The younger years

On a very late walk with Rusty last night I honed in on the sounds of the crickets, the creatures, the nightlife around us and was transported back to when I was 9-years-old.

I was lucky enough to grow up in a tight-knit neighborhood where there were kids my age, but more importantly, there were kids close to my age that accepted the older and younger into their group.

At that time I thought I lived in the coolest neighborhood ever. During the summers several of us would get together for games of an awesome version of hide and seek - a game that when I've described it to people they always say, "that does sound awesome!"

Always played after dark, we had kids from around age 7 to 16. The person who was "it" counted to whatever designated number and then went searching for those hiding. BUT, we created a "safe" place, a place that was the goal of each player. The "it" person went in search of the hiding, and could chase anyone they found. If the chasee made it back to "base" in time then they were safe. Of course anyone hiding could "steal a base" per se and make their way safe to home without ever having been found. I'm horrible at explaining things so that probably makes no sense but trust me - awesome fun.

Pre-xbox, nintendo, Wii, etc., my childhood summers were filled with bike-riding, roller skates and days at the pool.

I'm sure my 9-year-old self would've loved the technology, but I don't think I'd trade my low-tech younger years for anything.