Isn't it weird how you didn't mind the sweltering heat as a kid? I loved - and I mean LOVED - the summer when I was growing up and I didn’t even notice the heat…except when I got into my grandpa’s pickup truck:
This is exactly what grandpa's truck looked like...just add a couple of dents and about 100 pounds of dust.I don’t know what in the hell that Chevy's seats were made out of, but they were black…scratchy…and hot as hell. However, on days that it hauled me to the municipal swimming pool (or my friend Half-Pint's house, which had a pool), I knew better than to complain.
Of course, not every day could be a pool day. That's when I had to improvise.
Fun Fountain
There's something about a creepy clown blowing his lid that screams "Summertime fun!," no? My main memory about this thing was that the water pressure in the middle was a lot harder then the chick on the box makes it out to be. That, and the massive concussion I got every time the hat veered off course (which happened pretty often), fell 12 feet and hit me on the head.
Interestingly enough, this product was made by Wham-O. Coincidence? I think not.
Wet Banana
The Wet Banana was the poor man's Slip 'n Slide.
I had one of these at least one summer and it was heaven! Of course, I also had the requisite cuts from running into the metal things that held this into the ground, the bruises from a few missteps in throwing myself onto the damn thing and, of course, the grass burns that I got when I had too much momentum going to stop. My WB was in the front yard, and we had a huge rectangular mud pit for, like, 2 years after we got rid of the damn thing. But, like the injuries, it was a small price to pay.
Of course, all that playing made me work up a pretty good thirst. And thanks to the Snoopy Snow Cone Machine, it only took my about 30 mnutes to crank out enough ice to make a tasty, (but tiny) shaved ice treat.
At one point I upgraded to the Frosty Sno-Cone Machine. Same principle, but it was a little easier to maneuver. Of course, the pill despinser-size cups were still the same.
But what if I wasn't in the mood for shaved ice? No problem. I'd just bust out my Pepsi Soda dispenser and have a nice little carbonated beverage.
Of course, it usually wasn't Pepsi. We were more of a Shasta family. So I'm sure it was Moon Mist Shasta (Mountain Dew flavor...ewww, right?), cream soda or whatever else was on sale that week.
So that's how I stayed cool in the summers...What about you?
Today's title selection: Hot in the City: Billy Idol
4 comments:
Snoopy Snow Cone Maker?!?! OMG, that thing was my mortal enemy when I was younger! Trying to shave ice with a dull pencil sharpener and a hunk of cheap plastic....ARGH! Turning the crank over and over again and nothing ever happened.
I remember my neighbors had good treats like Push Pops and Creamsicles, and my mom always cheaped out on Valuetime popsicles or icees. Yeah.
My parents always said no to the fun-themed things like Snoopy snow cone makers and easy bake ovens. So we had an electric snow cone maker and I was instructed to use the real oven (supervised, of course). Maybe that's why, but I really love crappy-cute things like those now!
P.S. I have a deep love of snow cones and hope that I can buy one tomorrow...
Wow, you had all the fancy summer fun toys! We cooled off with with those rainbow colored ice pops that came in a little plastic case and tasted like syrup and chemicals. Yummm! And our version of the wet banana was the front yard sprinkler.
OMG, I knew you'd suggested that we might be blog sisters from other misters, but I'm pretty sure we had identical childhoods! Except yours was hot in Texas and mine was tepid in Washington.
I looooooooove that creepy clown sprinkler!! I might have to start searching the internet so Baby Bee can have one too...
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