We did things such as playing a game by grabbing hold of the electric fence, which was ok as long as you had your PF Flyers on to insulate yourself. Wow, it shocked when you forgot to wear them. I remember how we used to peek around the corner of the barn while my uncle Gerald was milking the cow, and he would squirt milk at us at about 20 feet away. And usually hit us. Our nearest neighbor was at least a mile down the road, and they had kids to play with, so we would gladly walk that mile. Then we'd play tag in the corn fields until someone would upset a skunk and the smell would chase us out of the field. They made homemade milkshakes out of God knows what, but I'm sure it wouldn't be approved by the FDA. Tree houses to play in were the normal, and I remember them rivaling Tarzans best
. Swinging on or smoking grapevines, we did both. Someone always had some kind of fireworks on the 4th, mostly roman candles, but black cat firecrackers also. Breakfast each morning consisted of home made biscuits and Blackburn
syrup, homemade butter (which I helped churn), and of course fresh eggs. How grandpa would wring a chickens neck without hesitation so we would have dinner at night. Hauling water from the well then heating it up, so we could take a bath on the back porch in a washtub. 
Only heat in the house was a wood burning stove in the middle of the living room. Lots of home made quilts on the bed in the winter and having to cover our heads in the summer 
when someone came in to spray the room with mosquito repellant right above your bed. How my uncle made homemade telescopes out of cardboard tubes to look at the moon at night. (don't know where he got the lenses) Or we may listen to the crystal radio my uncle had made. We would camp out in a old building that supposedly were workers quarters in the old days. My Dad and Grandpa would sneak up on us at night and makes noises to scare us. My brother and uncle would arm themselves with sticks, and I would be over in the corner praying. (that only happened once, but heck I was scared) Sometimes people would come for dinner from miles around on Sunday. When a trip to the country store in grandpa's international pickup truck was a real treat, and sometimes we would get some penny candy if we were lucky. Making home 
made ice cream on the porch. Sweeping the yard as there was no grass. The amazement is that we didn't miss what we never had. Your got up at the crack of dawn , ate breakfast every day, then went outside. Your were not allowed to stay in the house unless you were sick. No TV or electronics of any sort (except that old crystal radio). When it got dark, you went to bed. Now those days are gone, cant even see where the old farmhouse was because it has all grown over with trees and bushes. Grandma, Grandpa, Mom and Dad are all gone now. Uncle Gerald died in a car accident while in the Air Force. My kids are grown and my parents are gone but my grandchildren will never know the joys we had, when we really had nothing to amuse us, But ourselves.
Clifton Burger