To All The Kids who Survived...
the 30's-70's
Sunday, June 5, 2005 by Phoon | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
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 pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride 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 did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house 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. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned
HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
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 pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride 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 did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house 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. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned
HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
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werewolf
Reply #3 Sunday, June 5, 2005 6:51 PM
Reply #3 Sunday, June 5, 2005 6:51 PM
Very nice.
Not sure how my brother and I survived, but we did, as you say.
Not sure how my brother and I survived, but we did, as you say.
Double Zero
Reply #4 Sunday, June 5, 2005 6:55 PM
Reply #4 Sunday, June 5, 2005 6:55 PM
LMAO!!... Good points Phoon...
And now days a simple scratch leads to a trip to the ER...
"Call 911, I chiped a tooth"
It does make one wonder...
I personally have watched these changes take place in my trade..
When I became a carpenter 25 years ago, there were no saftey concerns, you basically just had to be breathing to get hired, and if you mouthed off you took your lumps and went back to work..
Now days if you even threaten to fight on the job it could get you instantly fired...
Now days we have to wear hardhats, boots, tie off our ladders, we cannot walk 2cnd floor walls without fall protection and if you yell at someone they get all sensitive and "whiny" not to mention lacking any sort of reasonable work ethic...
I suppose it is all relative...the "old school" is on it's way out and the new school is arriving...
Honestly, at times it just turns my stomach..LoL..but I guess it did the same to my father, and his father before him..
Your getting old Phoon!...LoL
And now days a simple scratch leads to a trip to the ER...
"Call 911, I chiped a tooth"
It does make one wonder...
I personally have watched these changes take place in my trade..
When I became a carpenter 25 years ago, there were no saftey concerns, you basically just had to be breathing to get hired, and if you mouthed off you took your lumps and went back to work..
Now days if you even threaten to fight on the job it could get you instantly fired...
Now days we have to wear hardhats, boots, tie off our ladders, we cannot walk 2cnd floor walls without fall protection and if you yell at someone they get all sensitive and "whiny" not to mention lacking any sort of reasonable work ethic...
I suppose it is all relative...the "old school" is on it's way out and the new school is arriving...
Honestly, at times it just turns my stomach..LoL..but I guess it did the same to my father, and his father before him..
Your getting old Phoon!...LoL
unckle fester
Reply #5 Sunday, June 5, 2005 7:04 PM
Reply #5 Sunday, June 5, 2005 7:04 PM
i was born in 63 so i can remember the end of these times. as all this adds up to, we have come to a sad time and our children wont be as strong for it. i remember when i got my first model car and it WAS A CHALENGE even though i never did get it together, i eventualy did get them to look good because i was CHALENGED to do so! now when i look at them in a store i see snap together or prepainted screew together and wonder if we are teaching our children to be lazy or stupid or both! technology is suppose to make life easy, bet they never thought it would make us stupid. or, where we stupid to begin with?
tjesterb
Reply #6 Sunday, June 5, 2005 7:55 PM
Reply #6 Sunday, June 5, 2005 7:55 PM
Phoon, I think those same things myself. Thanks for putting it into words so well. I used to run through the woods, and ride my bike around town for hours, not coming home until it was time to eat.
BTW, my kids just roll their eyes when I tell them that I grew up with no cable, or video games until I was in High School. They also can't understand that it's only been in their lifetimes that computers and cellphones have become commonplace.
I also make my kids take a cellphone whenever they're more than a block from home. There are a lot more unfriendlies out there than when I was growing up.
BTW, my kids just roll their eyes when I tell them that I grew up with no cable, or video games until I was in High School. They also can't understand that it's only been in their lifetimes that computers and cellphones have become commonplace.
I also make my kids take a cellphone whenever they're more than a block from home. There are a lot more unfriendlies out there than when I was growing up.
WebGizmos
Reply #8 Sunday, June 5, 2005 8:24 PM
Reply #8 Sunday, June 5, 2005 8:24 PM
Man...those were the days! Things were so much better back then! 
Corky_O
Reply #10 Sunday, June 5, 2005 8:52 PM
Reply #10 Sunday, June 5, 2005 8:52 PM
This was being passed around at work a while ago.
I am a kid of the 60's - so I can relate, man!
Peace.
I am a kid of the 60's - so I can relate, man!
Peace.
_TAPPER_
Reply #11 Sunday, June 5, 2005 9:00 PM
Reply #11 Sunday, June 5, 2005 9:00 PM
Yeah (SIGH) I remember walking 5 miles to schrool in snow up to my waist...uphill ...both ways 
crissy14
Reply #12 Monday, June 6, 2005 12:52 AM
Reply #12 Monday, June 6, 2005 12:52 AM
Im a kid of the 60's and 70's. something that stands out in my mind is that on Halloween, My brothers and sisters and I took our paper grocery bags and traveled the neighborhood for Treats and tricks for hours and all without an adult. We had great fun and never had to worry about our saftey. Ahhh! Life seemed so simple and carefree back then. How things have changed! Great thread!
Chris TH
Reply #13 Monday, June 6, 2005 1:31 AM
Yeah me too.
The saddest thing about this is: is it ever possible to get back to a social conduct like those days?
What was so different then that allowed the freedoms we, as kids, had?
I despair for my kids ever experiencing that feeling - while at the same time feeling that I have to be 'excessively' vigilant in order that they don't come to harm.
*Sigh*
Reply #13 Monday, June 6, 2005 1:31 AM
| Im a kid of the 60's and 70's |
Yeah me too.
The saddest thing about this is: is it ever possible to get back to a social conduct like those days?
What was so different then that allowed the freedoms we, as kids, had?
I despair for my kids ever experiencing that feeling - while at the same time feeling that I have to be 'excessively' vigilant in order that they don't come to harm.
*Sigh*
starkers
Reply #14 Monday, June 6, 2005 2:50 AM
Reply #14 Monday, June 6, 2005 2:50 AM
Born 1953, I grew up in a small village in the south of England, where life was so idyllic as compared to life today. We, my friends and I, did all those thing you speak of and benifitted from not having all the modern day trappings kids depend on today. We had communication that comprised of real sentences and more than just a few abbreviated words strung together. We could also count because we weren't given calculators to do basic arithmetic.(they didn't exist when I went to school)
We also learnt respect for others and their property because the laws were enforceable and our parents would ensure that we paid for our misdemeanors. Today, however, laws have become to soft and relaxed, parents shield their children from what's left of it, and there are very few (if any) deterrents left to instill the fear of punishment for wrong doing. Bring back the good ol' days when kids knew their place in society and could expect the correct disciplines to shape them into respectable members of the community. There's alot of great kids in the world today, but there are many who would be so much better for the sake of an old fashioned spankin' now and then.
All this modern day litigation is another blight on the world as well. We have an industry of lawyers chasing ambulances and knee scrapes to make an easy buck for themselves rather than the so-called client. Their constant promotion of sue at all costs to all and sundry just lines their pockets and most often deprives those who can least afford it, the average joe. Shame on the legal eagles who practice this.
Yep, gone are the days you could sleep easy wihout turning your home into a fortress.
We also learnt respect for others and their property because the laws were enforceable and our parents would ensure that we paid for our misdemeanors. Today, however, laws have become to soft and relaxed, parents shield their children from what's left of it, and there are very few (if any) deterrents left to instill the fear of punishment for wrong doing. Bring back the good ol' days when kids knew their place in society and could expect the correct disciplines to shape them into respectable members of the community. There's alot of great kids in the world today, but there are many who would be so much better for the sake of an old fashioned spankin' now and then.
All this modern day litigation is another blight on the world as well. We have an industry of lawyers chasing ambulances and knee scrapes to make an easy buck for themselves rather than the so-called client. Their constant promotion of sue at all costs to all and sundry just lines their pockets and most often deprives those who can least afford it, the average joe. Shame on the legal eagles who practice this.
Yep, gone are the days you could sleep easy wihout turning your home into a fortress.
Cyberworld
Reply #15 Monday, June 6, 2005 3:02 AM
Reply #15 Monday, June 6, 2005 3:02 AM
I'm still a kid,only 21, yet i still relate the feeling. I remember when i was younger riding bikes all day long, having long nature walks and actually go out and play with friends football in a field we made into a playfield ourselves. I remember all the FUN games we used to play like hide and seek, or a challenging game called Rattlesnake,which we played late at night up to 2 after midnight. It was the times when you could just go out and yell in the middle of the field that it's playtime and people actually came out to play. Doing that today it'll propably result to lawsuit for disturbing common silence hours or in the least of causes getting yelled back to shut up. I miss those times and try to fill up the vacuum this sort of natural play leaves to the soul with other activities like scuba diving, camping in the woods, going out for survival trips and playing paintwar! I really miss my childhood and i know i can't get it back. I also understand that people before me had even more hard and fun and full of action lives. That is one of the reasons i respect older people. I simply can't imagine i would become the person i am without my childhood, which i think goes for all people around. 
Lantec
Reply #17 Monday, June 6, 2005 6:58 AM
Reply #17 Monday, June 6, 2005 6:58 AM
My wife and I decided that, for the summer, we would throw our twelve year old out after breakfast, let him back in for lunch and then not again until dinner. The only excuse to be inside is a thunderstorm or using the bathroom. For those rain days he's got an extensive library available. No video games or TV until 7:00pm regardless of the weather. He wasn't too happy at first but now he and his friends have built a fort in a slope leading down to the lake and he asks if he can go back out after dinner. If he wants to go to the movies or anything like that he first has to earn the money.
For myself, I remember one summer (either 69 or 70) when my friends and I built our own Saturn Five out of thrown out plywood, sheet metal and galvanized pipe. It had three levels and stood (on it's own) about 12 feet high. The pipe came from our garage and I found out later they were not throw aways. I had to spit shine the inside of our garbage cans for that one. The only things I can really remember having (or needing?) was my bike, fishing pole, baseball glove and pocketknife.
I give my son the same advice as was given to me....embrace the time in which you live, for your children and their children it will be the good old days.
For myself, I remember one summer (either 69 or 70) when my friends and I built our own Saturn Five out of thrown out plywood, sheet metal and galvanized pipe. It had three levels and stood (on it's own) about 12 feet high. The pipe came from our garage and I found out later they were not throw aways. I had to spit shine the inside of our garbage cans for that one. The only things I can really remember having (or needing?) was my bike, fishing pole, baseball glove and pocketknife.
I give my son the same advice as was given to me....embrace the time in which you live, for your children and their children it will be the good old days.
_02
Reply #18 Monday, June 6, 2005 7:33 AM
Reply #18 Monday, June 6, 2005 7:33 AM
Life was grand when I was a kid. Only worries were what time to eat, and when did I have to go home. I lived in the country. We were out of the house by 7:30am. We had packed our lunch and supplies, and off to the woods to play in our fort. All the kids in the neighborhood contributed. We even had a latrine! we spent all day there. Didn't go home till supper time. Then after supper we went back out to play kick the can, hide and go seek or sardines. Sardines for those of you who don't know, is hide and go seek but you hide in pairs. Ghost in the graveyard was great fun too. My parents let my girlfriend and I ride the train to Chicago by ourselves to spend the day shopping together. That makes my hair stand up now. My daughter who will be 30 this year had it almost as good. She played outside all day with her friends. I just whistled with my fingers for her, and she would come home. That way she didn't have to tell me where she was every minute of the day. At night she and I would play Mario. Now I don't even let my grandchildren play in the front yard without checking on them, and I live in the country. I never heard of razor blades or the horrors that go on at Halloween now. We ran wild and free. We never heard of Aids. Sharing a soda is no longer a safe thing to do. The kids of today will never know the joy or the type of freedom we had. Good will towards our fellow man is shrouded by lawsuits, hatred and much more violence than I ever saw. It makes me very sad.
werewolf
Reply #19 Monday, June 6, 2005 8:39 PM
Reply #19 Monday, June 6, 2005 8:39 PM
I came home for lunch today and my 15 year old son wasn't around and I freaked. Turned out he was only walking around the block, but.... but..... I'm a parent and I was worried that something had happened. My parents never worried about me walking around the block for Pete's sake. I'm sad for these kids that society has become more dangerous.
I hitched from Virginia to New York once for a rather large, outdoor, 3-day concert once when I was about 14. I never had one problem there and back...nothing. There is absolutely no way I would do that now as a 50 year old dude. (There were plenty of problems when my folks found out I wasn't camping with my buds in exactly the same manner I told them of )
I hitched from Virginia to New York once for a rather large, outdoor, 3-day concert once when I was about 14. I never had one problem there and back...nothing. There is absolutely no way I would do that now as a 50 year old dude. (There were plenty of problems when my folks found out I wasn't camping with my buds in exactly the same manner I told them of
)
_02
Reply #20 Monday, June 6, 2005 8:44 PM
Sounds like you were lucky enough to see Woodstock!
Reply #20 Monday, June 6, 2005 8:44 PM
| I hitched from Virginia to New York once for a rather large, outdoor, 3-day concert |
Sounds like you were lucky enough to see Woodstock!
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Reply #1 Sunday, June 5, 2005 6:50 PM
exhaustive lab tests, he said I was doing "fairly well for my age".
A little concerned about that comment, I couldn't resist asking him,
"Do you think I'll live to be 80?"
He asked, "Well, do you smoke tobacco or drink beer/wine?"
"Oh no," I replied. "I'm not doing either."
Then he asked, "Do you eat rib-eye steaks and barbecued ribs?" I said,
"No, my other Doctor said that all red meat is very unhealthy!"
"Do you spend a lot of time in the sun, like playing golf, sailing,
hiking, or bicycling?" No, I don't," I said.
He asked, "Do you gamble, drive fast cars, or have a lot of sex?" "No,"
I said. "I don't do any of those things."
He looked at me and said, "Then why do you give a hoot whether or not
you live to be 80?"
Happy Birthday Phoon