Give a listen ... When summer was a taste of Heaven

Summers in the 1950s: no homework, no chores, no rules. Nothing but fun and freedom. Summer vacations longer than they are today. School years were about 170 days back then — shorter than the 180-day minimum mandated now. We didn’t break until the second half of June, but classes didn’t resume until after Labor Day. By then it was feeling more like autumn. We had a full taste of summer. Today’s return to classes (as early as Aug. 10th!) robs youngsters of what would still be a summer’s carefree feeling.

Streets of Philadelphia

The greatest sense of freedom came from an almost complete lack of...