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View Full Version : what era where you born???



XLGPP
04-23-2003, 07:24 AM
You Should Be Glad Bureaucrats say we should be dead! WE BEAT THE
ODDS!!
According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were
kids in the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's or even the early 80'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 ride in cars with no seat belts 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........ video tape 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, ........punched each other, 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 would never sue. They 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, one to hide behind.
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of.
They
actually sided with the law. Imagine that!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem
solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years have been an explosion of
innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and
responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. And you're one of
them.
Congratulations!
Please pass this on to others who have had the good fortune to grow up as
kids, before lawyers and government regulated our lives, for "our own
good".

hoolign
04-23-2003, 07:47 AM
Can't agree more,those were the days!the go cart with no brakes sure brings back memories!

Sleek-Jet
04-23-2003, 07:53 AM
XLGPP:
We had friends! We
went outside and found them.
Yeah, before hot boat. :D

SCUBA STEVE
04-23-2003, 07:57 AM
How can spin the bottle be left out? That was always a classic when someones parents werent home. :D

MJ19
04-23-2003, 08:03 AM
XLGPP:
Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat. True...I remember on special days my dad would help me with my paper route. Driving me around the neighborhood in his flatbed truck. He'd fold the papers in the front and drive...flipping them out the window to me, I'd catch them and toss them from the bed of the truck to the door steps of my customers. :D (fond memories of quality time with my daddy)
Later in life, I was standing in the bed of a truck going about 20 mph way out in the middle of no man's land and got a ticket from a police officer...things have changed. wink

Jbb
04-23-2003, 08:04 AM
That post hit the nail right on the head .I wonder what the health of kids from those eras would be like compared to those since the advent of video games and computers.The rates for child obesity have probably skyrocketed since then...I guess as in any generation it depends on a parents ability to say NO!

superV
04-23-2003, 08:40 AM
True Dat! frown

Coach
04-23-2003, 09:43 AM
That reminds me of a story my grandparents told me. They drove from Mississippi to California in 1945 and my dad was put in a draw with some blankets and put into the backseat. How is that for a car seat! eek!

spectratoad
04-23-2003, 10:58 AM
Prime reason why I tell my kids it is nice outside go there. They have the video games but not while it is nice outside. Sometimes though they have to remind me that it is only 7:30 in the morning. :D

MJ19
04-23-2003, 11:05 AM
I was always being kicked outside to play and I'll do the exact same thing with my children. :D Outdoor Adventures can't happen inside...save the couch forts for a rainy day. :D

voodooCanoe
04-23-2003, 11:29 AM
Does anyone remeber how fun b.b. gun wars were?
2 pair of pants, 2 sweatshirts and a piece of
screen over a old football helmet facemask.

superV
04-23-2003, 11:35 AM
voodooCanoe:
Does anyone remeber how fun b.b. gun wars were?
2 pair of pants, 2 sweatshirts and a piece of
screen over a old football helmet facemask. Hell ya! put on my riding gear and go at it. Dam I miss being a kid! frown

superV
04-23-2003, 11:35 AM
voodooCanoe:
Does anyone remeber how fun b.b. gun wars were?
2 pair of pants, 2 sweatshirts and a piece of
screen over a old football helmet facemask. Hell ya! put on my riding gear and go at it. Dam I miss being a kid! frown

Jbb
04-23-2003, 12:05 PM
Outdoor Fun?.....
http://www.havasubarney.com/iB_html/uploads/post-45-27064-kidsinamerica.jpg

XLGPP
04-23-2003, 01:02 PM
Leave it to JBB to come up with that one...LMAO

Tom Brown
04-23-2003, 01:08 PM
Nice thread. :)
As a Canadian, we didn't sue each other every five minutes but we played outdoors as kids. I remember street hockey 12 months of the year until I was 15 and riding my bike for hours each day, even in the winter. There was never a question of whether you were going outside or not, or even who you were going to hang out with. The only question was what you were going to do when you got there.
:)

FMluvswater
04-23-2003, 04:29 PM
The only thing I disagreed with in the original post was coming inside at dusk! Oh hell no!! That is prime hide and seek time!! With the whole neighborhood as the search area! It is so sad to me that my son can't know the joy of such things because the world has somehow become more dangerous? :confused:
Tom ice hockey ... did you play it on the road? I did! :) I remember when I was 13 I had a choice of a new 5 speed bike or a 'new fangled' mountain bike ... I picked the mountain bike not cuz we lived in a mountainous area (Ontario) but because I figured the treads looked like I could still ride it in the wintertime!
I loved that original post! Brought back so many memories! Thanks for sharing it! :D

MJ19
04-23-2003, 04:42 PM
voodooCanoe:
Does anyone remeber how fun b.b. gun wars were?
2 pair of pants, 2 sweatshirts and a piece of
screen over a old football helmet facemask. Double clothes...whimpy :rolleyes: ...try taking the welts in stride. wink :D

Ziggy
04-23-2003, 04:46 PM
How many bent rims did I go through on my Bike in the early days of Moto-x...well before the heavy duty bicycle rims of today....Out riding and exploring the wilderness til dark...Mom never worried except if I was late for dinner. :confused:
Where did that world go and why the hell did I have to grow up(sorta)? :D

RiverToysJas
04-23-2003, 04:47 PM
MJ19:
voodooCanoe:
Does anyone remeber how fun b.b. gun wars were?
2 pair of pants, 2 sweatshirts and a piece of
screen over a old football helmet facemask. Double clothes...whimpy :rolleyes: ...try taking the welts in stride. wink :D As a kid I only shot two people with a bb gun, and one was a ricochet. I doubt the marks are even very visible today! http://www.op6c.com/xmb_forum/images/smilies/happy11.gif
RTJas :D

voodooCanoe
04-23-2003, 04:50 PM
NOT WHIMPY... JUST GOT SMART AFTER TAKIN' 1 IN THE BAG!

Tom Brown
04-23-2003, 04:52 PM
FMluvswaterbabe:
Tom ice hockey ... did you play it on the road? I did! :) Street hockey. Road apples. Shinny. :)
Shoes or boots, a stick of some kind... the stick would start out as a real stick and after it wore so badly that the heel of the blade was worn about in half, it would break (despite taking it real easy on it) and then it would be a plastic blade for a while (and draw snickers and generally abusive comments since we all knew that plastic blades were gay).
The rest of the attire was whatever you came home from school in. There was no time to change. At first, we used chunks of ice for goal posts. Later, Jeff Kinch got a couple of nets for Christmas. That was great for a few months until the mesh wore out on the bottom from dragging the nets. We would drag the nets to the street and to the side of the road when a car would come. Later, we re-meshed the nets but that didn't last long, even when we were careful to carry the nets instead of dragging them.
The tennis balls we used were kept outside so they were always frozen. There was no trouble figuring out when you got hit by a ball or blade.
It's been a couple of years since I've played ice hockey. The last time I played was at the local outdoor rink about a block from my house (there is an indoor rink there too). A bunch of youngsters were playing so I went home and got my stick. I was surprised that I was able to more than hold my own with them for about 10 minutes. Once the sharp stabbing pains in my chest brought me to my knees, the little bastards turned me inside out.

MJ19
04-23-2003, 04:56 PM
voodooCanoe:
NOT WHIMPY... JUST GOT SMART AFTER TAKIN' 1 IN THE BAG! eek! OUCH eek!
I'm sorry :( Guess it's all fun an games until someone gets hit in the bag. :D

Tom Brown
04-23-2003, 04:58 PM
MJ19:
voodooCanoe:
NOT WHIMPY... JUST GOT SMART AFTER TAKIN' 1 IN THE BAG! eek! OUCH eek!
I'm sorry :( Guess it's all fun an games until someone gets hit in the bag. :D Oh no, it's still fun and games then... just not for the guy with the stinging dick.

Ziggy
04-23-2003, 04:59 PM
Shot a relative in the back of the neck once...he cried like a baby :D then fired several rounds at me eek! in a rage.
No worse than getting konked in the back of the head with a golfball off the Tee

XLGPP
04-23-2003, 05:04 PM
glad I could get everyone to reminisce(sp?)the good ol' days... meanwhile, I'M STILL HERE WITH A SOAR SACK!!! :mad:
STILL!!!! :mad:

MJ19
04-23-2003, 05:05 PM
Ziggy:
getting konked in the back of the head How many of you had those father's that would rap the back of your head if you were busted? :confused:
My friend's dad used to do that and I HATED it when he would do it to me...NOT COOL! :mad:

FMluvswater
04-23-2003, 05:12 PM
MJ19:
Ziggy:
getting konked in the back of the head How many of you had those father's that would rap the back of your head if you were busted? :confused:
My friend's dad used to do that and I HATED it when he would do it to me...NOT COOL! :mad: My elementary school (K-8) principal used to do that to the unruly boys. Oddly he was the most popular principal that school ever saw. Nobody messed with Mr. Romaniuk cuz if you were on his good side he was funny as hell! :D

77charger
04-23-2003, 05:15 PM
I got in trouble once for shooting a kid with a bb gun.seemed like evryone had one then too.

voodooCanoe
04-23-2003, 05:35 PM
Worst one for me was shattering my wrist after seeing how fast I could be pulled on my skate board with the mini-bike. Was kinda like street water skiing until the high speed wobble set in at around 100 (I'm sure it was more like 25, but
felt like 100 when you 9 and riding that 1973 piece of crap). Well you get the picture, big
ass cast and a good case of road rash for the rest of the summer. Worst of all my "buddy" got scared and ran home! Left me injured and bleeding. I wonder if I can still sue him today...?

XLGPP
04-23-2003, 05:41 PM
when I first came here to go to college, we use to water ski behind a truck in the irrigation ditches (about 8-10ft wide) along the farm roads. was always a blast until someone got hurt or we would get shot at by some pissed off farmer... I dont hear about anyone doing that anymore frown

MJ19
04-23-2003, 09:04 PM
XLGPP:
when I first came here to go to college, we use to water ski behind a truck in the irrigation ditches (about 8-10ft wide) along the farm roads. was always a blast until someone got hurt or we would get shot at by some pissed off farmer... I dont hear about anyone doing that anymore :( Talk to Miller, he did something similar once :rolleyes:
77charger:
I got in trouble once for shooting a kid with a bb gun.seemed like evryone had one then too. Pretty sad that kids get kicked out of school these days for having a plastic knife in their lunch bag. :rolleyes:
voodooCanoe:
Worst one for me was shattering my wrist after seeing how fast I could be pulled on my skate board with the mini-bike. Was kinda like street water skiing until the high speed wobble set in at around 100 (I'm sure it was more like 25, but
felt like 100 when you 9 and riding that 1973 piece of crap). Well you get the picture, big
ass cast and a good case of road rash for the rest of the summer. Worst of all my "buddy" got scared and ran home! Left me injured and bleeding. I wonder if I can still sue him today...? We used to do all kinds of crazy skateboard tricks...my favorite was tieing and duck taping a lawn chair to a skateboard (the lawn chairs that fold in three so you can fully recline) and then get pulled by a mini-motorcross bike down big hills...if you lean the wrong way...WIPE OUT eek! :D But you couldn't beat that sort of fun! :p :D

HCS
04-23-2003, 09:06 PM
Just don't try to ride a cherry picker. wink

Jbb
04-24-2003, 05:46 AM
57 CHEVY - Sit Back and Enjoy!!!!!!
Remember when......?
When the worst thing you could do at school was smoke in the bathrooms, flunk a test or chew gum. And the banquets were in the cafeteria and we danced to a juke box later, and all the girls wore fluffy pastel gowns and the boys wore suits for the first time and we were allowed to stay out till 12 p.m.
When a '57 Chevy was everyone's dream car. . . to cruise, peel out, lay rubber and watch drag races, and people went steady and girls wore a class ring with an inch of wrapped dental floss or yarn coated with pastel frost nail polish so it would fit her finger.
And no one ever asked where the car keys were 'cause they were always in the car, in the ignition, and the doors were never locked. And you got in big trouble if you accidentally locked the doors at home, since no one ever had a key.
Remember lying on your back on the grass with your friends and saying things like "That cloud looks like a..."
And playing baseball with no adults to help kids with the rules of the game. Back then, baseball was not a psychological group learning experience-it was a game.
Remember when stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seals 'cause no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger.
And...with all our progress...don't you just wish...just once...you could slip back in time and savor the slower pace...and share it with the children of the 80's and 90's...
So send this on to someone who can still remember Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Laurel & Hardy, Howdy Doody and The Peanut Gallery, The Lone Ranger, The Shadow Knows, Nellie Belle, Roy and Dale, Trigger and Buttermilk as well as the sound of a real mower on Saturday morning, and summers filled with bike rides, playing in cowboy land, baseball games, bowling and visits to the pool...and eating Kool-Aid powder with sugar.
When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home.
Basically, we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive by shootings,drugs, gangs,etc.
Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! But we all survived because their love was greater than the threat.
Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say, Yeah, I remember that!
And was it really that long ago?

Blown 472
04-24-2003, 05:56 AM
JETBOAT BRIAN:
Outdoor Fun?.....
http://www.havasubarney.com/iB_html/uploads/post-45-27064-kidsinamerica.jpg Over heard at the easter egg hunt at the posse's camp, "Ok, kiddies set your baskets down and take your turn on the machine gun"
[ April 24, 2003, 06:58 AM: Message edited by: Blown 472 ]

MJ19
04-24-2003, 07:34 AM
JETBOAT BRIAN:
When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home.
Basically, we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive by shootings,drugs, gangs,etc.
Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! But we all survived because their love was greater than the threat. Kid's scare the parents now. :rolleyes: wink

Danhercules
04-24-2003, 07:47 AM
I remember when I was 13 I had a choice of a new 5 speed bike or a 'new fangled' mountain bike ... I picked the mountain bike not cuz we lived in a mountainous area (Ontario) but because I figured the treads looked like I could still ride it in the wintertime! question,,, Did you get the mountain bike with the full on suspention? :rolleyes:

gnarley
04-24-2003, 08:05 AM
What era was I born?
Well couple of the things I remember growing up were the bomb drills in school when you had to hide under the desks & smog alerts. I kind of wondered why they haven't legislated the air as bad to breathe and equipped everyone with masks since that time. Well that may come again now with this SARS crap. It will be against the law to breath unfiltered air & people will say you lived how long breathing that ???

FMluvswater
04-24-2003, 10:02 PM
Danhercules:
I remember when I was 13 I had a choice of a new 5 speed bike or a 'new fangled' mountain bike ... I picked the mountain bike not cuz we lived in a mountainous area (Ontario) but because I figured the treads looked like I could still ride it in the wintertime! question,,, Did you get the mountain bike with the full on suspention? :rolleyes: No I don't believe they had that available in 1983.

stix818
04-24-2003, 11:50 PM
I agree with XLGPP. Even though I didn't grow up in the 50s, 60s, 70s and so on I can say that I was lucky enough to grow up were I did (Mohave Valley). The small town and great parents aloud me to overcome the odds that still exsist for the area to this day. Us locals refer to Mohave Valley (Laughlin) as the BLACk HOLE and the best quote I have ever heard is by Walt Carter, "It's like a Hotel, You can always check in but you can never check out!!!!!!!!!". Those of you that have visited can probably vouch for themselves bur if you don't think so then why do you come back?

Coach
04-25-2003, 07:17 AM
When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home. As a teacher I wish this true now. I was scared as hell to get into trouble at school. If I did it was my fault, not the teachers. Too many parents want to put the blame on someone else, rather than on their kid. How do they think the kid will learn if they never screw up. This has become especially true with kids when they get caught cheating. Many parents look to put the blame on the teacher rather than ride the kid into the ground for being an idiot.

eliminatedsprinter
04-25-2003, 10:30 AM
I was born in 58. In addition to most of the things previously mentioned. One of my fondest memories is when I was 10 years old and my dad tossed me the keys to the 14ft mahogeny decked runabout he made from an unfinished hull and said "be back in a half hour". That boat only did around 30-35mph, but that was enough for me to have a 1/2 hr thrill ride zipping around Lake Minnatonka with the throttle thrown all the way down. That day is the main reason I finally got our boat this year. My son turns 10 in july and just going out a few of times on my sister's Commander won't cut it this summer.
[ April 25, 2003, 01:00 PM: Message edited by: eliminatedsprinter ]

eliminatedsprinter
04-25-2003, 11:55 AM
I also remember being among the last age group of kids to be cruzin Van Nuys Blvd every wed night. I graduated HS in 76 and I think our L.A. City Junta cracked down on it around 77 or 78.
[ April 25, 2003, 12:57 PM: Message edited by: eliminatedsprinter ]