The sands of time and age can get heavy, so to temporarily rewind time to simpler times, sometimes one must take part in the joy they once felt in simpler entertainment. Back when a trip to a grocery store was a treasure hunt for food, and a larger staircase was a mountain climb only the most experienced hikers could brave. Growing past such child-like fantasies is an important part of becoming a functioning adult. However, we lose a part of ourselves in the process, the child who was passionate about everything without knowing anything, who felt every second was as monumental as the last, and had unbridled dreams of the limitless possibilities. In this series we ask you one question, do you remember?

Do you Remember…The Fresh Beat Band?

Airing from 2009-2013, The Fresh Beat Band is a visual manifestation of every child’s dream to be in a band with their best friends. Although I can’t tell you why the girls get normal names (Kiki and Marina), and the boys are named after the Beatles’ song “Twist and Shout,” the show brings me back to a time when all that mattered was a Skittle-colored scheme and a upbeat tune for me to dedicate way too much time to watching and rewatching this show. Seeing this show the other night brought me back to childhood: me beating my dad’s guitar hero drums way too hard every time the Fresh Beat Band would play, mimicking Marina the band’s drummer, and wearing a blue sequin outfit to complete the ensemble. Looking back now, I can see where my appreciation for music comes from in this show, and although childhood me might’ve been a little disappointed that I didn’t end up in the music school in the Fresh Beat Band, it’s reassuring to know that there are constants in life, such as music, that never really go away.

Do you Remember…The Duck Song?

To this day I ceaselessly reference this song to my younger sisters who are Gen Alpha, and honestly, the genius of it is underrated. Sometimes I am the annoying duck just trying to get grapes at the lemonade stand, and sometimes I am the lemonade stand guy who is genuinely just making lemonade out of lemons and is trying to get through the day. The Duck Song is about more than grapes and lemonade, it is about a question: do you settle for what is offered, or do you persist for the “grapes” in life, to only long for what has been there all along, the lemonade. From the man’s perspective, perhaps the duck song means that some people in life are never satisfied, and troubling ourselves over them is ultimately as repetitive as the “Bum Bum Bum,” every 30 seconds. Bryant Olden is up there with the Fresh Beat Band for songs that were pure dopamine to 5-8 year olds.

Do you Remember…Fast and Furious on the Gym Floor with Scooters?

I do not know what physical education skill this was, but I was clearly a slow learner cause I was running over my own fingers and flipping over these gym scooters the whole time. My preferred ride of choice was orange or purple, but hard pressed I would race a red one. I have a hunch the gym teachers would see a class of 30 hyped-up kids on Go-Gurts and be like, “Let’s just have them roll it out on the floor for 40 minutes.” As I got older, that is nine, I started to find these carts as dehumanizing as hamster wheels, being the uncoordinated salty hamster that I was, but now I appreciate them for what they were, a Darwinist social experiment performed on elementary schoolers under the guise of gym class. Were you a belly flopper, butt-scooter, or kicking-the-ground-til-your-tiny-feet-fell-off kind of racer?

Please submit your nostalgic bits of childhood by emailing me at [email protected].After all, why solve the problems of today when you could reminisce on the simplicity of the past for a little while?