Wouldn't Trade My Childhood For Nothing

[SEEGERMANY]

That's a damned lie!

It's funny, but a lot of us older farts here at the JCF have experienced things in our youth that would blow these youngster's minds. I guess it's that way with every generation. But I can honestly say, I wouldn't trade a bit of my childhood experiences for what kids see and do these days!

Here's a few random thoughts that ran through my head while typing this crap! Some of it carries over into being a young adult.

Remember wooden tennis rackets?

Before backhoes, we used sharpshooters.

Remember black & white TV?

If you don't remember Red Skelton, boy have you missed out on "true" comedy.

8-tracks

Visiting grandparents who didn't have indoor plumbing. Ever wiped your ass with a corn cob or a page from the Sears Roebuck catalog?

Rotary dial phones

Column shift vehicles

Filling up the gas tank on a Honda SL 125 for $.32

Watching The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show

Silly Putty and Slinkys

The Mod Squad, Combat and The Rat Patrol

$.25 lunches at school, extra $.25 would get ya an Icee, a candy bar, and some bubble gum after school.

Banana seat bikes (yea fuckers, we started BMX)

Going to church on Wednesday nights, twice on Sunday, and Monday night choir practice whether you wanted to or not.

Riding the school bus.

Model airplanes and ships (build them then blow them up with firecrackers)

Cokes in glass bottles, 6 1/2 oz, 10 oz, and 16 oz ($.05 refund on empties)

Leisure suits

Remember when McDonald's hamburgers were $.19 each?

Remember when Playboy and Penthouse were the only skin magazines?

Remember Christmas tree forts?

And finally, no computers, no Internet, no cell phones. Give us a pile of dirt, a spoon, some plastic army men, and we could entertain ourselves for hours. We had wonderful imaginations!

Add to the list, I know you can!

[Ben...]

Your childhood sounds like so much fun. Now it's all serious all the time and it's difficult to just have fun.

[SEEGERMANY]

Now it's all serious all the time and it's difficult to just have fun.

You're right young man! Life is way more complicated and I feel that kids are forced to grow up way too fast.

[jacksoncsplayer]

Yup, we had Cox gas powered airplanes and cars with string, no remote control, GI JOE with kung fu grip, Evel Knievel toys, the wind up motorcycle, and the rocket car! SG you're a little older than me, so I don't remember wiping my ass with a corncob . But the sunday drives used to kill me! Always after church in the stationwagon drive for miles with 6 kids fighting in the back seat waiting for an ass whippin from Dad when we got home Remember those giant darts you used to throw at circles in the backyard? Good fuckin times man

[Inazone]

And finally, no computers, no Internet, no cell phones.

But what did you do without all the wonderful armchair experts that could quote Wikipedia pages word for word on everything from politics to annual rainfall in the Amazon?

(I was going to say "and global warming" but realized that it hadn't been invented yet.)

[Inazone]

Remember those giant darts you used to throw at circles in the backyard? Good fuckin times man

I remember going to a birthday party as a kid, and the birthday boy got one of those darts right through his nose. Good times indeed!

[wilkinsi]

What ever you do SeeGermany, PLEASE don't turn into a F*tt.

[SEEGERMANY]

Man, our world was our neighboorhood. As kids, we lived outside and the only time you came in was to eat, shit (we pissed outside) or sleep. We got our world news from one of three channels, CBS, NBC, or ABC. You didn't dare watch all three!

As for knowledge, we had books. Remember books? You know, World Book, Brittanica, etc, etc. I think the first titties I ever saw were in National Geographic.

As for global warming, yea, we knew about it every August, September, and May during school. We didn't have air conditioning. If it got too hot, you put your work away and layed your head down on the desk.

[SEEGERMANY]

What ever you do SeeGermany, PLEASE don't turn into a F*tt.

I will eat a bullet first.

[joelayres]

I found this somewhere - can't remember where - but it fits.

First, we survived being born to mothers who 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, doors,
or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no
helmets, not to mention the risks we took hitchhiking.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car
seats, booster seats, 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 th e 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
Kool-aid made with sugar, 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 150 channels on cable, no video movies or
DVD's, no surround -sound or CD's, no cell phones, no
personal computer! s, no Internet or 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!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers,
problem solvers, and inven tors 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!
If 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 so much of our lives for our own good .

[jacksoncsplayer]

How very true that is Joel!

[Endrik]

I'm from a much younger generation but growing up in East Europe we didn't have all the gadgets and shit at first. We built tree houses, rafts, we made trips to everywhere. A lot of places without plumbing. I had wooden rackets. Very willing farm housewives and daughters. All the electronics or machines were old soviet crap or stuff made by relatives. Finnish TV and radio channels which is the reason we could speak Finnish. A lot of outdoor activities specially in the summer and winter.
Today it's like every western country but I'm not jealous of the new generation at all. Damn, they have everything but their life is beyond boring. They don't do anything. Computers, cell phones and hanging out in a mall.

[SEEGERMANY]

Wow, I think I just splooged my jeans! Excellent posts!

[~K~]

, Evel Knievel toys, the wind up motorcycle, and the rocket car!

I have the scramble van still and it was personally autographed!!

God I remember almost all of those things

[Jayster]

(we pissed outside)

Carefull SG, some members find this to be offensive. Hehehehehehehehehe ,hell they taught us to in the boy scouts. This thread has made me laugh and feel older then I felt before reading it ! 8 tracks - hell yeah, lawn darts were awesome, and camping and going to the lake and skipping school and getting drunk with your friends(ok I still do that). I remember staying up all night for no reason and before mtv, only on friday night - there was some program with videos - yup rock videos, going fishing and playing hockey and football, reading books and talking directly to people(no e-mail, texting or whatever else there is now !)

My children have no idea of how it used to be, and so the cycle continues ..........