Growing up, if Mr. Softie drove by and you had your dime, you could ask for a scoop or two into your cone/cup. Additionally, scoop had a different meaning. It was common to hear people ask for the scoop of a story because it was part of the days’ jargon in newspapers and on TV. It referred to the latest events, or how stories and events unfolded.
I recently came across a poster on Pinterest. I’m not sure if it was created to draw readers in, or if it’s a sincere question, since I didn’t delve into it. In a nutshell, someone is asking if it’s true that kids in the late 60s and the 70s would be ousted from their homes early in the morning and not expected back until the lamppost lights went on. Let me give you the scoop.
Of course, it’s true! It’s hard to believe now because we’re living in a different world. In this aspect, technology has messed things up for today’s growing kids. Think back to a time with no cell phones or beepers, no satellites, no computers, no bottled water, few, if any, abductions, kidnappings, etc.
As a kid, if you had a bike, a foot-powered scooter, skates, or two good feet, you’d travel about to have fun and discover the world around you. It didn’t matter if you discovered it a few days prior; there was always something new to look for. Magnifying glasses, binoculars, periscopes, rubber balls, bats, gloves, soda caps, jump ropes, etc. enhanced a kid’s imagination. Sometimes we played right on our block stickball, stoopball, three-flights up, handball, Chinese handball, Skellies (Skullies), two-hand touch, etc. and other times we headed out to explore our surroundings.
For the most part, unfinished games due to dusk lights coming on, were continued next day. Everyone in a group didn’t necessarily see things eye to eye, but we settled things. Mommy wasn’t around to save us. Parents were busy doing home things. Whether we pouted, cried, or accepted the decide-upon terms, we learned to adapt to established protocol. We grew up and learned to deal with matters ourselves. Parents didn’t beat each other up.
Mind you, most everyone was in the same age group. We sometimes pooled our meager resources to buy a soda drink and a few 5-cent bags of chips. I remember when Kid Stuff came out! It was a small, plumpy plastic container with a watered-down juice in varying flavors of probably 4 ounces each. They cost $1.00 for 20 bottles! They became oases in our deserts!
That was a different world then, and we have a different one today. Each world-experience molds us into the people we are or will become. Jesus has promised a New World for the church and for those who’ll enter into His rest. What exactly it’ll be like, we don’t know. But it’s the ”important” things that matter, like whether there’ll be Original Ring-Dings (large sized), Yodel’s, Yankee-doodle chocolate cakes, Drake’s Devil Dogs (those might have to get renamed!), TREAT potato chips, Cocoa Marsh, Great Shakes, Almond Joys, Mound Bars, Clark bars, Sussie Q’s, or the original rectangular-shaped Crunch bars, we don’t know (let’s petition them NOW!), but I’m sure there’ll be double, triple, even quadruple ice cream scoops (I’ve already petitioned those in chocolate)!
I can’t believe that even towards the end of the 70s I used to go to the ACME baking factory near the Rheingold Brewery, by Central and Evergreen Ave. and buy a dozen large, powdered jelly donuts for $2.10! Someone put in a petition for those!
The new world will feature wholeness; no sicknesses, no troubles, in short, nothing evil, only clean fun in adoration and fellowship with God, His creation, and with others. I look forward to seeing you there! You can check out Aaron’s 3-speed burgundy and black Sting-ray bike, or Chicky’s bright green 5-speed with sissy-bar and banana seat. I’ll show you my baseball card collection, The Green Hornet cards, Dinosaur cards and Superheroes too!
One thing’s for sure: you won’t have to go home when the dusk lights go on; there will be none! No night there!! We’ll end each game on the same day. Forget sipping water from the Johnny pump! Fountains of Living Water will flow galore! When done playing, we’ll head out for super-thick milkshakes or our multi-scooped ice cream cups/cones-and never get sick. “Tomorrow” we’ll be out again. Got the scoop?
God Bless!
Sam
Still pics courtesy of Maria L.
AI video clip of author and daughter, Sarai
Already practicing and getting ready to enjoy massive ice cream scoops with my daughter in heaven!