People over 35 should be dead.

Here's why ...........

According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us
who were kids in the 40's,50's, 60's, or even maybe the early 70's probably shouldn't have survived.

Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based
paint.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets, .. and when we rode our bikes, we had no
helmets.



(Not to mention the risks we took hitchhiking.)

As children, we would ridein cars with no seatbelts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.

Horrors!

We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from this.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes.

After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the street lights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day.

NO CELL PHONES!!!!!

Unthinkable!

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, videotape movies, surround sound, personal cell phones, personal computers, or Internet chat rooms.

We had friends!

We went outside and found them.

We played dodge ball, and sometimes, the ball would really hurt.

We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

They were accidents.

No one was to blame but us.

Remember accidents?

We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it.

We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms, and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor did the worms live inside us forever.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rang the bell or just walked in and talked to them.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team.

Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.

Some students weren't as smart as others, so they failed a grade and were held back to repeat the same grade.

Horrors!

Tests were not adjusted for any reason.

Our actions were our own.

Consequences were expected.

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was Unheard of.

They actually sided with the law.

Imagine that!


.........and they say we keep getting smarter???
:smash: :smash:

Well said bloo. I totally agree, although you may get arrested or sued for saying that.:laughs:

If it where up to my mom the ruler wouldn't just be used for measuring.
Where has time gone?

Yup, amazing we all made it ok...
:D

Thanks Bloo, Now I remember why I am emotionally scared for life. Tell me again just who should I sue for this??? I think I need to see a shrink!!!
LOL:laughs:

Bloocrab you say all that like it's a bad thing. If you really think about those things we older folk experienced growing up, it probably explains more why we are still here, rather than dead. We lived a simple yet full, rich, existence. We were challenged to be creative with materials on hand, and we toughed it out and weren't pampered. Fast food and the then unheard of "junkfood" we got on special occasions, not on an artery clogging regular basis. Friend, those were my good old days and I feel like I try to live that way as an adult. I don't rely on a cellphone being constantly charged, attached to the side of my head, I don't fall for all the high-tech to make my life easier, if I have a headache I still take Bayer aspirin for children. Maybe we survived because we're completely the opposite of kids today - unspoiled, healthy diet, Lincoln Logs insteasd of Lazertag, treated cuts with Bactine and bandaids instead of calling the EMT's at the drop of a hat and fussing over if there will be a scar and thoughts of "should we sue?"
It was a good time to bring back some really good childhood memories. Thanks from a survivor.

AMEN Brother!!!

I'm probably one of the only I.T. guys in existence that doesn't have a cell phone.

I can still remember the only safety advice I got from my dad for the pick-up truck was stay against the back.

Well said Bloocrab, here is to our childhood!:cheers: :btu:

Although I don't have kids, I see most of my nieces and nephews on a regular basis. I am the "fun uncle" that teaches them about playing "simon says", "I spy", thumb wrestling (theyalways win), that spiders, ants, flies, beetles, worms and snakes all have their place in our yard. I show them fireflies, and explain how their bums light up. I remind them (and myself) that the simplest pleasures can be the most rewarding. I may be in my 40's, but I haven't forgotten what fun is really like. No matter how hectic my life may get, I can still find something that is simple and fun.
Here's an interesting example:
My father passed away 3 years ago, and (literally) on the day he passed, I decided I needed to get out and clear my head. I went fishing (March 30, 2001). Now even thogh I didn't really expect to catch anything, just the act of fishing was relaxing. At one point, I noticed a small brown bat skimming over the surface of the water, probably picking off midges, and other early emerging flies.
I watched, with interest, as it darted back and forth across the pond right in front of me. I thought that this was cool. Then it proceeded to fly off for it's roost. In mid-flight, A brown tailed hawk picked the bat off, and if I hadn't been watching it, I would never had seen it. I've always been amazed at nature. I only hope my relatives, young and old, never completely lose their sense of adventure. Get out and explore your world.

Sorry for the length, but I hope you enoyed it.

Bloo - very well said.

Being a child of the '70's in Vermont is probably like being a child of the '60's down here. And you brought back a lot of fond memories.

Saftey while riding in the back of a pick-up - don't sit on the edge. The wheel well is ok, but not the edge.

Accidents were pretty much a weekly occurance, black eyes and cuts happen....and we are better for them.

Reading this thread has been very theraputic. And reminds me why I am happy I do not have kids and will not have kids.

I am not sure I would be a very happy parent dealing with the crap that goes on today. I might have been a good dad instilling the values expressed in this thread. but dealing "todays" parents would have surely pushed me over the edge. I think there would be too many lawsuits filed against me and my kids. LOL

I pity today's youth.

The world has gotten ugly

Life is so much more complex

Time?...what is time?...no one seems to have any...


I was talking with my brother today, (who's got 3 years on me :laughs: )...he told me that his son (7) found an old photo album....not your ordinary photo album though......as kids, my brother and I were always drawing something...and when they came out half decent...they went into the "album"....dated and all....He started talking about our drawing sessions, those were the days that rained or snowed, the ones where we were stuck indoors. Our parents were poor so inside entertainment was very limited...but give us a pencil and a scrap of paper....(lined or not) and we'd fill it up, spend hours doing it. He would take a turn drawing a squiggly line on the sheet and I've have to turn it into something without using an eraser or filling it in with lead. It was called using your imagination.......now-adays, the only imagination kids put to use is imagining being home playing Playstation. In my opinioin, kids now-a-days are wasting their youth and they don't even realize it. What kind of memories are they going have? They finished Zelda in 2 weeks? They got all the hidden members in Tekken?....

It's a shame....and I feel for them. Lucky for them, they don't have anything to compare it to......until they hear the stories from our youth....


..if you have children, leave all the electronics at home and spend some reel time with them -

Sounds like a baby sitter problem to me.

They don't make parents like they used to.

Bloo, all true :) But it's a different world today :(
I remember when I was seven (back in '72) my parents had no problem letting me take my bike 1 1/2 miles to the Country Corner store to get candy or taking my Zebco to the Pembroke/Duxbury line to fish for catfish and bass all by myself.
My oldest is nine and theres no way I'd let him go that far by himself. It's a shame our kids can't experience a simpler time.

OLLY >>>>>OLLY >>>>>>IN COME FREE !!!!

i can never forget this for some reason..... but just the baseball cards that i had attached to my bicycle with clothes pins to ride around the neighborhood with that motorized sound....
if i still had them.....could buy me a fully equiped boat, trailer and new truck if they hadnt fallen off....or i saved them...bazooka
bubblegum,skybars..... that makes me crazy to think of it.:D

Yeah, Gilly, I think you're right - we had the best of times...

Hell, nobody enjoyed a good brick fight more than me and my pals down the wharf here at the old steam powered generating plant. It was right next to the old coal-yard where my grandfather worked when he wasn't fishing the trap boats.

Hey, and you wonder why I ain't right :smash:

I musta forgot to duck one too many times, I guess. :laughs:

bb guns :eek:
miles of beach[with no one on it.
forts[tree house] or UNDER ground
want to go to the store>>> WAlk
FisH in the ponds by the basket full
black an white tv....
PLAY in the streets/no cars
gramps motor scooter:happy:
one car family
chickens,cows an black snakes
go get ya the coal outta the barn before dark>>no lights:eek5:
phone number if you had a phone #401
get outside an play or I'll put u ta work....
CHORES,,,,get them done or no dinner period.

yeh! now adays ya can't even go outside without ya 10 nabor's starein out their windows at ya. try an walk on the street without getting hit...........I love my son, but god he's can't do anything today I use to do it's all gone.....what instore for HIS kid's??

Originally posted by BigFish
Well said Bloocrab, here is to our childhood!:cheers: :btu:

I erased much of my childhood memories during the 70's..

.:smash: :smash: :smash: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Tea-Berry and Black-Jack Gum
Candy Cigarettes
Choo-Choo Charlie with his Good-n-Plenty, and Charleston Chews in the Freezer
Caps - the kind that sounded like an M-80 if you smashed a whole roll at once
Sting ray Bikes w/ a banana seat (and you would always hack off the front forks from a broken one to "Extend" the front forks on yours)
Corner Stores that sold penny candy....for a penny
Willie Whistle, Rex Trailer and Major Mudd
Rudolf, Santa Claus Coming to town, and The Wizard of Oz were on just once a year...and if you missed it ,Oh Well
A pile of old wood would almost instantly become a "Fort" for you and your buddies to thumb through and old Playboy in and if you were lucky enough to find some wheels, dammit, you were building something to ride down the hill on.

...except for Levi's, very little if anything you wore had a logo or designer name or label plastered across it, one pair of shoes lasted a year and a pair of sneakers (i.e., Chuck Conners AllStars in canvas) didn't send your folks out for second jobs, and if you were fortunate enough to have a birthday party, it wasn't a $25.00 a head, catered affair at Build A Bear or Chucky Cheese, it was in your basement, pin-the-tail on the donkey was cutting edge fun, and your mom made your cake and frosting from scratch instead of ordering a sheet cake for 50 in the shape of SpongeBob Squarepants and Squidward.
This thread makes me regret ever growing up!

God, I almost forgot about Willie Whistle, Rex Trailer, Major Mudd and Bozo. I had the joy as a child of being on Bozo's Big Top and the Major Mudd show.
One thing a try to (constantly) expose my neices and nephews to is "Animal Planet" shows. Not the stupid animal tricks or home videos, but the actual shows about animals.
Seeing that the odds of these kids getting to experience wildlife outside of a zoo is becoming a rarity these days, I figure if I pique their interest now as children, they'll do more exploring on their own. Plus by showing and explaining to them that not all creatures are "monsters" they'll hopefully develope a better respect for the wildlife they do encounter.

Best damn game I ever played as a kid, we called house tag. We played the game in the new homes going up in the development we lived in and man it's amazing we didn't break our necks, swinging from the rafters or scrambling across the roof to jump to the deck below to avoid a tag.

BB guns and 22 long rifle shoots at the driftway were the norm, along with some bunny and squirrel hunting along the way. Then I discovered girls and the hunting became more involved, along with vasty increased risks and pleasure:).

That's Chuck Taylor All-Stars.

The only "label" that my parents gave into. My Mom had a fit when in the 8th grade I asked for $8.50 for a pair of "Cons" She was used to paying $3 at Silco for "maypops". I had to supplement the purchase with my own 25 cent an hour money I earned pulling morning glories out of my Grandpop's soybean fields.

Some of it can still be done. Our kids get the $12 "irregular" jeans at the Old Navy Outlet. If they want the $40 "Pac Suns" they buy them. The Pac Suns quickly lost their appeal.

Chuck Conners?! Don't know where that came from, guess I was also a big fan of the Rifleman back then, too.

all you people under 35.....

have you seen Dawn of the Dead ?

we're coming to get you.......:eek: :) :D

Kids have SO MANY distractions now. They still complain that there is nothing to do.! :P

My 6 yr old daughter would rather watch TV (no cable in our house) - over just about anything. We use to play outside until dark (or until they called the other kids parents to call you to the phone....lol). She has a bigger wardrobe than I do!

We rode around without helmets on our bicycles and survived.

I use to wear Keds (2nds), or the store brand ones from Grants in downtown Boston. You guys remember Kreskees (sp?) Gilchrist's & Raymond's?

What about Lost in Space, Gilligans Island & the Three Stooges!

uh...well I am not 35 or over but I guess I should be dead anyway. when we werent working our tails off we were allowed to play and play usually meant running off into the woods for the afternoon (BY OURSELVES AT THAT!!!):eek: we pretended that the foot wide stream was a mighty river and that following it to the other end of the neighbors farm was an expedition and we were the pioneers. (oh and there werent any "no tresspassing" signs either) when we were done we would go home for supper and eat everything on our plates, wash the dishes, enjoy a little family time watching one of three channels we could get on the tv (but we had to change the channels but hand) then we would go to sleep and get our rest because the next day we had to weed the garden, stack wood and mow the lawn!!!!! oh and my uncles yard too if his wasnt already done!

Hey, Plug - low black Chuck's - it all comes back to me now.

Geez, Gilly, good thread - it reminds me of just how many geezers and old pharts are here - not that there's anything wrong with that, being one myself.

Here's to you, buds - :buds: