Those Were The Days

[aftermidnight]

First, we survived being born to mothers who may have smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then, after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets, and, when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps, not helmets, on our heads.
As infants and children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no
booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.
Riding in the back of a pick- up truck 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, real butter, and bacon. We drank Cool-Aid made with real white sugar. And we weren't overweight.

WHY?
Because we were always outside playing...that's why!
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 OKAY.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them 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 Play Stations, Nintendos and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVDs, no surround-sound or CDs, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no 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 those accidents.
We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping-pong paddles, or just a bare hand, and no one would call child services to report abuse.
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!
These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers, and inventors ever.
The past 50 to 85 years have seen an explosion of innovation and new ideas..
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.

If YOU are one of those born
between 1925-1970, CONGRATULATIONS!

DH just showed me this and I thought I would share it with you, I can relate, can you .

Annette

 

[Nyboy]

So true so true Drinking out of garden hose was a given on hot summer day

 

[thistlebloom]

and although we were told it would happen we did not put out very many eyes.

This is so funny!

I'm shocked at the amount of time the neighborhood kids spend watching tv. They also play outside, but a movie is the go-to babysitter.

I read about a study that used electrodes to measure brain activity on kids watching tv versus reading a book. The tv watching kids had flat lines, the book readers had very active measurements. The difference between using your imagination and just thoughtlessly absorbing what you're being told.

 

[Carol Dee]

I survived, too! What a fun childhood I had.

 

[so lucky]

I think we grew up in the best time ever. Not too many years before, lots of kids died from childhood (or other) diseases. We were just at an old cemetery last week and it was astounding how many children's graves there were. Under two years old. Back in the 1850 to 70's.
I don't want to be a pessimist, but I don't have a good feeling about the future. Our grandkids---what will their future be? What should we be teaching them so they can thrive? So Earth can thrive?

 

[majorcatfish]

that is so true..... love it

 

[Smart Red]

I, too, was a 'victim' of those dangerous days for youth. I really felt sorry for my older grands who never got outside unless it was for organized games -- no free play time.

I wouldn't trade those winter nights walking home from the library under the stars or playing pirate on a fallen tree on some deserted property for all the video games and TV channels in the world.

That was a time of freedom and learning. The only 'fear' I remember was the threat of atomic bombs during the COLD WAR, but even that seemed more of a coastal problem than a threat in middle America.

 

[thistlebloom]

These days are different. My sis and I walked to school and back every day all through our school years, including HS. If I had a little girl now there's no way in heck I'd let her do that alone.

Now that I think back maybe we weren't all that much safer. My sisters friend, 3rd grade, got kidnapped by the ice cream man.

 

[Nyboy]

Going to a store with my mother my sister and I would be in toy dept while she shopped, when she was done she would come get us. I went to the mall with my sister and her 2 kids, she wanted to go into dressing room and try something on she said to me don't take your eyes off my kids even for a second.

 

[aftermidnight]

I rode the bus across town to a pre-kindergarten class by myself when I was 4, granted the bus stopped, picked me up and dropped me off very close to our house. When I was about 8 friends and I would walk from home down to Departure Bay to spend the day at the beach. It was about a 5 or so mile walk each way. Armed with enough sandwiches and a couple of bottles of pop to see us through the day, we'd head back home about 5 and get home about 2 1/2 - 3 hours later.

When I was young if you got the strap at school you usually got it again when you got home so needless to say I didn't get the strap. Oops that's a lie, I did get it once, in grade 2. I had very long pigtails and the girl behind me kept trying to put one of my pigtails in the inkwell in her desk, finally I stood up, turned around and slapped her face. Sister unhooked the strap from her belt and gave me a couple of wacks, It was worth it, that girl never tried it again, but she wasn't even chastised . Although it stung I didn't cry, wouldn't give them the satisfaction. Although not a catholic the first 5 years I went to school I was taught by the nuns at St. Ann's Convent. It was a boarding school but they also took in day students.

My husband was a hunter when he was younger and had a lot of rifles, in fact he built a few, when he stopped hunting he sold all his guns, didn't want them in the house as he wasn't about to use them on anyone and worse still have them stolen by someone who would. We were broken into one night when we both at home asleep, they didn't catch him/them but a police tracking dog just about did, they couldn't release the dog until they have the culprit in sight for obvious reasons. Unfortunately the dog lost the scent, he/they, must have got into a car. So, we bought a doberman, I did ask an officer what would happen to our dog if she nailed someone breaking in, he said without blinking an eye, nothing, and then said...let the dog have him and don't be in a hurry to call us.

I agree not safe for kids in today's world, so sad how society has changed since my childhood. I often wish... if only it could return to the good old days. I really think they had it right back then. I fear for my great grandchildren and how they will cope, it really is a dangerous world out there.

Annette