Tinsel, car seats, and a duck

Looking back on my childhood and plus hearing the stories of my dad’s childhood it’s amazing anyone survived.  My dad and my uncle would talk about taking the tinsel off of the Christmas tree and making a ball out of it and throwing it at each other.  At first my grandma would get mad because they were ruining the tree.  Then she would put more on and the cycle would continue.  Once in a while when they did it she wouldn’t put any back on unless the family was coming over or it was Christmas morning.  Of course they played every sport they possibly could.  Mostly it was baseball, hockey, and football.   Of course the sports continued into their late 30s.  Of course it was all park district leagues at the point.

Then us kids came along.  Car seats were an optional thing or so it seemed.  Maybe they had just started using them for a month or 2.  Back in 1973 my parents and my aunt and uncle drove from Chicago into Missouri with my 6-month old cousin in a laundry basket on the floor of the backseat.  They my other cousin and I were roaming around the back of the station wagon.  Now mind you like my parents said there weren’t as many cars and people didn’t drive like jackasses like they do now.  Some of the best/scary stories are that of my cousin swallowing a quarter and my mom pinning a diaper to me.  My mom and aunt are like we were young and didn’t know anything.  My cousin and I are like you people were 22 years old.

Point is we survived and we have some good laughs at some of the things that happened to us.  Some kids don’t know what it is like to live in a 2-bedroom apartment in the city with your parents and a duck that lives in a playpen.  Then to have your aunt, uncle, and cousins in the apartment across the hall.  I do and I loved it.