Maybe this should return..

[41chevy]

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE

1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!

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-base 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 & 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 Kool-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 O.K.

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 Playstations, Nintendo's and X-boxes.

There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable,

No video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's,

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 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 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.

WE had the luck to grow up as kids, before the

lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives

for our own good .

[hatcity]

Played army in the vacant lot. Against the Japs. Clods of clay were tossed like hand grenades-and direct hits were the aim.

Shoveled snow to make some money. OH yeah, a paper route.

poor Vinny, he thinks were talking a different language

[BOB DINGSDALE]

Yep and I'm one of them that survived.Bob

[other dog]

I did almost all the above, but not quite. My two brothers and I had to cut the grass at the church and cemetary about a mile from home. Cut it every 2 weeks and we had one riding mower and two push mowers. We pushed and drove the mowers all the way there and back. We took turns on the riding mower, each of us riding it a third of the way. Worked in the hay fields and wheat fields every summer. In the fall we'd get home from school and Daddy would have 2 wagons of corn parked at the barn and we'd shovel a whole wagon load of corn off the wagon into a small door in the barn...i'd unload one and my brother would do the other. We'd shovel with a grain shovel too, no augers, no conveyors, just a grain shovel.

Play time was all spent outdoors, in the woods, in the creek, into something. And climbing trees was my thing- just because they were there. There wasn't a tree in the woods I couldn't climb. I even climbed the big hickory tree in the woods behind the house, the tallest tree in the woods. Then I climbed it again and carried a hammer and some nails with me and pulled up some boards behind me with a rope. Then I nailed them up in the top as high as I could get just so everyone would know I had climbed it, kind of like planting a flag on top of Everest.

[41chevy]

HUH?? I got this today and when I was reading it, I watched the new neighborhood yuppies going past with the boy of about 9. He was on a bike with training wheels and more safety gear then a goalie at a ice hockey game wears. Helmet with face guard, knee pads, elbow pads, shin guards, gloves and a tether so he can't go to far away.

As a kid I was at my grand parents farm for the summer at the age of 8 or 9 til my early teens as slave labor , learned to fish, clam and hunt. I also learned as a kid if you run down a sand bank your steps get longer than you can handle. Had dirt bomb fights at the farm and got some of the greatest memories as a kid. One of the biggest advantages is I'm never afraid of life!

Paul

[umodelnut]

I'm not.. I seemed like it was way better back then

[41chevy]

I'm not.. I seemed like it was way better back then

Your in with us. You got tools for you birthday and get to play with a Mack...just no lead paint or eating school paste...LOL Paul

[hatcity]

^{Sorry 41, when you first posted, it had nothing really.}

^{That young boy you spoke of, 9, and training wheels and all that protective gear?}

^{He is one of the reasons dodgeball is not allowed in schools anymore.}

^{YOU'RE ALL WINNERS}

[umodelnut]

Your in with us. You got tools for you birthday and get to play with a Mack...just no lead paint or eating school paste...LOL Paul

. COOL!!!

[Olivetroad]

We had the big idea of living in town in Columbia MO for a few years when we were first married. The day they made my neighbors kids quit playing in the park because they did not have the proper protective gear on, was the day I planted a for sale sign in our front yard.

This is also another reason why we homeschool our kids. They get in an argument over something? I throw them outside to work it out amongst themselves. If I need some hay hauled, wood toted, dirt shoveled, manure spread, cows doctored, furnace filled, floors swept, shelves straightened, boards nailed, garden hoed, seeds planted, taters dug, hay mowed, oil checked, steel torched, tires aired, or any other job done, if I have a kid available, I make them do it and I first show them the proper way. You can't buy that kind of education any more. It used to be when I was a kid, you learned all that good stuff while at home in the summers and on the weekends when you were off school. Then when you went to school, the teachers reinforced what your parents taught you - no mixed messages. I don't know about any other parts of the world other than the small one I inhabit, but at least around here, that is no longer the case.

I really feel bad for a lot of the kids I am around. They don't have the opportunities to learn how to work because no one is around to show them. They really are no different than the kids from years ago, if they were exposed to having to work, they really in the long run would like being given instruction - no one likes just wasting time, not knowing what to do with themselves, so they fill their time with electronic joy which teaches you nothing.

Sorry for the vent - I just feel like we are letting all the stuff that made us as a great nation slide like eels through our fingers....

[41chevy]

^{Sorry 41, when you first posted, it had nothing really.}

^{That young boy you spoke of, 9, and training wheels and all that protective gear?}

^{He is one of the reasons dodgeball is not allowed in schools anymore.}

^{YOU'RE ALL WINNERS}

Yep...sometimes I stretch things out in parts....lets my body catch up with my brain or something deep like that

[Green Dash]

Like many of us on here. I can relate in some way to every single example you gave of what it was like growing up back then. Of course I would've loved to have some of these electronic gadgets that are around today (like the one I'm using right now) but I would not trade my childhood in the 60's and 70's for anything.

[other dog]

Played army in the vacant lot. Against the Japs. Clods of clay were tossed like hand grenades-and direct hits were the aim.

Shoveled snow to make some money. OH yeah, a paper route.

poor Vinny, he thinks were talking a different language

we played army in the woods, had sticks for guns. had to make our own sound effects. I was always Sgt Saunders,from the tv show "Combat".

[REEL ADDICTION]

Very true sad but true kids are being raised that they deserve everything they want they feel they deserve it and there is no need to earn it. If you think our economy is in the hole now wait u will see in 20 years

[Green Dash]

we played army in the woods, had sticks for guns. had to make our own sound effects. I was always Sgt Saunders,from the tv show "Combat".

I was Jan from The Brady Bunch. These things happen when you're raised with 4 girls.

Maybe those weren't such good times after all.

[HeavyGunner]

I got introduced to work young by my dad and learned the value in doing something right the first time and taking pride in your work. Everynight after school my brother and I would fill the wood box in the house (if it was a cool time of year) and then play until dad got home. Then we would go out to the shop with him and help unload his truck and start filling jugs (oil, gas, hydraulic oil etc) sharpening chains, straightening bars if any came home bent and help with any other task to help dad wrap up his work day and be ready for the logging site the next morning. Made us a tighter family in my opinion, all of us felt like we were a vital part to the family business. When I got a little older a fur buyer in town hired me to put up critters that he had skinned and fleshed on stretchers. Every year I learned a little more until I could do the job by myself, now I work fur after work and weekends November thru April and run my on long line. It helps my wife and I save more money for rainy days, I would rather work all of my jobs than ask for a hand out.

[vision386]

I am glad Paul posted this,i remember those days well! i do feel sorry for todays kids for missing a great time to grow up. We had chores to do before and after school before we were cut loose to play,there is always something to do on a fruit farm! i was spotting trailers in my grandads B-model by the time i was nine,bought my own bike (a schwinn stingray) with my own money,(and a little help from mom's S&H greenstamps) prolly put 100,000 miles on that bike,never had training wheels or a helmet. Hottest deal at school was trading the latest Hotwheels or Johhny Lightning cars. We very rarely ever stayed indoors,winter,spring,summer or fall. did'nt need our daily "activities" planned for us,no such thing as a "playdate" only TV we really watched was on saturday night,Gunsmoke,Rat Patrol,Combat etc. never really had any problem figuering who the "bad guy" was! we had neigbors we knew would help us if we needed them,you could count on a cop,fireman etc.if you were lost or hurt. Personally,i never got a "time out" either,did something wrong,usually got a warning first,then "wait till your father comes home off the truck" (he always remembered) rarely did it again! boys played with Tonka trucks,Buddy L's,Guns,army men,usually had a dog around,ate candy,drank soda etc. with no allergies,morbid obesesity,ADD,ADHD,hypertension etc. what happened?......................................Mark

[41chevy]

Three words happened......School Guidance Counselors.

This pearl was send to me by a man I admire and am very honored to call him a good friend, Win Hill. Here is his link on Hanks.

Paul

http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/win_hill.htm

[Red Rover]

I had the same experience growing up in the sixties. Got a paper route when I was eight,started with 24 customers and grew it to 50. I was making 10 bucks a week by the time I was 9. I learned to love the security of being able to rely on myself to always have a little cash in my pocket. It helped that my parents encouraged (pushed) me to be independent. I too, have home schooled my last 2 children through high school to both remove them from the negative influence of modern society and give them a realistic education on what they will need to know to survive as adults by letting (making) them work in my shop part time so they can learn what to expect from life, and hopefully in the process teach them how to conduct themselves successfully as adults. So far so good, when I lay myself down at night it's a comfort to say " thank God tonight, No one's in jail and no one's in the hospital. Bless us for tomorrow."

[Olivetroad]

" thank God tonight, No one's in jail and no one's in the hospital. Bless us for tomorrow."

That is a keeper