Sunday's Fun Day

Did your dad ever announce "Sunday's Fun Day?" Every dang Sunday? And Sunday meant we played games as a family.  My parents had this thing for games. All right, who am I to say it's a bad thing for parents to play games with their kids? It's a wonderful thing. We (my sibs and I) didn't sit around on our bony little butts watching TV or playing video games. And on Sundays we weren't left to our own devices either. Our parents stepped in and spent quality time with us. I admire them for it. Except for they had no idea what the good games were.

We had dopey games like Sorry and Skunk circa 1947. I coveted games with moving parts, unlike the old-fashioned ones we had which consisted of nothing more than dice or cards and a colored peg you would claim as "my guy." Why couldn't we have games with a Pop-O-Matic? And you know what game I wanted most of all? That's right, Mystery Date.



Of course as a kid I didn't know my parents were dirt poor and couldn't afford to buy new games. Besides, I'm sure Dad wouldn't be too interested to see if his mystery boy would be a dream or a dud.

But Saturday morning cartoon commercials would mock my poor family's games most of all with none other than Mouse Trap. How cool was that? Fortunately we had a cousin who's parents were really rich frivolous and he actually had the Mouse Trap game.  Whenever we visited we would forego the actual game part of Mouse Trap and just put together the whole trap thing with the kicking boot, the guy in the bathtub, and the marble going down the rickety steps.  What fun! 



One year for Christmas my dream came true. No, it wasn't a game with a moving part. It was even better. It was a doll that walked! Baby First Step. I remember that Christmas like it was yesterday. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.



It didn't matter that she walked around like a little crippled child in leg braces and had no sense of direction. It required batteries and had moving parts!

Mechanical games and toys were the ultimate when I was growing up. I'm really glad Boyfriend and I never had kids though. I wouldn't have any idea how to even approach the mechanical toys of today. Technology is where it's at, and I'm so not on board with all that. If I had kids I'd totally make Sunday Fun Day, but my kids would run and hide the minute I pulled out the old-fashioned deck of cards for a game of Go Fish.

What's The Phenomenon Where You Can't Get A Song Out Of Your Head? - I Don't Care, Just Make It Stop!

I've been reminiscing lately - reminiscing about things from my childhood.  What got me to reminiscing is this stupid, stupid song that has been running through my head for three days now. 

Green green it's green they say
On the far side of the hill
Green green I'm goin' away
To where the grass is greener still

I can't give credit to the lyricist because I have no idea who wrote those words.  I do know that song, along with other like Kisses Sweeter Than Wine, Blowin' In The Wind, and If I Had A Hammer were sung by The Johnny Mann Singers.  My parents had more than one of these folksy records and as kids we couldn't get enough of them.  Trouble is, it's all come back to haunt me.  If you have no idea what I'm talking about, rent the movie A Mighty Wind.  The most accurate portrayal of the folk singers and their reunion is pretty funny, and also sad at the same time.  Sad as in I can't believe people seriously listened to this stuff. 

So get your peppy on and clap along to the old folk tunes.  I'm serious.  If I can't get this ridiculous song out of my head I can at least put another one into yours.  Here's a clip from A Mighty Wind:



More nostalgia to come.  What were your favorite board games as a kid?