Living dangerosly

[car54]

I found this on a Formula 1 racing site that I go to and I think that it is very true.


How true is this?

If you lived as a child in the 40's, 50's, 60's or 70's, looking back, it's hard to believe that we have lived as long as we have...

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

Our cots were covered with bright colored lead-based paint. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors, or cupboards, and when we rode our bikes we had no helmets.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Horrors.

We would spend hours building 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 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. No mobile phones. Unthinkable.

We got cut and broke bones and broke teeth, and there were no law suits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to blame, but us.

Remember accidents?

We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it.

We ate patty cakes, bread and butter, and drank cordial, but we were never overweight...we were always outside playing. We shared one drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one died from this.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, video games, 65 channels on pay TV, video tape movies, surround sound, personal mobile phones, Personal Computers, Internet chat rooms ... we had friends. We went outside and found them. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rung the bell, or just walked in and talked to them. Imagine such a thing. Without asking a parent! By ourselves!

Out there in the cold cruel world! Without a guardian - how did we do it?

We made up games with sticks and tennis balls, and ate worms, and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor did the worms live inside us forever.

Footy and netball had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.....

Some students weren't as smart as others so they failed a grade and were held back to repeat the same grade. Tests were not adjusted for any reason.

Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected. No one to hide behind. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law - imagine that!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years has 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're one of them. Congratulations!

Please pass this on to others, who have had the luck to grow up as kids,
before lawyers and government regulated our lives....... for our own
good......




--------------------

The older I get, the better I was.

[Duster]

Very true

Hows those ribs doing car54

[Ontrack]

Born in 61 and look how far I've come--at a party a couple of weeks ago, who had to show the 20 year olds how to eat the worm out of the bottom of a tequila bottle? Really glad the wife didn't see that (again). The kids tried to rat me out to her, but of course I denied it and she either believed me or forgot about it...

[Consiglieri]

Yeah, my wife's that way too, particularly with some of the favorite jokes I like to tell.  Kind of like Frank the Tank from the Movie Old School. 

[coyote]

Words can't describe how much I enjoyed that post , car54...I'm a '61 model myself, Ontrack.

                                                   Thanks '54 ,
                                                             Coyote

[iceman]

I'm a 55 model and remember those days well.
That's back when you were "Responsible" for your own problems.
You cut yourself, go get a dang band aid put on and get back out there to play pronto. No sniveling kid!  :D
Boy, now days if you even raise your voice to the neighbor kid or you get sued!
Seems like you can't eat that, drink that, do that, say that, mean that, think that, buy that, use that, breath that, etc. etc. Whew!!!
Awe, the good ole days.
They keep telling me "Just wait til the golden days".
Heck I'd settle for copper or silver right now! :D

Opps. Forgot we're not supposed to make car54 laugh. Sorry buddy.  :o ;D

[Ontrack]

I hope you act as young and feel as old as I do, Coyote ;)

[Wildcat]

'51 model here.

[car54]

My ribs are healing very good. I can laugh.

I was telling my grandson's teacher that when I was in 8th grade our science teacher hooked up a hand cranked army surplus electric generator to my ear lopes and started cranking away. The teacher replied, " I have heard about those good old days. If I even look at a student wrong I'm in trouble."

Brad

[LilSmoker]

Great post car54, and so very true! I'm a May 59 model myself, and nowdays i sound more like my dad every day  ;D

In all seriousness, i'm glad i grew up in the times before all the hi tech, fast paced, stressed out stuff of today, it wasn't all good, but was a lot of fun.

Btw, my wife says i'm still a big kid!  ::)

[iceman]

Btw, my wife says i'm still a big kid!  ::)

Thank goodness there is some kid left in most of us.  ;D

[Oldman]

I'm a 50 model and Susan is a 44.

One of the things I did as a kid was to make a potatoe gun. Take a 3" metal pipe, add gun power, pack it with a piece of cloth, make a wick that went into a small hole at the bottom of the pipe. Stuff a potatoe in the head of the pipe and light the wick.  BOOM there goes a flying potatoe.

Today if a kid did that he / she would go to jail.

Did a lot of stuff when I was growing up. Like by the age of ten I was reloading my own shot gun shells. Today they would lock up the parents.

When I did something wrong my butt got busted, but it was a Hard Love given by my parents.  Today it is jail time for the parents.

A few years back Susan had a 4th grade student tell her that when he grew up that he was going to come back and butt *ucker her.  Admins answer: Oh the poor child has had a hard life. We need to understand him better and reach out to him and have a talk.  My answer to that was and still is bull chit.

When I was a kid if I had said like that to anyone I would have eaten so much soap that I would have chit bubbles for a week.

I hate to say this as I love my country -- but I believe that what once made this country great, its people heros to the rest of the world that, that time has passed. 

I feel bad for the young people today that will never know Hard Love, but instead are bribed with a playstation to be good.

I know there are many good kids serving this country, but I believe they are in the minority.

Olds

[Wildcat]

You said it all Olds.  I was tough on the three I reared.  The oldest, my daughter, now appreciates it.  She is in college now to become a teacher.  A late start, but at least she is finally on the right track.  The two boys, 19 and 18 almost broke down the door getting out at 18.  The youger of the two has a welding skill and will eventually appreciate my efforts.  Hopefully the 19 year old will grow up one day.  So far he is just bumming from family and friends that will put up with it.

[La Quinta]

Add me to the '61 vintage...pretty amazing isn't it? I remember lying to my parents about putting on make-up when I was 14...told them I "fell down" and that was the "smudges" on my eyes!!!  My Dad said, "You fell on your eyes?" I had to weed in the yard for a month!!! Has anybody seen how 14 year olds dress and are "made up" now...? I feel old!!! :)

[NePaSmoKer]

Hope your doing good car54

I'm a 60 model  ;D

HEY HEY I WANT TO BE A ROCKSTAR  ;D

nepas