My South Park Childhood

My childhood was alot like South Park. Alternately, I was Stan, Kyle, Kenny, or Cartman, except we were girls. 

I always had a gang of four friends, though they changed heads frequently.  My first gang was the Grannies.  We started an all girl group and practiced our dance moves to Lou Christie's "Lightning Strikes" (again, and again, and again) 

We even performed for our gym class and of course, I produced.  Unfortunately, we didn't get picked up by Disney or any other mega entertainment group because there was no videotape in those days, and Disney still played the Mousketeer reruns from the 50s.  Nobody was in the business churning out the child stars like Miley in those days.  

Kids were still sidekicks like Opie, or little Ricky, but then of course, that was all starting to change. The Partridge Family, the Osmonds, Little Stevie Wonder, even, were popping up. 

Anyway, we were hip and the Grannies became a local cult because we were KEWL. We wore go go boots like on Hullaballoo, and grannie glasses and grannie gowns which were vogue then.  This is circa 1965.

So, my girl group didn't really go anywhere, but my South Park childhood continued in the adventurous and creative ways that a small town environment will provide. We had absolute freedom. There was no hint of child predators, just an occasional "Creepy Man," and we were free to ride our bikes for miles, explore every nook and cranny of every wooded area, railroad trestles, and empty houses and constructions sites were particular favorites.  

The best summer was when they started building apartment houses and we would run through them. Now, there are high tech security fences locking up every site.  

We had bonfires.  Every Fall, there was a kickoff for the football season, and the whole town would descend on the Athletic Field for a huge bonfire.  Cheerleaders and footballers would make an appearance, but mostly it was just kewl.  

There was also "Hotdog,' a local character who proclaimed himself ambassador to kids in the town and would flood the playground with water for an impromptu ice rink in winter. He drove an old jalopy and always shouted "hot dog,' and he was just a 'character' that everybody loved. He taught us the way of the Hobo, since he was a veteran of the Great Depression, and would have night ice skating parties where he would have a fire in the trash can where we would cook hotdogs. He would tell stories, and would keep us all out of trouble.  

And, like South Park, we had a mixture of faiths and ethnic groups and had no compunction about mocking jews, germans, italians, and retarts in no particular order.  We had a "TIMMY" a disabled kid, who wore leg braces, "Ricky, the Retart," who looked like he was at least 30, but rode around on his bike all day being taunted by kids, and a quiet maturity about the adults we had to contend with both at home and at school.  Kids are not stupid, and after having a thirty minute conversation with my ten year old nephew over South Park, I just remembered that. 

I wanted to be a rock star, a go go dancer, though that has a different connotation now, a TV star, an entrepeneur and make "TEN MILLION dollars," and of course, wanted a cult following. 

just like South Park. 

I forgot that until now.  Since it is an election year, I've switched from watching the News to watching South Park, and I suggest you do, too.