Back Then…

Today we jump in the “way back machine” and head to the west side of Cincinnati in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. I’m going to recall a time from my youth, when free time meant improvising things to amuse one’s self.

Like almost all the other boys in the area, we played “war”. I mean with play guns and anything else we could use to re-enact World War II battles. I preferred making an improvised hand grenade by picking up the green apples that had fallen from Mrs. McCarthy’s tree in her backyard. I would insert a “Black Cat” firecracker (yes, you remember) into the apple, lighting it, and throwing it in the direction of the enemy. Should one of the combatants (one of my friends) get hit with shrapnel (bits of green apple), they were goners.

The same went for the submachine gun that was fashioned out of a caulk gun. That thing had an uncanny resemblance to what the GI’s in World War II called a “grease gun”. It was a small submachine gun, cheap and available for general use by the soldiers. It was also prone to misfires and breakdowns, and was not very accurate, but it gave those guys a little firepower which they gladly welcomed. My “grease gun” sometimes had a tube of caulk in it, adding an actual body to the gun with a little point that one could call a muzzle.

I also had in my arsenal, what I called an M-1Rifle, with a brown plastic body, of course, but in reality it was probably an imitation of a bolt action Springfield Rifle. The really cool part was the bolt action, and a plastic long-nosed bullet that actually ejected when the bolt was pulled. 

When we pointed our guns at the “enemy” and made the sound of a machine gun, like “ahahahahah” (you really had to be there to appreciate that sound, but maybe you did the same thing), the enemy was expected to fall down in pain, wounded or dead. It was not OK if the other kid said “You missed me!”

We had a small woods behind my house where we would wage those battles. It was great fun and obviously some great memories. With things now in the world, in a very scary and uncertain time, I decided to think back to simpler times. Times when wars, for kids, were re-enacted instead of waged.

Prayer: Lord, protect the children who are victims of war in a world that is so dangerous, Amen