For those born before 1980

[Reedus]

We SURVIVED the
1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!

We 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 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 koolade 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 phon es, 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 woul d 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 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!

[Iceaxe]

born 1960.... yeah baby...

[Scott Card]

1963. OK, was the author following me around? He just described my childhood to a tee. I so clearly remember going to Canada almost every summer laying in the back window of our Tuna Clipper we called our car. Never even had seat belts. And yup, got my own BB gun when I was 8 and my first shotgun when I turned 14. I was using a chainsaw when I was 14 and splitting fire wood at the same time. I played basketball nonstop and my daughter gasped last night when I told her I would practice 4- 6 hours a day. She wondered where I got all the time. She is trying to figure out when to practice soccer. Hmmm lets see, black and white TV, only three channels, AM radio, and scratched records, and no other form of electronic entertainment maybe? Ahh those were the days.... pass the prunes.

[DiscGo]

78 but with the exception of not having a nintendo everything else applied (I think). I had really kind of forgotten how exciting it used to be to ride in the back of a truck before reading this (I may have forgotten because I have a big scar on my chin from being tossed out of a truck). It was fun to read some of those and have a brief moment of reliving the experiences.

[Iceaxe]

Remember when TV20 (Now Fox) hit the air waves. With four channels (public access didn't count) we thought we had died and gone to heaven.

I had a BB gun for as long as I can remember. I had both a .22 pistol and rifle when I was 12. I had a mini bike when I was 8 and a full size motorcycle at 10. Our favorite activity in summer was inner tubing from the mouth of Little Cottonwood to Murray Park. And we actually kept score at little league games.

But the best thing of all..... we could have all the sex we wanted because a little penicillin would fix anything.

[Scott Card]

How could I forget the inner-tubing. Started somewhere up towards Provo Canyon and tubed a canal all the way into BYU Campus. We knew what poison ivy was and just avoided it along the banks. Do you remember the "Go outside and don't come back till dinner" from your mom/dad? You never hear that anymore with all the nut cases walking the streets.

[TreeHugger]

1962. That sums up my childhood perfectly as well. Especially the part about leaving the house after school and not coming home til the streetlights came on. Awesome!

We played all day - usually in the cemetary behind our house and the open fields.... games, real games, games where you had to run and laugh and move about.

A refrigerator box was more fun than an X box and tv was hardly looked at. We read, listened to music, oh, and talked to each other.

Neighbors all new each other and watched out for one another.... yep those were the days!

[DiscGo]

"Go outside and don't come back till dinner" from your mom/dad? .

The first time my Mom said that, I wasn't sure what to think. Did she not want me to come back ever? I felt pretty bad at first thinking I must have been pretty awful... but I got over it.

[accadacca]

What about 7-11 slurpees..no mention of that.

[Scott Card]

OK, did anyone else do this for fun also??? Get your mom's old pantyhose and cut the legs off then put about a cup of firm mud in the toe, tie a knot near the mud and swing them as hard as you could in a circle (like an old fashoned sling) and then launch them as far as you could? I'll never forget the day when our neighbor lady that lived below our house called and said "Um, my daughter was on the roof sunbathing and she just got hit by what appears to be a nylon stocking filled with some mud. Did that come from your son?" Who me??? Where did I hit her... if it was me??? Anyone else dig big holes in the vacant lot and cover them with plywood and then dig a bunch of trenches to have dirt clod fights? Those were good times pelting your friends with dirt clods and mud.... Sorry, having way too much fun with this thread.

[Scott Card]

What about 7-11 slurpees..no mention of that.

Best thing ever. Especially the "suicide slurpee" You were cool if you got one of those.

[JP]

1969
No remotes and those damn antennas that had to be facing the right direction to get somewhat of a good picture. I don't miss those pre-cable days

[Iceaxe]

Anyone else dig big holes in the vacant lot and cover them with plywood and then dig a bunch of trenches to have dirt clod fights?

You mean the plywood you nicked from the new house they were building down the street

And build a tree house with a rope swing

[chickenlicken]

Yeah we dug forts and covered them with plywood and dirt then burned green army men inthem for light until we all had blisters on our all our fingers.

[savanna3313]

Guess I'm the old broad here. 1959
Of course, it was the latter part of 1959 (Nov)

[JP]

Anyone else dig big holes in the vacant lot and cover them with plywood and then dig a bunch of trenches to have dirt clod fights?

Neighbors wooded backyard Man, dirt is dry when it hits ya in the mouth

[chickenlicken]

Yeah we dug forts and covered them with plywood and dirt then burned green army men inthem for light until we all had blisters on our all our fingers.

[JP]

then burned green army men inthem for light until we all had blisters on our all our fingers.

Wow, the memories keep flooding back in. It was funny how the flame thrower guy was always the last man standing, when suddenly his tank exploded

[savanna3313]

1962. That sums up my childhood perfectly as well. Especially the part about leaving the house after school and not coming home til the streetlights came on. Awesome!

We played all day - usually in the cemetary behind our house and the open fields.... games, real games, games where you had to run and laugh and move about.

A refrigerator box was more fun than an X box and tv was hardly looked at. We read, listened to music, oh, and talked to each other.

Neighbors all new each other and watched out for one another.... yep those were the days!

Sounds like you were a tomboy. Me too. It was more fun going to my grandparents house because they lived out in the country. We used to catch fireflies at night in a jar, go down in ditches to collect wild berries, and literally play outside until the street lights started coming on. Then it was upstairs to take a bath and wash all the day's grime away.

[Scott Card]

and literally play outside until the street lights started coming on. Then it was upstairs to take a bath and wash all the day's grime away.

Hey, when the street lights started coming on was the time we started rounding up all the kids to play "kick-the-can" or "steal the flag" or some other night game. Baths were for Wednesdays and Saturdays only.