CRHeel94
Exceptional Member
- Messages
- 212
Grew up in Miami and then my family lived to Costa Rica in the early 80s.
I remember being a latchkey kid when we live in Miami. My dad would work long hours and my mom shuttled us kids around town while also helping to take care of her parents. That meant a lot of afternoons that I spent at our apartment by myself; invariably I'd go around and explore on my BMX bike (had a badass Ripper). On weekdays we were supposed to be back by 6pm...on weekends we would pretty much roam til about 8PM (my first digital Casio came in handy for keeping track of time). Part of the time welded in Miami was right by the beach...I remember going to the beach with friends and cousins, we had a competition how far in we could swim on an inflatable raft (really pushed it this one time, getting out to a marker). We also went to the pool pretty much every day during the summer after going to camp in the morning (that's where I discovered American foods like Bologna sandwiches, PB&J, Mac and cheese, pudding pops, Country Time lemonade, etc).
Flag football in the fall, soccer in the winter and baseball in the spring. By fourth grade I would bike to school (holy hell...I was 9 years old). I remember getting detention for repeated tardiness to school: too many times I'd try to find a shortcut that would end up taking longer. I read a lot as a kid (won one of those MS Book a Thons). My family was big on movies...we'd try to go 3-4 times per week (think that was my Dad's way to unwind). Arcades were the ultimate; we had a small arcade at our condo with five games (Donkey Kong, Pac Man, Centipede, Joust, and Tempest), but going to the bigger arcades was the ultimate treat.
I remember being a latchkey kid when we live in Miami. My dad would work long hours and my mom shuttled us kids around town while also helping to take care of her parents. That meant a lot of afternoons that I spent at our apartment by myself; invariably I'd go around and explore on my BMX bike (had a badass Ripper). On weekdays we were supposed to be back by 6pm...on weekends we would pretty much roam til about 8PM (my first digital Casio came in handy for keeping track of time). Part of the time welded in Miami was right by the beach...I remember going to the beach with friends and cousins, we had a competition how far in we could swim on an inflatable raft (really pushed it this one time, getting out to a marker). We also went to the pool pretty much every day during the summer after going to camp in the morning (that's where I discovered American foods like Bologna sandwiches, PB&J, Mac and cheese, pudding pops, Country Time lemonade, etc).
Flag football in the fall, soccer in the winter and baseball in the spring. By fourth grade I would bike to school (holy hell...I was 9 years old). I remember getting detention for repeated tardiness to school: too many times I'd try to find a shortcut that would end up taking longer. I read a lot as a kid (won one of those MS Book a Thons). My family was big on movies...we'd try to go 3-4 times per week (think that was my Dad's way to unwind). Arcades were the ultimate; we had a small arcade at our condo with five games (Donkey Kong, Pac Man, Centipede, Joust, and Tempest), but going to the bigger arcades was the ultimate treat.
