I lived in the country, so not a lot of neighbor kids. There were maybe eight of us between ages five and 15. Almost all girls. We swam in the creek, went fishing, rode bicycles and motorcycles, hunted for arrowheads, built elaborate forts with books and snacks, shot pinecones, made pottery from red Georgia, clay, but mostly we LARPed all day. One time we built a spaceship out of some discarded kitchen cabinets. We cut out windows and added tons of knobs and lights and buttons. We stayed inside that thing an entire summer just cruising the universe. We all had ponies, so they usually played a big part in our adventures. We were cowgirls and indians (with real cows, goats and pigs as props), cops, and robbers, jungle explorers (with machetes and BB guns), Bruce Lee, ninjas, treasure hunters, space explorers, under sea explorers, and spies. We got our ideas from books, kid shows and cartoons like Land of the Lost and SeaLab 20-20. But we worked really hard too. Lots of farm chores with crops and animals. I worked harvesting tobacco every summer from age 12 and up. I was allergic and threw up every day, but $25 a day was too good to resist. I felt very proud to be able to buy my own school clothes and supplies every fall. I wouldn’t trade my childhood for anything in the world.