Observing birds and trees has always been one of my favorite pastimes; however in the absence of those, I enjoy watching the clouds. The large cumulus clouds that resemble giant scoops of vanilla ice cream, looming upwards against a backdrop of azure sky, are breathtaking. On windy days, the sky can be cloudless and during heavy rain or snow storms, the sky is merely dark and overcast. My favorite sky is one which is filled with a potpourri of different sizes and shapes of clouds painted in varying shades of grey and white. Lying on my back watching the clouds shapeshift is still one of my favorite pastimes.
Most of the pastimes of my youth were solitary games, but they could also be shared with one or more others. Playing hopscotch entailed a degree of exercise and learning to balance. Jumping rope was by far the most exhilarating and was also good for the heart. The game of foursquare required at least four players, so it was usually played at recess. Tetherball involved upper body and arm strength along with some stretching, especially if you were short. When I was confined indoors, jacks and pick-up-sticks were games that I played on our hardwood floors. These both required quickness, dexterity, and eye/hand coordination. The more leisurely pastimes were generally playing with paper dolls by myself, or playing board games with my brother. We had only one TV and it was black and white. We only received five or six channels and had no control over what was being aired, so it did not become an addiction as it has for most people today.
Few children spend any time out of doors in this modern age. Watching clouds would not appeal to them. When they are not at school, they are on their phones or other devices, or glued to the television while consuming junk food and sodas. A few years back, I purchased jacks for three of my granddaughters. They were not interested in them and I could no longer enjoy playing jacks as I once had, because of the arthritis in my hands. From time to time, the vintage games of my youth are brought back by my nostalgic peers; but they never catch on or grab the interest of the current generation. If their phones are taken away, the youth of today do not know what to do with themselves. Those of my generation; however, could always find something to do and if nothing else interested them, they would read a book. The children of today do not know what they are missing.
