Surviving the '50s, '60s...

[Dalexs]

I knew I had this around somewhere. Hopefully, its not a repeat post.
Enjoy!


TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1950's, 60's, 70's & 80'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 ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in
us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, 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! 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 are one of them!
CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow
up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives
for our own good.

And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how
brave their parents were.

 

[herringbonekid]

i grew up in the 70s and was out on my bike almost every day in summer. i definately see a lack of kids out playing in the street when i go and visit my old neighbourhood.

 

[Solid Citizen]

50's Survival Kit

1. A tall glass of milk with Bosco.

2. Some jam on Wonderbread building bodies in twelve strong ways.

3. If you couldn't get an ice cold grape Nehi a root beer Fizzie could
help.

4. The big "T" wasn't Texaco it was a Tasytcake!

SC lol

PS Dalex don't shoot with that Daisy BB Gun just a plain old air
gun with some mud stuffed in the end!

 

[mysterygal]

I didn 't grow up in the 70's, (80's child) but me and my friends would do the same thing, we rode on our bikes for miles and never thought anything about it. I don't know if they still have stores that sell this, but this local store would sell these gummy candies for a penny each...if we could come up with a dollar we were living large

 

[Mr Nick]

Life in the country

I used to hate living in the sticks! We used to rove all over the big woods and wide open spaces. Whenever Mom wanted us she would just whistle real loud and me and my four brothers would appear from out of the brush in a few minutes. Now I freak whenever my daughters get out of sight because you never know when some sick-o is lurking about.
We also had a standing joke at home, "He don't need no doctor! His arm is still hanging on by a piece of skin! Put a band-aid on it & he'll be fine!" Truth is, we all survived without massive doses of antibiotics at the first sign of a runny nose. AND you don't have to get braces to make it through puberty! Enough! lol

 

[Katt in Hat]

Just when you thought that the Lounge couldn't become more entertaining

Dalexs proffers us a bit of pseudo-nostalgia. I quote only a conclusion which he has drawn, of "the good old days".

"You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow
up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives
for our own good."

Yeah, DOWN WITH!!!
1.Automobile Safety Regulation
2.Child Safety Regulation
3.Industrial Safety Regulation
4.Mine Safety Regulation
5.Pure Food and Water Act
6.The progression of Scientific Knowledge
7.BRING BACK NUCLEAR ATMOSPHERIC TESTS

But that's just me... :rage:

 

[Mr Nick]

Great Points Katt

Your are right in pointing out the things we have now that make our lives better and safer. I expect if we look close enough, each time we think of "the good ol' days" we all tend to gloss over the things that we no longer have to contend with. My late father-in-law grew up in the late thirties and forties. He always said there was nothing good about the old days. His perspective was, the good days are today!

 

[Dalexs]

Actually, I received that entire letter from someone else.
Probabably posted in Readers Digest or something...

The comments on the end are part of the original message.
The author invites you to draw your own conclusions.
(I grew up in the '60s in Jersey, so I can totally relate.)

Live safely in a box, or enjoy life.

I feel sorry for the kids of today, including my own.
They don't know what they're missing.

Now excuse me while I go gnaw on a painted window sill.

 

[Doh!]

Obviously, technology/science has made the world better than it was "in the old days" (I was terrified of the dentist as a kid due to the pain. Now, before I'm given novacaine, my dentist applies a topical numbing agent so I don't even feel the needle going in), but there's a lot of truth in that letter.

My friends and I didn't need "play dates" to see each other -- we just walked outside and maybe knocked on each other's doors (or probably shouted, "Can John come out and play?"). Sure, I grew watching a LOT of Saturday morning cartoons, but in the 70s, TV pretty much ended by noon so that's when we'd go outside and start a game of baseball or football or even street hockey -- I grew up in the 'burbs. Entertainment wasn't there for us 24/7 so we were "forced" to make our own fun. As an adult now, I love the fact that there exists a Cartoon Network but I couldn't imagine growing up with such a temptation. I'd probably weigh 300 pounds by now.

My friends and I also flew kites. Do they even sell those anymore?

Even though both of my folks worked, we NEVER ate at MacDonald's. My mom always managed to whip up a meal after work, and my dad barbecued in the summer. And because there were 4 kids, everybody was assigned chores. No nannies or maids.

Honestly, playing with my friends as a kid was probably the most fun I've ever had. It'd be a shame if today's kids were denied that experience. (And videogames don't count, especially ones played over the internet).

 

[Katt in Hat]

Being Thrown Thru Windshields, Polio, Lead Poisioning...But I Digress:

"I feel sorry for the kids of today, including my own.
They don't know what they're missing." :deadhorse
-----------------------------------------------
"Shirley, You MUST be joking!"

"Don't call me Shirley" from(Blazing Saddles)

 

[mysterygal]

Back then, kids used their imagination! I also remember the ice cream man...practically every kid in the neighborhood would run out for a treat

 

[mysterygal]

Katt, I think you need to chill a little bit

 

[Sefton]

Mom smoked the whole time that she was was pregnant with me (and my sisters) and I'm normal....(Damn it's hard to type with these damn webbed fingers!)

Seriously though, we should all be thankful for the advancements both scientific and social that have taken place in the last 40 years or so. This doesn't mean that none of the points in the "Readers Digest" post aren't valid. I believe that the more we advance in one direction the more we regress in another.

 

[Lena_Horne]

I just want to point out (as one who has half-grown up in the newer, more dangerous world) that your generation is also the ones that exacted all of these standards. That raised my generation (and admittedly I'm somewhat afraid for my peers). You all are the ones that held our hands all the way through childhood and beyond and we're now seeing the results, young adults that can't deal with rejection, peer pressure and responsibility.

Of course this is a blanket statement, not every baby boomer screwed up their kid and not every kid is screwed up. But we do have some issues in that a large portion of my generation seems to be greatly dissatisfied with the jobs their parents did.

I would very much like to have experienced more of that world (when I was very, very young I did) but where I am, your generation has basically screwed things up royally. Of course this might only apply to my home town and not others.

L_H

 

[Cousin Hepcat]

I didn 't grow up in the 70's, (80's child) but me and my friends would do the same thing, we rode on our bikes for miles and never thought anything about it. I don't know if they still have stores that sell this, but this local store would sell these gummy candies for a penny each...if we could come up with a dollar we were living large

DITTO and DITTO! "gummy bears" we called them here. In fact growing up in a low income neighborhood that's about ALL we could ever afford to do is ride our bikes around and talk trash... but in retrospect, all that time was spent INTERACTING with people, really getting to know the people who live around you (especially in apartment dwellings), constantly talking to them about anything an everything, seeing the vast array of different personality types and learning to ''get along" with everyone...

seeing how much time kids are now "plugged in", you have to wonder about their interaction skills when they go out into the world to become corporate CEOs or politicians or whatever is their choosing...

Technology: there's good and bad. One question to ask is, technology making the world more "plugged in" and running faster has increased safety precautions and life expectancy, but has it overall increased Quality Of Life? Got to admit though, good use of technology has enabled cool places like The Lounge to hook up with other good folk who appreciate the same golden era events & ideals & increase the Quality.

- Cousin Hepcat

 

[Zach R.]

My parents were my age in 1979, and I must say that as a kid growing up in the 90s, yes, I DO enjoy "being plugged in."

 

[Lincsong]

Laws to protect? Or laws to enslave?

Let's get one thing straight. This is a bipartisan attack. These laws were voted and signed into law by both Democrats and Republicans.

A lot of these laws are just plain silly. Bicycle helmets? How is a helmet going to protect you when your neck is broke? It feels good to have that law. Then the whinning nannies like Babs Boxer and Rob Reiner can bleat like sheep about how much they "care" about children and everyone who disagree's is cold, heartless and will end up in secular Hell.

Then there's airbags. (in cars, not politicians) The same blowhards pontificating about airbags were the first ones to want to sue when someone was harmed by an airbag that was designed and installed according to government regulations!:rage: or claim that car crash dummy's are racist and sexist because they are not designed like women and people of color.

Riding in the back of a pick-up truck.? Banned because of some whinning little battleaxe who is "concerned" that "children" will be harmed.

Raising the drinking age to 21? Sad to say it was the Reagan administration that started this law. Some, want it raised to 25. I think it's Elizabeth Dole who pushes that one.

Carseats? This is just a big play for the seat manufacturers. Some want it raised to 12 years and 90 pounds. ENOUGH! ENOUGH ALREADY!

I feel like the guy in Network;
GET UP! GET UP! GO TO THE WINDOW, STICK YOUR HEAD OUT AND SAY; "I'M MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!:rage: :rage:

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Actually that's from the movie Airplane

"I feel sorry for the kids of today, including my own.
They don't know what they're missing." :deadhorse
-----------------------------------------------
"Shirley, You MUST be joking!"

"Don't call me Shirley" from(Blazing Saddles)

See, if you had ate more lead based paint chips as a child, you'd have a better memory for useless movie lines.
DR

 

[Baron Kurtz]

As a child of the 80s/90s - and a very active one - i can say that (in UK at least) my childhood sounds pretty much like the one described in post :arated:

We hunted, fished, played around on bikes (with helmets), and pretty much had a grand time wandering around the countryside. I was lucky enough to grow up in a small, quiet country town. The kind of town to which i yearn to return.

All those much maligned regulations don't seem to have changed much materially. It's just a little safer, is all. I must say i'd rather be in a modern car with crumple zones rather than a Jaguar E-type, let's say, where the crumple zones are - you guessed it - your legs. Further, i'd rather see a small child in a child seat than with a seatbelt that sits perfectly across its neck. Ever seen such a set-up after a crash? Not pretty.

Were my father wearing a bicycle helmet when he fell off his bike (no other parties involved) as a child, he wouldn't have fractured his skull and almost died. A cycle helmet won't do much for you if you're run over by a car - other than holding your skull together. And even then the brain is so badly mashed around that you don't have much chance. But it will help prevent the kind of head injuries caused by falls ...

bk

 

[Lincsong]

All those much maligned regulations don't seem to have changed much materially. It's just a little safer, is all. I must say i'd rather be in a modern car with crumple zones rather than a Jaguar E-type, let's say, where the crumple zones are - you guessed it - your legs. Further, i'd rather see a small child in a child seat than with a seatbelt that sits perfectly across its neck. Ever seen such a set-up after a crash? Not pretty.

You've made a good point. But, do we need the government telling us this? Also; how small of a child? 12 years old and 90 pounds? That sounds like overkill to me.

Were my father wearing a bicycle helmet when he fell off his bike (no other parties involved) as a child, he wouldn't have fractured his skull and almost died. A cycle helmet won't do much for you if you're run over by a car - other than holding your skull together. And even then the brain is so badly mashed around that you don't have much chance. But it will help prevent the kind of head injuries caused by falls ...

You've given another good point. But, does this require government action to prevent me from my own stupidity? If condoms help prevent the spread of syphyllis and other VD's then why aren't condoms required? Why don't cops, ask to see if you have a supply of condoms in the glove box like check you if you're not wearing a seatbelt.

I've fallen off my bike numerous times, over the handle bars, sideways, down hill etc. Bumped my head. No helmet. But helmets also give a false sense of security. They won't prevent neck injuries or spinal injuries for that matter.

I understand you're point of view. Europe never had the degree of freedom we had/have in the United States.