Story #48 ~ Childhood games (Carmela & Giuseppe)
03 May, 2025
"When I was little, my best friends were: Angelo, Giovanni and Salvatore. They eventually all left the country, some to Australia, some to New York. Our games were simple back then because we didn't have much.
We played with buttons to see who would win the most. We would put a larger button on the ground; then we placed the smaller buttons one on top of the other and with a large coin, we threw it to hit these button towers. We stood 2 meters away to toss the coin and then measured with our fingers to see who had gotten closest to the buttons. Whoever shot hardest and straightest took more.
Another game we played was with soccer player cards. We placed the cards on the ground and with our hands, we tapped the ground to make some wind and tried to make the cards flip. It was difficult to turn them the other way.
We also played with spinning tops. We pulled on a rope and had to catch the spinning tops with our hands. When there were several of us, if there was another one on the ground, we tried to hit it and make it go into a hole made in the ground. Sometimes we weren't nice and when someone lost, we would break their spinning top.
Near the neighborhood church, there was a slide made of smooth concrete. We would often go slide there. With my brothers and sisters, we played with hazelnuts and tried to make them go in a hole made on the ground. Other times, we would take a handkerchief and play who could catch it the fastest. We also climbed trees to see who could climb the highest. Sometimes it happened that a branch would break and so, we didn't do it anymore.
In the 60s, the economic boom began and so, people started buying cars and tractors. However, sometimes the bearing of the car broke. So we went to look for these pieces to build little carts to slide down the town's streets. The problem is that they made noise because the bearings were made out of metal. We did this in the summer, in the afternoon when people were often napping so they would get angry at us and complained to the municipal guards. One time, a guard wanted to give my parents a fine but in the end they didn't and we simply moved our games to another part of the village."
~ Giuseppe
We played with buttons to see who would win the most. We would put a larger button on the ground; then we placed the smaller buttons one on top of the other and with a large coin, we threw it to hit these button towers. We stood 2 meters away to toss the coin and then measured with our fingers to see who had gotten closest to the buttons. Whoever shot hardest and straightest took more.
Another game we played was with soccer player cards. We placed the cards on the ground and with our hands, we tapped the ground to make some wind and tried to make the cards flip. It was difficult to turn them the other way.
We also played with spinning tops. We pulled on a rope and had to catch the spinning tops with our hands. When there were several of us, if there was another one on the ground, we tried to hit it and make it go into a hole made in the ground. Sometimes we weren't nice and when someone lost, we would break their spinning top.
Near the neighborhood church, there was a slide made of smooth concrete. We would often go slide there. With my brothers and sisters, we played with hazelnuts and tried to make them go in a hole made on the ground. Other times, we would take a handkerchief and play who could catch it the fastest. We also climbed trees to see who could climb the highest. Sometimes it happened that a branch would break and so, we didn't do it anymore.
In the 60s, the economic boom began and so, people started buying cars and tractors. However, sometimes the bearing of the car broke. So we went to look for these pieces to build little carts to slide down the town's streets. The problem is that they made noise because the bearings were made out of metal. We did this in the summer, in the afternoon when people were often napping so they would get angry at us and complained to the municipal guards. One time, a guard wanted to give my parents a fine but in the end they didn't and we simply moved our games to another part of the village."
~ Giuseppe
