Childhood recollection

[Calliope]

My mother had some kind of family connection with a tobacco farmer and his family, resulting in weekend visits to their Tennessee farm house. Creaky stairs, huge fluffy beds, enormous kitchen smelling of roasted quail, pigs in pens out back behind the laundry lines. Early 60s - although their world was pretty well 1945.

The children were about my age - 9 to 11. Two boys, one girl. The boys had crew cuts and seemingly stepped out of a Steinbeck novel. Wresting and playing war were their favorite activities, both of which invariably left me bruised - and unamused. The girl preferred fantasy play - Catwoman was her heroine, I think - which was 100% OK by me.

I remember sitting outside with her one sunny afternoon and her mentioning how I was wasn't like her brothers. I could tell she liked me. Intuitively, at the time, I interpreted this as a female connection (something so dear to me) - but, alas, her agenda was to 'play married couple,' and she got me into a bed with her (clothed, I will add) before I bolted.

Used as a sex object - and I didn't much like that.

[Sejd]

Sounds like my childhood experiences growing up in Denmark. Each summer we (the nuclear family of my mom , dad, sister and me) would go to live for weeks on my grandfathers farm because we didn't have money for anything else. It meant that I spent most of the hours, helping the women in the kitchen preparing meals for the farm helpers. Not just the helpers, no everyone went out into the field to tie up the corn in stacks to be picked up later by a truck. We would have lunch in the fields with beer, bread and baked goods. Then at noon, the women and us kids, would go back to the farm house and prepare the evening dinner. Inside the kitchen was an old hand cranked pump for water, and a gas stove. I remember climbing up onto the beams under the barn and jump ten feet down into the hay stacks. Playing with kittens, and at night cuddling up with my sister under the warm covers in the guest room. I also did not understand much of any boy play and was totally happy with the female world of my sister.
Thanks for reminding me of those days
hugs
Sejd

[great gg]

I love you!

[Marla S]

Lovely story !

Hope you are fine !

[Maggie Kay]

Daytripper, your story evoked all sorts of images and even smells of life in the 1960's for me. The clean fresh smell of laundered sheets dried in the sun, the tangy sweet smell of apples fallen into wet grass, eating a snatched plum from my neighbors plum tree, and hearing the cicadas buzzing in the hot summer days come to mind. One summer night, the neighbor girl had a slumber party in her parent's garage. I heard the music of the "Doors" playing "Light My Fire" from their radio from my bedroom window. I put on my pants and t thirt and "crashed" their party. I was 14 or so. They let me stay and join in their chattering and gossip but I was a boy and not really in their group so as the night went on, I left and went back to my bed. Every time I hear that song, I'm sitting on that concrete garage floor watching those teenage girls dancing in their PJ's. Thanks for reminding me of that time....

Kay

[Calliope]

And, Kay, thanks for sharing your recollection - lovely.