My daughter learned how to jump rope this summer and she brought back so many memories of my childhood.   All I needed was my Keds, a jump rope and my girls and I was good to go.  Like my daughter now, I jumped rope during recess at school–that is, when I wasn’t knocking out kids at 4 Square.

Here she is learning how to jump rope.  At first she didn’t quite have it, but she was a quick study and had it down in no time.

 

I had completely forgotten that song that she is singing!  That made me think of the songs that I used to sing while jumping rope.  During my jump-roping years I lived in Chicago and the South suburbs of Chicago, but I also spent summers with my grandparents in Alabama; jumping rope in both places, I realized that jump rope rhymes are regional.   Some of the songs were the same, with minor changes and some of them were completely different.  These are the songs that I remember, although I’m not quite sure where I learned them. 

 

Mable Mable

Mable Mable set the table

Just as fast as you are able

And don’t forget the

Red hot peas!

(On “peas” jump as fast as you can until you miss.)

 

Down in The Valley

Down in the valley where the green grass grows,

There sat Sherrelle as sweet as a rose.

She sang, she sang, she sang so sweet,

Along came James and kissed her on the cheek.

How many kisses did she get?

(Count until the jumper misses.)

 

Stepped in the Water

Stepped in the water, boom ba

The water was cold, boom ba

Chilled my body, boom ba

But not my soul, boom ba

Hopping on 1, boom ba

Hopping on 2, boom ba

(…..etc. Counting until the jumper misses.)

 

Jack Be Nimble

Jack be nimble, Jack be quick,

Jack jumped over the freedom stick.

You gotta do those pop-ups 10-1

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

 

Old King Mamba (?)

Old King Mamba, reading the news

Brought himself a new pair of shoes.

And when those shoes begin to wear,

Old King Mamba said “I declare!”

I can do the mumble, mumble, mumble

I can do the splits, splits, splits

I can do the sizzler, sizzler, sizzler

I can do the kicks, kicks, kicks

(The jumper performs the above motions while jumping.)

 

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn around

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch the ground

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, show your shoe

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, that will do

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, climb the stairs

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, say your prayers

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn out the light

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, say good night!

 

Last Night

Not last night, but the night before

24 robbers at my door.

I jumped up when they got in,

Hit them on the head with a rolling pin.

 

And of course there was Double Dutch jumping in both Chicago and Alabama.  Although guys jumped too, mostly it was girls doing Double Dutch in my day. The way the boys talked trashed on the basketball court?–It was the same way with Double Dutch.  You had to have GAME to jump in some neighborhoods!  My cousins lived on the South Side of Chicago and I wouldn’t even think of trying to do Double Dutch in their neighborhood, as I was admittedly game-less.   I was the person on the side “digging her mashed potatoes” (for those who don’t know, this meant standing on the side, bobbing back and forth, taking forever to jump in).  And I couldn’t turn around or do tricks or anything while jumping;  I was just happy to get in and stay in without messing up! 

Despite my inepdtness at Double Dutch, I love watching people jump.  To me, it is both a sport and an art form. Check out this video from The New York Times shot at the Double Dutch Holiday Classic at The Apollo Theater in Harlem:

 

 

While my daughter now loves to jump rope, I don’t think that she will be jumping Double Dutch anytime soon.  Mommy doesn’t have enough skill to pass it on and she doesn’t go to school, live in or visit neighborhoods where Double Dutch is played regularly.  I was really pleased when The Disney Channel made the movie Jump In, starring Corbin Bleu and Keke Palmer.  If you haven’t seen it,  you and your kids will love it, if just for the final competition scene.

Although we’ve seen it many times on The Disney Channel, I think that I will buy it.  Maybe my daughter and I can watch it together and slow-mo the moves.  She can learn and I can get better.  

 

What are your fondest jump rope memories?  Do you remember any jumping songs?  Are you a Double Dutch legend in your old neighborhood?  Please share!

© 2008 – 2009, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

The Krofft Supershow on Saturday mornings–there’s a flashback into the late 70′s!   The show was only on for two seasons and I was really small, but my favorite segment on there was Electra Woman and Dyna Girl. Electra Woman was played by Deidra Hall, today most notably known for her career on Days of Our Lives.  I loved Electra Woman; I used to play her with my cousins all the time.  I was so thrilled when I found this doll at a Spencer’s gift store some years back.  She sits on my filing cabinet along with my other toys.  The boots are hot!

 

 

Of course they were an obvious female Batman & Robin-type duo and I’m sure that’s why I liked them so much; girl power!  That would explain my fascination despite the awfulness of the show.  I found this clip of an episode of Electra Woman and Dyna Girl and it is pretty bad and tripped out!

 

 

And let’s not forget Wonder Bug, also on The Krofft Supershow!  I loved the theme song and can still sing it by heart (there goes my “gift” again).  Check out that groovy yellow jumpsuit!

 

 

My doll of Electra Woman is on a stand that says “Krofft Superstars” but really this is inaccurate as she was part of the Supershow, not the Superstars.  It sounds like they are similar, but they are not!  Although both shows were produced by Sid and Marty Krofft, The Supershow was on Saturday mornings and The Superstars came on in the afternoon.  Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, H. R. Pufnstuf (with the evil Witchie-Poo), and The Land of the Lost (“lost, lost, lost”) were my favorite shows to watch on The Krofft Superstars.  

 

 

If you remember these shows, I bet there are some photos of you somewhere wearing bell-bottoms and a fringed vest.  Wait!–all those things came back in style!  ;)  Could The Krofft Supershow be revived too?

© 2008 – 2011, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

I spent this past week on the sofa with a very bad cold.  It takes a lot to make me stay put, so you know that I was really sick.  I put my regular life on hold and instead from my perch on the sofa I twittered (which kept me from feeling isolated; Twitter is the bomb-diggy), wrote some blog posts and planned a family vacation.  With the fire going and a cup of tea by my side, I made the best of being inside all day.   The one thing that I did that I never, EVER do is watch daytime television.  I rarely watch any TV, but this in particular is a hard rule for me–I never turn on the TV during the day.  First of all I am too busy; my kids are away from 8:30 – 2:30 and that is not a whole lot of time to do all that I have to do, and most importantly, I refuse to be THAT stereotypical stay-at-home mom.  I don’t judge people who do it, but it is a slippery slope that I don’t want to even start.  But this week I broke my rule and watched Regis & Kelly every morning, The View and then All My Children. I haven’t watched All My Children or any soap in 20 years.  And this is why: in just a couple of days I am already back up to speed (Jesse is back! And has a daughter that Angie didn’t know about!) and curious to see what will happen next.  That’s how they hook you.  After today the television is off for good!  

But, back in the day I did watch soaps as did everyone I knew (even the guys; my husband remembers more than I do).   I know some people were fans of The Young & The Restless, but I never got into that show until our good friend Shemar Moore got that gig, and then I just watched to support him, I didn’t really know what was going on.  Nope, the ABC soaps–All My Children, One Live to Live, General Hospital–those were my shows.  When did I ever have so much time to watch TV?

 

So, in honor of my week on the sofa, here’s a backwards look into one of Port Charles’ most famous events:

 

Luke and Laura’s wedding on General Hospital was watched by 30 million viewers and still remains the highest rated hour in soap opera history.  If you have forgotten Luke and Laura’s exciting life and long history together, take a read here.  I swear that you will be dizzy by the end.  Whew!  You gotta hand it to the writers of these shows, they are some very creative people.

© 2008 – 2009, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

How many of you remember this song?  Oooooh, I love me some Switch!  This song was made in 1978 and I was just a little tyke, but it has stood the test of time; the vocals are on point and just listen to that guitar solo.  Those were some smooth brothers. Here I am singing this song about 15 years ago at one of our frequent house parties. It’s 3:00 in the morning and those are my neighbors and good friends, Dawn & Chris, singing with me.  “There’ll Never Be” is one of those songs that makes you think that you can sang.

 

 

Take a listen, grab your hairbrush and sing along: 

© 2008 – 2011, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.

There is no doubt that The Cosby Show was one of the best television shows ever made and I never missed an episode (in the pre-Tivo days this was a big deal).  I have many favorite Cosby Show episodes, but the Gordon Gartrelle episode is just so great because I remember designer shirts like that!  Way back when we first met, my husband used to wear Gordon Gartrelle-like shirts.  Hair laid and faded, pager in his pocket, boy you couldn’t tell him anything–he was The Man!   Like Theo, he really shouldn’t have been spending so much money on clothes (he was a college student!), but also like Theo, he was dressing to impress the girls (Me!).   Enjoy this episode for it’s comedic genius and to relive 80′s “designer” fashions.   Hilarious! 

 

© 2008 – 2009, Funkidivagirl.com. All rights reserved. Republished only with permission.