Parenting styles were different 50 years ago.  Back then, a parent’s primary job was to keep the child alive and get the child to school.  Parents didn’t coordinate their children’s entertainment and social schedules.  Nobody shuttled us back and forth to activities.  We were responsible for entertaining ourselves while the adults did grown-up things like iron shirts and pay for homeowners’ insurance.  For the story I am about to tell to make any sense at all, you must keep in mind that we didn’t have internet, satellite dish, cable TV, or video games.  We had 5 channels on the TV (7 if you included the 2 PBS stations, and those were boring).  We didn’t even have a VCR yet.  My family included my parents and my brother, who is 3 years older than me.  We lived on a big hill in the country.  My aunt, uncle, and two male cousins lived on the other side of the same hill.  My cousins are 2 and 3 years older than me.  Because we were in the country, my only playmates were my brother and cousins.  My entire childhood was spent trying to keep up with those three boys.