To be a child in summertime before it fades to fall season

School's discipline of regular classes, including gym and prayer gave way to summer vacation's chill time. I looked forward to summer.

Touch football in the streets, strides through Forestlawn and Mt. Olivet Cemetaries near Arcola and Van Dyke where we lived, and treks through the railroad tracks on Mt. Elliott and Lynch Road near Detroit's City Airport, gave us adventures of our lives. Memories will forever mark summer out of school.

Today's kids, on the other hand, are registered in everything from courses to summer camp, band, on-the-job training, and school-like tasks that make it hard for youngsters to enjoy summer's swift months off.

The other Sunday while driving home I notice two middle school kids,or younger, each dribbling large pink balls on the sidewalk on the street I pass. They were together but each bounced separately. At least, they're playing, I forgave them! At least summer is doing what it is supposed to do for them. Enjoy!

But, what I'd propose is no (anti) social media, no testing, TV, and talking on cell phones they all have nowadays. When my friends and I wanted to connect, we had to run over to their home, or shout loud enogh for the neighbors to complain. Today, young people meet on social media, they tweet, e-mail and more.

Face to face fun is what summer is meant to be for kids. They recreate for readying for the frenetic Fall classes.

They're supposed sit in the sun, be still, shout, laugh, run in the sun . . . and . . .

They're to be unsupervised like we were playing touch football in the street in front of our two-family aluminum-sided home where the nine of us lived and lavish the stories we tell these days as we watch teens, among others youth, miss.

What kid has time to shut down in the summer?

What gal or guy can just be, and play all summer without schedules?

Who cares about watching the clouds and the setting sun in summer?

Who can lighten up and be a kid again?

I can't do this for them, but parents can guide them to savor summer, and the delights it offers as fewer days remain before school bells ring in the new year for them.