Jeb, we didn't have street lights but had to be able to hear the bell and come home when Ma rang it...or we had to be home before dusk. We spent time catching frogs in the pond, we had a pool we swam in, we would "make beer": run water through sluiceways we made in the gravel pile and the foam from the water that would collect in pools we called beer...we hammered together our own boards to make "boats" we would float on the pond. We went tromping through the woods with our free range dogs and sometimes even the cats would join us for part of the journey. So glad I can appreciate it all now...at the time I really didn't as that was just what was normal...it was just how it was.

"No Monkeypox for me ..." as well, wildchild, but I have some questions about the efficacy of your patch, as Chiquiuta has been around for many years. Have you heard her song? "I'm Chiquita banana and I've come to say bananas ought to ripen in a certain way when they are flecked with brown and have a golden hue, bananas taste the best and are the best for you. You can put 'em in a salad - you can put 'em in a pie, aye ... any way you want to eat em, it's impossible to beat 'em! But bananas like the climate of the very, very tropical equa-a-tor - so you should never put bananas ... in the refrig-er-ator!" Can't remember how many years it's been since this fergetful feller last heard that song ... but it's still here. Music and song surely stick in one's memory, don't t? ole joyfuelled

^^^ My wissdom teeth (all four) were like that. Getting them removed was very painful, they got infected, and I couldn’t open my mouth wide enough to eat anything that didn’t come in through a straw for nearly four weeks :-/

I always wanted to do something similar in the fall....get those fall foliage bus tours to stop by my house and give the travelers an opportunity to get up close and personal with genuine New England fall foliage...I'd provide the rakes, pizzas and beer...and they can take home as many souvenirs as they want....free!!