The streetlights just came on and I can almost hear “Mary Jane,” my mother standing at the screen door of our front porch telling me to come inside.
It was not black dark but a shadowy kind of inky darkness that made the trees and shrubs take on a creepy existence during which your mind could run away. But I was outside playing with all the neighborhood kids, and we never even thought of anything threatening or disturbing.
We were of the age at which we were invincible, and in those times gone by there were no “boogey men” to worry about.
We hear every day about drive-by shootings and children being snatched from what are thought to be safe places and never seen or heard from again.
I have told all my grandchildren, “There is safety in numbers,” meaning never go out anywhere alone and always have others with you.
It’s a sad situation to have to forewarn your children about the evils that they will encounter as they go out into our world.
I can remember Friday nights as we became teenagers, one of us would have an outside party, a boy-girl party. We were too young to date, so this was the next best thing.
We played all the games that teenagers played back then, spin the bottle, slap kiss and hug, truth or dare and then we would “go walking” with our “dare” into the dark of the night down the street, still oblivious to any bad guy grabbing us.
Now these kids gather in public places, lighted store parking lots or inside one of the teen’s homes where they are safe from predators. And all of you who have participated in these boy-girl games know what good times they are missing.
We hear on the news every day where some child has been tugged into a car while walking on the public streets or shot by an assault rifle while visiting with friends in a shopping mall or sitting at their desk, by all accounts in a safe place.
What in the world has happened to our humanity with our complete disregard for others?
I cannot help but feel very regretful for our young people that they cannot enjoy all the fun things we did as teenagers without our parents worrying if we would be home again.
Following is one of my mother’s easy Saturday night recipes, spoon burgers, and it was economical, as ground beef was one of the most inexpensive meats.
1 pound of ground beef
1 chopped onion
½ chopped bell pepper
½ cup of catsup
Brown meat and remove from skillet. Put chopped onion and bell pepper into the grease from meat and brown until tender. Add back to meat and add ½ cup of catsup. Simmer about 5-10 minutes and “spoon” onto buns. I make this now but I use ground chuck — not nearly as much grease. They are delicious.
