Back in the second half of the sixties, my mom would open the back door early in the morning and let all us kids escape into the unknown world.

We would have many adventures for hours on end, and the days flew by. Playing games in the neighbors backyard, running up and down the streets, disappearing into a distant vacant lot, exploring houses being built, crawling through underground forts and tunnels we had dug out and built, sitting along the riverside watching various light cruisers, destroyers and transport ships being sent off to the Vietnam War, climbing up the cherry trees and collecting cherries we sold on the street for a dime a bag, etc.

At the end of the day, my mom blew this loud whistle that could be heard a mile away, and we all knew that that was the distant call that meant we had to come back home for dinner.

What a fantastic childhood that was!