Life without a TV

 

                                              Gentle and Simpler Times

 

By kiki

What was life like for kids in those gentler and simpler times before the TV age? Kids growing up in the 1940s in the Simons Brickyard had many things to keep them occupied during the summers, including daily chores of taking care of animals, chopping wood for the wood-burning stoves, and turning bricks to dry. But what did the kids do once their chores were done and there was no TV to watch? First, the boys would get a football game going in the big empty field by the pond, most of the time, it was the pre-teens against the teenagers, and the teenagers always won. Then, when not playing football, the boys with the girls would get a baseball game going; that was fun! The teams were made up of boys and girls mixed. There was one boy who was not a particularly- good player; nobody wanted him on their team, but he didn't care because he knew that in the end, he would get a chance to play right field and to strike out, no, there were no dandelions for him to watch. On the other hand, Dolly, one girl that every team captain wanted on their team, was a great player, and she was gorgeous; she was stacked like a brick outhouse, and, yes, all the boys wanted to "tag" her out. 

The kids would get one of the local men, Doñ Blas, to umpire their softball games, and there were many men in the Brickyard to pick from, but Doñ Blas, in particular, loved to umpire the kid's games. He would get behind the pitcher and, with a considerable staggering flair, would yell out "stik-a-te one" (strike one) or "bola" (ball). Then, when he got tired or needed a drink of wine, he would say "no mas" and stagger into the sunset looking for his twenty-five-cent bottle of Tokay Wine. The baseball games would end with the sun going down and no street lights in the Brickyard. Some kids would go home to fight for the radio to listen to their favorite mystery/detective/comedy/western radio programs: some of the programs were Boston Blackie, The Shadow, Red Ryder, Hopalong Cassidy, Abbott and Costello, and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.

Some boys would stay out, light a fire and wait for the local Chota (cop) to harass them. Kids from that generation did just fine without a TV, of course, they didn't have a choice, but that that was to their benefit, they got to experience playing ball with an umpire that was really funny and with a gorgeous girl every boy wanted to "tag" out. They also play marbles, spinning tops, and yo-yos. They played cowboys and Indians in the hills of the Brickyard. The later generations, with their rabbit-eared TVs, were to become known as "couch potatoes. "