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Before Sidekicks & iPods; PlayStation2 or X-BOX.
Before the 5 hours of homework you put off every night.
When light up sneakers were cool
& when you rented VHS tapes, not DVDs.
When gas was $0.65 a gallon
& caller ID was a new thing;
when we recorded stuff on VCRs
& paid $3.50 for a movie.
When we called the radio station to request songs
to hear off our walkmans;
when 2Pac & Biggie were alive.
When the Chicago Bulls were the best team ever;
Way back when we played tag, Hide-&-Go Seek at dusk,
red light, green light, heads up 7 Up;
playing kickball & dodge ball until your porch light came on,
hopscotch, slip-&-slides, hula hoops, skip-its.
Remember reading R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series,
the annoying NanoPets & Furbies,
running through the sprinklers,
crying when Mufasa died in the Lion King,
Happy Meals where you chose a Barbie or a Hot Wheels car,
getting the privilege to sit in the front seat of the car.
But wait; how about watching Saturday morning cartoons
in your PJ's, still wrapped up in your Garfield comforter,
Hey Arnold, Doug, Rugrats, The original Power Rangers,
Or what about The Secret Life of Alex Mac, Ren & Stimpy,
Double Dare, Rocko's Modern Life, Real Monsters,
Wild & Crazy Kids, Clarissa Explains it All,
Salute Your Shorts, Are You Afraid of the Dark?
The original cast members of All That, Kenan & Kel,
The Magic School Bus, Flash Forward, Pete & Pete,
Legends of the Hidden Temple, Hey Dude, Dinosaurs,
Pinky & the Brain, Blossom, Hangin' With Mr. Copper,
My So Called Life, Wishbone, Bill-Nye the Science Guy.
Who could forget Snick & Nick @ Nite with Bewitched,
I Dream of Jeanie, The Facts of Life, & I Love Lucy.
Where everyone wanted to be in love after watching
The Wonder Years, or Nick Jr. with Face, Gulah-Gulah Island,
Little Bear, Under the Umbrella Tree,
The Busy World of Richard Scary,
The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
& Kool-Aid was the drink of choice,
wearing your new shoes on the first day of school,
class field trips,
when Christmas was the most exciting time of year,
when $5 seemed like a million,
& another dollar a miracle.
When you begged to go to McDonalds for dinner everyday,
when Toys 'R' Us overruled the mall.
Go back to the time when argument's were only started
when it came to who was gonna be the red ranger,
decisions were made by going 'eeny-meeny-miney-moe',
mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming 'do over!'
'Race issue' meant arguing about who ran the fastest,
money issues were handled by whoever was banker in 'Monopoly'
It wasn't odd to have two or three 'best' friends,
being old referred to anyone over 20,
a chance to skate as a couple at the local
roller rink was like winning the lottery,
scrapes & bruises were kissed & made better.
It was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride
the 'big people' rides at the fair;
when playing Nintendo was the hardest thing ever,
when Ninja Turtles ruled the world,
when a candy bar at the grocery store was
the highlight of your day,
when coupons collected all year could get you
a prize in your class auction,
when the only thing you cried over was your
mom being late to pick you up,
when stress was addition & subtraction,
when friendships were as complicated as
who's house to sleep over,
when shaving cream was just meant for play,
when a first kiss only lead to cooties,
when Valentines Day meant cards for all,
when birthdays were a class event,
when a friend moving away was the saddest day of your life,
when the summer lasted forever,
when time didn't matter.
These were the days we hadn't realized
escaped us until it's all brought back.