Kick the Can, Paperdolls and Flexies

Almost everyday after school all the youngsters in my neighborhood went outside. Little kids played Mother May I or Run Across the River or perhaps tag or hide and Seek. Our favorite game was Kick the Can. First, you found the youngest kid in the neighborhood, usually a 6 year old. they would be made 'It'. They stood on Base while the biggest boy in the neighborhood kicked a can (28 oz size). 'It'had to run to the can and count to 100 and bring the can back to base while everyone else hid. Then 'It' began to search . The ones who were hiding tried to sneak into base where they would then be free. If and when 'It' saw someone he had to run back to base first. This went on until everyone almost was at base either free or caught. If a hider could sneak into base while the seeker was off seeking he would kick the can and everyone was free and would go hide again. We usually played all afternoon. My friend Boonie (who was taller, faster, and smarter than I) and I had scoped out a perfect hiding place. It was the crawl space under a house. We even kept a small supply of food. I remember a tin of cocoa mix and some graham crackers. We were never found.

We also played Army. Everyone was given a ranking pfc, Sergeant etc, and then we drilled with fake weapons and marched about. I loved this game until I made a horrible mistake and I chose myself as Corporal instead of General. Everyone in the entire army could tell me what to do. We also were very fortunate in our location. We had many vacant lots, including a very long and steep hill and The Rock. Vacant lots were for building forts in the deep grass and then collecting grass bombs. Next came war, until we all ran out of grass bombs and had to start over. I have one strange memory of finding a dead possum and deciding to cremate it. All I can say is it takes a long time for a possum to cremate. The steep street was for roller skating. We used skates that fit on your feet and had to be tightened with a skate key, your most precious possession. Then we raced down the sidewalk, except for the girls. We put on a show. this involved taking the bus downtown and going to Woolworths and buying lots of different color crepe paper. We cut in to strips and made costumes. There was one big flat driveway where we held the show. After selling tickets we began the show, performing all the tricks we had seen ice skaters do in the movies. The lady who had the driveway didn't like us much. The Rock covered about five city lots and was as tall as a six story apartment. The games on the rock mostly involved a competition jumping from one place to another. There were peaks and valleys and steps and even a cave- Lots to do. Also, we had dangerous things. We had knives. They were about eight inches long and the game was to hold them by the tip and throw them underhand on to marks on telephone poles. There was on boy who circled our neighborhood like a border collie and carried a bull whip. I don't know what a bull whip is but this one looked like the one Indiana Jones carried. Everyone was afraid of him. There was also a mean red-head bully who played with sometimes. He was about twelve and Boonie (Taller, Faster, Smarter) was about six and she ran up to him socked him in the face so hard his nose bled. He ran home crying and never came back. This feat became a Santa Barbara Road legend. The only other dangerous items were our Flexies: A sled on wheels and very fast. I think they have not been made for a long time becase cars backing out of driveways could not see them coming. MY flexie was painted white and said "Willie fastest thing on earth"..

To be continued...
-Louise