Interesting perspective on how times have changed

Probably corny and a bit idealistic, remembering the past a bit different than it really was - but I got this in an email from a dear friend. I see a lot of my childhood in this.

If you lived as a child in the 40's, 50's, 60's or 70's, congratulations!

Looking back, it's hard to believe that we have lived as long as we have...

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.

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 hitchhiking to town as a young kid!)

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

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 streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. No cell phones. Unthinkable. We played dodgeball and sometimes the ball would really hurt. We got cut and broke bones and broke 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 ate cupcakes, bread and ! butter, and drank sugar soda but we were never overweight...we were always outside playing. We shared one grape soda with four friends, from one bottle and no one died from this.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, video games at all, 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, personal cell phones, Personal Computers, Internet chat rooms ... we had friends. We went outside and found them. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rung the bell or just walked in and talked to them.

Imagine such a thing. Without asking a parent! By ourselves! Out there in the cold cruel world! Without a guardian. How did we do it?

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

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. No 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 has 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!

I remember some of those things...

I remember almost all. In the summer we did play outside almost all day long and go on long bike rides and walks with friends. We have had to guard and watch over our children more.

Very sad! Our litte town,(250 people) has one of the best ball diamonds that you will ever see. Last year they started a new park across the street from the ball field.
They made a t-ball field there and spent tons on swings and playground things. You never see any kids using any of these things! I think there was only a few ball games played all summer. Kids are to lazy to get out and do anything, then everone wonders why kids are overwieght. Oh well, blame the fat on fast food places.
Bernie

oh noo... i'm not dating myself i plead the fifth.

Oh, this is so true!

I was in the later years of grade school when home video games started getting popular. Man, they were so expensive then! Finally, I did get an Atari 2600 system when I was in eighth grade. Pong, Tank, Breakout...Asteroids.

But you're right, before that I rode my bike around a lot and went to the library. I made little dollhouses out of shoeboxes for my peanut erasers (anyone remember the different colored peanut-shaped erasers that came out when Carter was President?). I also loved taking leather scraps and creating saddles and bridles for my Breyer model horses.

I did watch quite a bit of TV starting in 6th grade, though, after my parents divorced.

This message was edited Thursday, Dec 12th 2:35 AM

I was also in grade school when Atari came out,but I had better things to do!! For example we used to collect sand stones crush them up mix the sand with water and let our "new" stones dry in the sun. That keep us occupied for hours!!! Sunday nights though were always movie night, we would watch the "movie of the week" and make Chef Boradee pizza and Jiffy pop to watch the movie that was abig treat!!
This thread also reminds me of all the "forts" we would make inside the house and outside in the woods, I broke more lamps my putting the "roof" blanket under the lamp to hold it, then of course you always have to stand up inside the fort to see if its tall enough then.... CRASH!!!!

Yes, I remember. Summers were the greatest! Building forts among the bales of straw, playing in the barns (doing stupid things that could have resulted in serious injury), riding bikes, reading, swimming, making up games... What wonderful memories! I wish my daughter could experience it, but it is not the same world. It makes me wonder what the world will be like for her children. I must be getting old; I'm romanticizing about the "good old days"(lol). I don't blame the kids or parents though for this loss of childhood fun; it is the "progression" of society that has brought us to these times.

Oh, forts, yes! My grandma had some thin bedspreads she let me use and I would completely cover the dining room table, so the fabric draped down to the ground. Her house had carpeted steps, too, and I spent hours sliding down those steps on my belly or my behind...thump, thump, thump, thump!

That just about brought tears to my eyes literally! I really miss those days. Now a days though, as a parent I am scared for my kids and whats becoming. I used to so love going on bike rides to the woods on the river and climing up steep hills and all kinds of things in there! Dissappearing for hours and just said mom we're going bike riding... No fear involved at all!Also making mudpies on our concrete block fence!!! Those were the days!


Katrina

I grew up in the late sixties and seventies and know lots of these only too well.

I used to go nest hunting all day everyday in the summer to marvel at birds eggs. Now I'm scared to go up the fields too far

I used to cycle everywhere. Bought a bike recently to get fit and one day was enough there are maniacs in cars that give no room.

everyone had a neighbors door key just in case they got locked out now we dont know who the people are even next door.

Oh, I remember those days. We used to run all over town on our bikes, and lots of times would even ride outside of town to an old sand hill and build caves. Once or twice a summer we would ride our bikes 7 miles to the next town for a can of pop (that the store owner gave us free). We were also fond of exploring the town dump, where we would pretend we were pirates hunting for loot. We found some good things there too. LOL! We would gather up a group of friends every Friday night and we would go to the movies. We could get in, buy a pop and popcorn for under a dollar. Our parents allowed us to walk home afterwards too. What fun memories.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

I remember at 4 I walked 4 city blocks (in Atlanta, not the country) to a little store and got candy every day. by myself. wish we could go back to some things.

I remember. In that distant time when not everyone was trying to find a gimmick to sue someone over I had an experience that, to this day, astounds me.
My parents had gone to visit my maternal grandmother who lived about 50 miles distant. A group of us guys, all about 14, decided to play "war" along the bank behind our house. We had dug in "foxholes" at the bottom of the slope and the fun was to hunker down in them while the "bad guys" tossed rocks down the slope, thrilling,dangerous and STUPID.
I happened to raise up just in time to catch a good sized clunker right in the forehead opening a significant gash. My compatriots helped me to my house and called the family doctor. He came 3 miles to my house,took me to his office,cleaned and stitched the wound and returned me home.
When my folks got home they were stern but solicitous to me for the days actions. The next day they went and paid the 10 dollar doctors's fee and offered their heart-felt
thanks to the Doc. That doctors name was Eugene Komarninsky and I will never forget his kindness...not going to sue his ancestors when I get a headache either!

Wow, neat story, David. I wish doctors were still so considerate/available.

Hmm, just reread sbarr's opener to this thread. I don't think this is remembering a past a bit "different" than it really was. it just that it "really was" so very different. Not all aspects were better though. For instance there was the annual fear of "getting" polio each summer until Jonas Salk developed the vaccine and the seemingly real fear of nuclear annihilation and the regents exams in English...to mention a few

smiling at kikisdad: you're right - I do think things were different and you're also right that we do sometimes forget the parts that weren't as ideal.

Some of the things I like to reminisce - from about the age of 5 - 12, going out trick or treating until after 10 pm - we went with PILLOW CASES and came home and traded all night long - my big brother always scammed us.
Bicycling to the pool for the entire day - remember the first sunburn?
The first time I ever hitchiked - I was probably 8 years old and wanted to get home in time to see "Bewitched" on TV - I think it was a total of a mile.
The forts - OMG, the forts - the refrigerator box, telling my sister that putting an apple slice on the light bulb was fun to listen to the sizzle. She still has a scar on her leg from when the bulb burst.
Bicycle rides (at about the age of 12) way across town - upwards of 5+ miles, gone for the day - bowling and going to Baskin Robbin's for a Daquiri Ice!!

And here is the doozie - neighbors (who we barely knew, but all of the kids always went over to play in their yard - their kids were all grown) - who had a rope swing that you had to jump off a platform when someone flung the rope to you and grab and it swung you over a canyon with a hundred foot drop. To this day, I wonder that none of us were killed - but, that's it, we were kids and we were blessed and lucky!!


Such a sense of innocence and resourcefulness.

I read an interesting article about how many kids are so involved in sports, activities, studying, etc. - that there really isn't as much time to be a kid.

How about the disipline in school. My school years were the 50's, Class of 1960. Jr. high (7,8,& 9th grade), if any boy got in trouble, he took a trip to the shop room for a paddle on the behind. Shop teachers would try to outdo each other in design of paddles and then they were diplayed where everyone could see them. Well needless to say only about 2 or 3 boys made the trip, and usually were 7th graders. Nobody got out of line because of the outcome.
Apparently we did learn something in those years. We had our 40th reunion in July of 2000. About 100 came, also had a book with histoy of the students. About 200 answered to be put in the book. We have doctors, lawyers, teachers, business owners, world travelers, collage professers, and the list goes on. Wonder how class of 2003 will look in 40 years? (Our class was 305 graduates.)
Probably living in outstate MN we don't have as much worry as some other areas as far as feeling secure. Some people don't bother to lock doors, will leave their car running and unlocked while they shop or stop for coffee.
Well enuogh for now.
Bernie

You're right, Sbarr - they cram kids' schedules full and try to make them into little time-managing adults! IMHO, a second grader should not have three hours of homework to do a night; that's crazy.

3 hours a night in second grade? That's amazing - kids don't have that type of attention span or stamina at that age! That sounds more like a junior high or high school level of effort.

I know it! But that's a whole other thread!