by K L Humphreys

Created on: April 27, 2009   Last Updated: April 28, 2009

Do you remember when you were a kid, and you really wanted to learn to do something, and you didn't care what anyone thought about you. I have also learned through the years, and raising my own children that they didn't care when or where they learned to make strange and funny noises, just as long as they did.

All I wanted to do was make funny sounds by blowing air around my tongue, and make a great fluttering sound. My friends could do it and I wanted to whatever they did.

Unfortunately for my dad I chose to practice this new art when I went with him to the golf driving range. I can still feel the stares of strangers while I blew air around my tongue, which sounded like a cat trying to purr. I can't actually remember the exact date of getting this tongue rattling down pat, but I can still do it today.

My husband remembers learning how to spit, and according to him this was important to be a proper boy. He explained the right way to shape the tongue and how much saliva to roll around in your mouth as to get a good distance.

I remember other neat tricks I learned, such as snapping my fingers. My god parents had a son who was a few years older than me and played with me when I came to visit.

He spent some of this time showing me how to snap my fingers. Years later when his mother passed away and we hadn't seen each other in years, and reminding him about what he taught me helped him to recognize me as an adult.

Another sound I could do was folding my hands together and blowing air between my thumbs gave a great Bobwhite. Some of us kids used this as a signal while playing cowboys and Indians or just sneaking around and hiding.

How about whistling? Do you just pucker up and blow in or out? Can you use your fingers to hit those high notes? I use my index finger and thumb and can rattle the windows. I have a great whistle for bringing in the horses. I always wondered how they knew the difference in whistles.

When my daughters were young and we went shopping I could do the wolf whistle and their heads would appear and they would whistle back to check in. Now my husband understands what that whistle means and stops what he is doing and finds me.

So what's your trick you learned as kid? Were you the best rope jumper, or tree climber? Could you roll your tongue and stick it out at strangers, or perhaps you could stand on your hands and walk around the yard?

Oh don't forget about your first wink, and then you discovered you could do both eyes intermittently or at the same time!

It was fun being a kid and learning to do all those neat things that let us be innocent and unaware of anyone staring and wondering if our parents had left us and secretly drove away.

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