More Childhood Memories

This is a picture taken by either my daughter or son-in-law, I'm not sure which. I think it's beautiful. It is, of course, of my grandson, Isaac, and their cat, Emily. Please note, the tat on his right arm. I don't know where the children today get these things. We used to find them in Cracker Jack boxes when I was a kid, or sometimes they came with bubble gum. I don't know what Isaac's is. I used to love the ones of butterflies or cartoon characters or flowers.


Cracker Jack was a real delight then. The prizes in the boxes were really fun too. These days, I occasionally buy a box. But the so-called prizes are only dumb little paper things - never any good toys. I remember once getting a whistle .


The prizes in cereal boxes aren't like they used to be either. Now when I was a girl....


And what ever happened to Dixie Cups? It's been years since Dixie Cups. I had a vast collection of Dixie Cup caps - the ones with the pictures of movie stars. I loved the cowboy stars - Tom Mix and Gene Autry. (Yes, I go that far back) I had lots of other stars too. Imagine what that collection would be worth today! No chance. My mother's favorite sport was throwing things away. She didn't believe in "clutter" of any kind. We used to joke that our rooms were always so neat because Mom never let a piece of clothing touch the floor before she would whisk it away to the laundry. The kitchen was always neat because we never got to completely clean our plates before she had them washed and dried and put away. That was why my sister and I always said we'd never be good housekeepers. We never learned how. Mom couldn't stand waiting while someone else did anything.


I guess we were very easily pleased when we were kids. I can remember playing for hours with clothespins, or with checkers or old chessmen. I'd turn the footstool upside down. It had thick sides and big round feet, and upside down, it became a castle and the chessmen or whatever were the knights and the royal family.


But then, I don't remember our local firehouse having Open House for the kids in the neighborhood either. The community seems to do more today to entertain and instruct our children than was ever done when I was a girl.


We had some great field trips from school though. One of the very best was the day we went to the Philadelphia Zoo in Fairmount Park. I got to ride on Elizabeth, the elephant. A very bumpy ride, but so exciting! And I loved the trips to museums. They were all good, but my favorite was always the Philadelphia Art Museum - the one famous now for Rocky running up the steps. We didn't wait for school trips there; we often went on a Saturday. I ate many a box lunch, sitting on those Art Museum steps. So far, Isaac's field trips have been to the pumpkin farm or a nature preserve, with his pre-school class. But I predict many fabulous adventures for him, exploring the world around him.

............................................................

I cannot tell you how much I am enjoying the comments that everyone has made on my posts on my school days. Each one has a new little story of their own days when they were young. They are all delightful. Thank you so much!

.............................................................

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO OUR CANADIAN FRIENDS!

..............................................................
Isaac's mom says, "the tattoo is of a dinosaur of course."

Camera Critters #26

Hi, Critter Lovers.

About a week ago I was driving down Route 9, and on impulse I decided to go into Cape May County Park Zoo. They have a wide range of animals. It puzzles me that they even have some which are seen quite easily in the wild in our area. This applies to both birds and small animals. They also have a rather large section devoted to small farm animals. I guess that's common in most zoos. The small children enjoy them. They have a number of goats. Who doesn't love a goat?




Next I saw the birds. Here are a blue and a white parrot.















I got a kick out of the fact that the squirrels kept running into their cages to eat from their bowls. Some of the crows did the same thing.


As I walked along, I saw two keepers trying to coax down the white peahen from her perch on top of a fence. She finally flew down, fluttering past me, and ran down the walk and into her own pen.



















The flamingos did not look happy. I don't blame them. I wouldn't be too happy in the facility they were given.


Next, I saw the bald eagles. They make me very sad. I know that in this case, the pair had been brought there after they were badly injured, and cannot be released because they would not be able to hunt in the wild. But they still look so forlorn as they perch as high up as their enclosure will allow.











Our zoo really is a nice one, and the animals are given as much open space as is possible. I know they are well cared for. It still bothers me to see the tiger pacing behind the fence.














I am well aware that many wild animals simply will not continue to survive as species unless a certain number are protected in zoos. I am thankful for those whose concern and care enable them to survive. Still, I feel sympathy for the individual critters behind bars.


Thanks to Misty Dawn for hosting Camera Critters each week.