Born to the sounds
Of big band music
In a period of old time values
Where children were seen
But never heard
Dinner at five sharp
No elbows on the table
Evenings with the aroma
From Erinmore pipe smoke
Gathered around the Telefunken radio
Our pipeline to the world
Brand new Converse high tops
For the first day of school
Winter brought rubber boots lined with newspaper
Handmade wooly socks
Freedom was the old two wheel Schwin
Passed down a time or two
Rambling far and wide
Scraped knees and elbows
Games fueled by imagination
Bottles of soda guzzled
Frantic sprints
Escaping from Freemans Orchard
Stolen bounty cradled in arms
Spurred on by the shouts
Of the indignant owner
Teen years and the wonder
Of cars and girls
Life lessons learned along the way
Pumping gas at the Shell Station
Seventy five cents an hour
Twenty five dollars bought
The 46 Fargo pick up
I had longed for these many months
To cruise Main street
In a fog of oil smoke
Squealing belts and rust
With not a clue or care
What tomorrow would bring
Just youthful optimism
That all would be well
