As a kid, did you used to "call out" your friends to get them to come outside?

Yes, all the time, during the 70s, in France, in a rural area.

Not very relevant in this American thread, but I had forgotten that. Thanks for the memories.

No way. But I would yell at them if they were already outside.

Ditto for suburban Rhode Island, early 1960s. Typically it would sound like:

HEY–TIMM–EEEE

where the “EE” would drop by about a third (e.g., from a C to an A) in the middle.

All the time in New Jersey in the 1970s

Never in southern Illinois in the late 60’s. Good way to get reamed out by an irate German woman.

When I was a kid, “calling someone out” was an invitation to a fight-one of those silly, young male rituals about status.

I grew up in Florida and we did this. We’d stand outside the door and yell. Reason, we didn’t want to talk to the adults

Waaaaariors, come out to plaaaay … clink-clink-clink … Waaaaariors, come out to plaaaay …

(Or alternatively, Twisted Sister, come out to plaaaay…)

After introducing her to a certain late 50s/early 60s sit-com, my youngest daughter has taken to yelling:

HELLOOOO, MR. WILLLLSONNNNNNN!

Exactly.

We did this a bit. I had one friend who had a grouchy dad who would often refuse to let my friend out if asked formally (“no, not till he’s tidied his room!”) but who never particularly saw fit to exercise control if not specifically asked. And yelling my friend’s name (which I might have done for some other friend) had the same effect.

So we had a system. I’d just go outside on the road and bounce a ball noisily on the pavement. And my friend would come out.

Did that all the time - grew up in Glasgow, Scotland - was not climbing up 3 flights of stairs when a shout would do the trick…

I grew up in sub Detroit ( JOy rd - Telegraph area) late 1960s and we always did that. I was just sending a christmas card to a friend from that time and we were wondering if that was just a local custom. SHAROOOOON…SHAROOOOOON !

Yes, I just remembered that last week.

All us kids in the late 50s and 60s in Chicago would yell outside our friend’s house, “Yo-o-o-o-oh Greg” (or whoever), in a sing song way for the yo-oh, up and down.

We never went to the door until early teens. It was the accepted way, rarely did a parent get mad. I moved to California in 1970 and haven’t been back east since.

I wonder if kids in the Midwest and on the East-coast still do this today.

That would be awesome.

Mike

That…is genius.

We called ON our friends, as in, walked down the street (by yourself!), knocked on the door and asked if they could come out. It was known as “calling on”.

We did that with a lot of our friends, some we would knock on the door, it kind of depended on the house.

No, I just went over and asked if they could come out and play.
Deja vu, anyone? :smiley:

I had a weird ritual in my youth. When I wanted my neighbor-friends to come out, I would just go shoot hoops in our driveway, which was visible to their house.

I’d go over and knock if there was a special reason, but I always hated the idea of “imposing” for just casual hangin’ out.

It was normally a very functional system, but there were a few times where I would get into a bout of nervous anxiety where I really wanted company but really didn’t want to knock on their door, so I’d stay outside practicing free throws for over an hour.

…I was an odd kid. Also, my time spent practicing to skill at shooting ratio proves that talent DOES matter.

I grew up in a suburb east of Cleveland OH in the late 50s early 60s. “Calling a kid out” meant you were looking for a fight. However, we also did do this name calling in that sing-song voice mentioned, but we’d never refer to it as “calling a kid out.” And like others have mentioned, kids and close neighbors came to the back door.

It’s not often that I get ninja’d by almost three months.