if i was still a child, i'd be lamenting the fact that i'd have to go home… the streetlights were already fully lit and by my mother's standards, i would be late. we were to come home as the lights were coming on. rats. i'd likely be a sorry candidate for a bath, too.
but if it was friday night, i'd come in to the smell of popcorn popping and butter bubbling in the saucepan on the stove with my dad carefully shaking the pan to ensure every kernel popped without scorching. it was a science… and he was the master. we'd have big bowls of buttery, salty popcorn and small glasses of coke; a friday night treat. coke was a luxury in our house. if it wasn't kool-aid, it was hi-c. never soft drinks—or as the folks in my part of the world called it—soda.
scanning the yard before me, i noticed the twinkling of the fireflies… a certain sign that it is, indeed, summer. like a light show just for me, the fireflies were busy performing a silent ballet. i settled into my seat, stretched out my feet and sighed with contentment after an extremely busy day at work. we had our evening before us, no agenda, no expectations. we lit a candle, turned on some jazz and sat in the summertime quiet and talked.
it made me yearn for the days of my childhood when people used to sit on their porches and people would be out walking and would stop by for a visit.
and then everyone got central heat and air… and it wasn't long before we all relaxed inside… in our cool living rooms, with the glow of our televisions visible from outside, fickering in the windows. can't visit now… our favorite shows are on.
see ya around…
yeah, i wish.
This almost makes me want to cry! Sometimes I think I was born during the wrong time.
ReplyDeleteMy dad had a cast iron pan in which he made popcorn. It was the best.
ReplyDeleteWe only had "pop" on holidays, ours was a Hi-C and Kool-Aid house too.
I miss childhood days, too. I remember the old popcorn poppers, with the divided lids and shaking the pan. And how impressed we were with that new fangled Jiffy Pop that my friends had at their house, lol. I remember on the last day of school, we would get to go through the drive through at McDonalds for a treat - my brother and I got to share a small Coke! We were so happy with that, cause we never had pop either.
ReplyDeleteTruly the good old days.
coke was a luxury in our house, too....loved this post and you're right----those were the days.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't have much money growing up. There is one thing that I remember. We went on a train ride from Michigan to California. My mom had these round tablets, that when put in a cup of water would fizzle. I remember that these tablets would taste like soda. It was a treat.
ReplyDeleteand the popcorn in the microwave!!!
ReplyDeleteI remember the fireflies and the popcorn on the stove. Now we hardly know our neighbors:(
Not quite sure I've ever read something about popcorn that made my mouth water. Until now.
ReplyDelete