[manaboutown]

Attending a small public elementary school that taught reading, writing and arithmetic. The principal played piano and we sang. A music teacher came once a week as did a Spanish teacher. Walking or riding my bike the two blocks home for a hot lunch.

Learning to cuss in Spanish and German, a little in Assyrian and Greek. Vastly increasing my English cussing vocabulary being a batboy for the Kirtland Flyers, a semi-pro baseball team.

Playing marbles in the dirt in the spring

Shooting my Daisy pump BB gun until its spring finally broke

Building model airplanes from scratch and then flying them

Building kites and flying them

Playing "Smear the Guy" on a dirt playground, a game where whomever had the ball was tackled

Riding my bike wherever I wanted without worry

Listening to The Green Hornet, The Shadow, Fibber McGee and Molly and other comedy teams on the AM radio

Going to matinees at the movies in the summer, admission a dime

Root beer floats, banana splits, ice cream sodas, cherry, lime and chocolate cokes, malts, milk shakes, all at fountains

Snowball fights at school on the rare occasion it actually snowed in Albuquerque

Getting a day off from school and going to the State Fair, hitting the midway, eating cotton candy, Indian fry bread, and attending the rodeo

Driving around town in the family Oldsmobile during the holidays to see the lights, especially enjoying the luminarias (farolitos)