To all those that survived

louixo

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
To Those of You Born

1930 - 1979


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, nobooster 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.
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.


While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave and lucky their parents were.


Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it ?
 

inkasnana

Expert Expediter
Yep, yep, yep. I played in the leaves in fall, I dug in the dirt in summer, I walked around barefoot from the time the first dandelion blossomed in the spring until the last one died in the fall.

I played outside in the rain, and in the creek. Roamed the fields and woods and stayed out sledding in the winter until my fingers and toes were numb then went inside to warm up and back out again. I climbed trees, built forts, made an awesome "tree house" on the side of a huge oak tree that had fallen in the yard. I swung from an old tire swing and "painted" the side of the barn with "paint" made from yellow dirt and water.

I went asparagus hunting along the side of the road in the spring and berry picking in the woods in the summer. I went ice skating on the frozen swamp in winter. I spent almost all of my time growing up outside, with no "fancy toys", gadgets or gizmo's and I was never bored. When I did have to be inside, I read books, the greatest imagination builders there are. :D
 

MentalGiant

Seasoned Expediter
Wow, you brought back so many memories from the past. All most everything you described, I have basically done. To gets to go outside to do anything is like punishing them. They would go out for a little bit and then come back in and say "I'm bored".

It makes you think about what our society has grown to. We may have gotten hurt a few times, but that builds character. I remember coming home some times with my arms and elbows all scraped and cut. But, what ever I did to cause that, I had fun doing it. :D

And the BB gun, I remember that one the most. When I got my first one, I could hit anything with it from the hips and probably somethings I shouldn't of been aiming for. I was probably only 8 or 9 years old at the time. :D

About around 9yrs old, I lived about a block from a full service gas station. During the summer, I would go there about every other day and help the attendant put fuel in the customer cars. The customers loved it and thought it was cute. The guy would give me about $5 after 4-5hrs of helping. That was a lot back in 1978 for a 9yr old boy. Even had some customers buy me a soda every now and then, I guess you could call that a tip for the service. I think bottle of soda back then was only .20 or .25 cents back then.

Anyways, times did seem simpler back then. Maybe it wasn't, but looking from a young boys eyes, it was.
 

layoutshooter

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
MMM, eating all the carrots and onions, dirt and all, out of my dad's garden then putting the tops back so I would not get caught. Layoutshooter
 

theoldprof

Veteran Expediter
I remember breaking open a thermometer that had the mercury in it. We would put it in a saucer and watch it splatter apart and then the drops merge into one big blob. Also remember "branding" a kid with a hot coat hanger. We would blindfold the kid and heat up the coat hanger, then quench it in water. Quenching made it sizzle. We'd tell the poor blindfolded kid that it was "sizzling" hot. Then we'd put the cold, wet coat hanger on his arm and watch him yell. Great fun.

I'll never forget my wife telling our grandkids about her boy cousin and her hopping freight cars that ran from their small town to the grain elevator about two miles out of town.

I grew up in Louisville. There was a distillery not far from home. We would ride our trusty Schwinns over to the distillery and climb the ladder that was inside a tall whiskey bottle. Now, we would probably get arrested for trespassing.
 
Last edited:

layoutshooter

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
We were far more adventuras in those days. Kids today, I just don't know. No gumption. I see kids in thier 20-30's still living with mommy and daddy. I don't understand, I could not wait to get out on my own. Shoot, I have more get up and go and sense of adventure at 58 than many 20 year olds do. Just don't make sense. Layoutshooter
 
Top