Playing “House”
We liked to play “house.” That is, with neighbor kids, we would choose our mates and play like we were families. A man and his wife could have as many imaginary kids as they wanted, always within reason, like real families. We would have imaginary rooms, the walls usually drawn in the dirt with a stick. We had imaginary furniture, eating utensils and foods. Sometimes we had mud pies for “food.” Peggy Campbell lived on the west side of the street, directly across from us. Theirs was a very nice house. She sometimes played house with us. One day I was playing house with my wife, who lived next door to the south of us. She was only two years old. While we were “eating dinner” on the border of our properties, Mother called for me to come home to my real house. I got up from our “table,” told my wife, “I have to go to work now,” kissed her on the lips and left. That was what I remember as the first time I ever kissed a girl other than my own sister. I think I loved that girl as much at that time as a real man loved his real wife, and that kiss was a real kiss. And, then I went off “to work.” Really! It was no accident she was my wife. I think her name was Judy.