Southern Kid’s Games
When you grew up in a small Southern town, many of your toys consisted of a rock and a stick. If you were lucky, a used ball was available.
I got to thinking about riding through town back in the fifties and sixties and seeing groups of kids, making do and creating their own entertainment.
See if any of this shakes the memory cobwebs from your mind:
The first observation is a “pile “of bicycles with baseball cards attached to the frame by momma’s clothes pins. The motorcycle sound was much more important than a Micky Mantle, Lou Brock, Willie Mays or Warren Spahn card. Actually, the cards which were cut from the back of cereal boxes made a louder sound.
In the sideyard, there were 6 players per side playing “steal the bacon.” A hosepipe divided the field and the “bacon” was really hickory sticks which were cut for kindling firewood. The only added warning was the antenna wire with an orange ribbon. This gave new meaning to being “clothes lined.” You could use the same field for a game of dodgeball.
Before the streetlights came on, the game switched to “kick the can.” The common rules were simple: steal an empty gallon sized turnip green can from the school lunchroom and put it in the front yard. In the upscale game of hide and seek, the hiders ran and kicked the can from the base to keep from getting caught.
The universal curfew to come home? When the streetlight came on, you had 5minutes to be home and seated at the supper table.
Down the street, the younger kids were playing “red rover.” Of course, big kids busted up the game. In unison: “Red rover, red rover. Let Billy come over.” His job was to bust through the locked hands of the singing team. If he didn’t make it through, he became part of that team. If he broke through, he/she got to steal someone and take them back to their team. Speed wasn’t near as important as size.
As we drove by the city library, a bunch of young girls was playing hop scotch using a chalk outline on the sidewalk out front. A couple of younger girls were perfecting the game of jacks. It took skills to toss the ball, let it bounce as you progressed from scooping one jack to eventually ten, then catching the red rubber ball.
The next group we saw was about to get into deep do-do with their moms, since they were playing “knee football.” It took a quart of high-powered cleaner to get the grass stains out. It also created holes in the knees. Who would ever guess that 60 years later, jeans with holes in them would cost twice as much as those without tears in the knees?
Next to the old gym, there had to be 24 guys, waiting to play a pickup basketball game on the tennis courts. It didn’t take long to realize that these games were colorblind. The best players were selected, regardless of skin color or age. Phrases like “make it take it,” I got ups,” “check ball,” or “gotta win by 2” filled the air. Nothing did more for race relations in small Southern towns than pickup basketball games and athletics in general. It was amazing that the tears, the blood and the sweat all looked the same when it came to teammates.
At the baseball field, it didn’t matter how many players showed up, since special rules were instituted. Ghost runners, somebody taking another’s last strike, and sharing gloves were common. I’m not sure if “Indian Ball” is politically correct but every young boy played it. The simple rule was laying the bat down horizontally after hitting the ball. The fielder rolled the ball to try and hit the bat. If successful, you swapped places. The other game was “flies and grounders” where you got 2 points for catching a flyball and 1 for a clean grounder. First player, to 11points, was the winner.
The clanging sound out back was the horseshoes, hitting the metal pole. Some threw with the horseshoe flipping one turn of the shoe. The better throwers learned to “spin” the horseshoe so that it stayed parallel with the ground. Since the game of horseshoes awarded points for being close, the shoe had a tendency to slide near the post. The common scoring structure was 5 points for a ringer, 3 points for a leaner and one point for the closest shoe to the metal post.
At the football field, often a game of setback was going on. It involved punting the ball back and forth to each other. A caught punt meant moving up 10 yards with the winner being the one who “sets” the other player back in his endzone.
In many Southern areas, the invasive vine “kudzu” has taken over. You can’t kill it. It was brought here from the far east to control erosion in the South. When it completely covers a small sapling, you can climb it and ride it to the ground. The thick net-like vines keep you from falling through.
Do you think that 60 years from now, our grandkids will be reminiscing about high scores on their electronic devices like we remember kudzu, stealing bacon and red rover?
I think I know the answer.