Remember The Fun We Had As Kids?

A funny, zany look at childhood games and life growing up in the 60's.

Coming through the door after school, seven year old Britanny and six year old Cody complain that theres nothing to do. They dont want to watch TV because nothing good is on. Music is an option, but Mom doesnt want blaring sounds of the newest boys group playing, not after the day shes had.

Go play outside, Mom yells as she grabs for the super-size Tylenol bottle. Too bad she didnt have any Calgon to take her away," she thinks.

Cody and Britanny seem doomed to a whole afternoon of boredom.

Wadda we do now?," they chorus as they sit with their heads on their hands at the kitchen counter, legs kicking at the chairs.

Has this happened at your home? Do your kids complain that their lives are humdrum and a drag from the time they get up right up to bedtime?

Debbie Grubb reflected back to the fun she had as a child playing in the sixties and thought other baby boomers would like to reminisce with her, remembering those good times as well. Her thoughts take us back to the time when we played Running Bases in the streets, skinning our knees with no thought to dinnertime or the next music video, except
of course, it was time for The Monkees on TV...

She tells the story of the many games she used to play with her brothers Billy and Mike, and little sister Kathy (who was acquired from a band of gypsies, or so they used to tell her). She recalls the crush she had on the older man of 22, Paul, the tenant when she was 8. Read about Aunt Bonnie, She-Devil," Skinny Tommy, Crazy Marty, and the other kids
in the neighborhood, and exploring her, Band-Aid Rating System" for the games she played.

And lets not forget her dreams of becoming a nun at age 6 and being magically transformed into Sister Deborah of Montclare Avenue (thanks to Grandma Pauls Singer sewing machine).

Heres an excerpt from her new book, Wanna Play: Games of the 60s as Seen Through the Eyes of a Catholic Grammar School Diva...

Whenever I did something unbecoming a nun, I was grounded by my mother, Cammy-Wait-Till-Your-Father-Gets-Home-Even-Though-Im-Gonna-Paddle-You-Anyway. Yeah, that same one that used to go to the Ben Franklin and buy one of those paddles with the ball attached to it by a rubber-band string. Oh good, we thought, another toy to play with. Yippee! Wooo hoooo! WRONG, grasshopper. Off came the rubber-band string thing and the ball and guess what she used the paddle on? Shed come after us, grab one of our arms, hold it over our head so our feet couldnt touch the floor and we couldnt get any traction, and paddle our keister. Of course, you always used your other hand to cover your keister while you were running on your tiptoes trying to escape.

Okay, some of you Gen Xers will say, How horrible" or Violence! What about a time out"? Anyone who grew up in my generation only knew a time out" as it related to our weekly softball or Running Bases game. No time out. Just the paddle. And we grew up normal. Imagine that. Hey, guess what? This book isnt PC either.

But anyway, back to the grounding. I remember thinking Ohhhhh, Paddle Woman...how could you do this to me? You just wait until Im old enough to get a job at Mc Donalds. Im gonna save that money and send you to Dunning, (the old mental institution that use to be on the corner of Irving Park Road and Naragansett) or the old folks home, which ever was cheaper. The old folks home. The place my friend Teresa calls the Turtle Farm". Why the Turtle Farm? Well, you know how you walk in and the old people kind of look like little turtles with their rounded backs and as soon as someone new appears, their head juts up and out like a turtle? Hey, I warned you this book wasnt PC. And trust me, Ill get mine one day when Im the one sitting in the Turtle Farm in a make shift nuns habit writing my 74th book, Wanna Play Bingo and Pull Up my Support Hose While Youre at It?

From that point onward, Debbie takes us on a wild ride through her childhood with games she played in Chicago during the sixties.

Youll recall the joy of playing with friends amid the grass, trees, and playgrounds. Youll remember about long-forgotten games that just took a bit of imagination, a willingness to get dirty, and a few friends, or crazy brothers and sisters, to make the games fun.

Travel back with Debbie into a time of innocence, laughter, Catholic school humor and best of all the world of Mercurochrome, Band Aids, and The Beatles!

You can get Wanna Play: Games of the 60s as Seen Through the Eyes of a Catholic Grammar School Diva by sending $12.00 plus $3.00 postage and handling and your old roller skate key, (Hey, Im kidding about the skate key) to Debbie Grubb 2511 W. Schaumburg Road, #348 Schaumburg, IL 60194

Review copy available upon request.

Millard Grubb (630) 837 - 3330