bobbyjohn Loc: Dallas, TX

To Those of Us Born 1930 - 1979

Here's to US!!!!

No matter what our kids and the new generation think about us old-timers, WE ARE AWESOME !!!! OUR LIFE IS LIVING PROOF !!!!
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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 child-proof 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 OKAY.

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 Play Stations, 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 social networking.

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 would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping pong paddles, or just a bare hand and no one would call child services to report abuse.

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 50 years from 1930 - 1979 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!

We have had the good luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good.

Maybe your kids would like to know how brave and lucky their parents were.
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Quote extraordinaire from Jay Leno:

"With hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

jdedmonds

You have exactly described my childhood in terms that I've expressed in bits and pieces over many decades. How about this one: In WWII, George McGovern was a B-24 Liberator pilot. He and his crew of ten averaged 21 years of age and flew nearly the double requisite missions over Germany. Does anyone believe that the United States or any other country could today find, train and dispatch with confidence a bomber crew of ten averaging twenty-one years old? How about thirty-one? Nope. Forty-one would be about right.

TonyBot

Bravo, Bobbyjohn! Where I grew up, we also played in the wilderness area behind our house (called: The Snakepit), frequently with bows and real arrows, playing Cowboys and Indians. In the winter, we would travel over the dike behind the house and follow the trail (again, called "Indian Trail") to the frozen-over ponds next to the river. Hockey, with no helmets, and no-one to keep a watch on us except ourselves. ANY season, you were expected to carry a knife, a *real* knife - in addition to the pocket knife you were expected to have on you at all times. (remember "Toesies?)
But, to throw a wet blanket on even my ramblings, measles took the lives of not the forty or so in the US as it did last year, but perhaps forty or more in our metro area (about 125k), and mumps, chicken pox, and even an occasional whooping cough. And, if you were lucky enough to own a car, you could expect 10mpg, never left home without the vulcanizing kit to fix the tube in the inevitable flat tire if you were going to travel more than 50 miles or so, and the car was a junker if it ever even got to 50 or 60 thousand miles. Of course, one of those was my first car.
But, again, you are absolutely right about *everything* you mentioned. If we could only have those days back again, with the technology we have today. (As an aside: the neighbor lady sent her 10 year old child to the corner store - about a hundred yards away or so - and got reported for "child endangerment".)

Krittermom

My childhood in a nutshell. Add in my mom cooked a hot breakfast everyday and supper every night. We were expected to eat what she cooked. We said yes ma’am and no ma’am as well as thank you and please. We played with lizards, bugs and snakes. We had the good sense to listen when mom taught us what a poisonous snake looked like and we avoided them. We played in the rain. And we behaved especially in public. It a wonder how we made it in such a harsh and confining childhood.

ChackbayGuy Loc: South Louisiana

I had to wait until I was 7 before I was allowed to camp overnight by myself out in the swamp. Didn't get a rifle until I was 12! Of course, I had my trusty hunting knife from 7 on (actually still have it! Made a new handle for it in shop in 7th grade). Have 5 kids that all had outdoor adventures, but the 11 grandkids focus mostly on their electronics.

Thanks, bobbyjohn for bringing back the memories! ... John

jdedmonds

This is an elegant essay; you should consider submitting it to some of the heavier hitters in the publishing world. Believe me, it's that good.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

I don't think of people born in 1979 as old timers.

Joe Blow

During WWII, the age of the average foot soldier was 26. In Vietnam, it was 19. In WWII we knew who and why we were fighting. In Vietnam we didn't know who or why and it was only later did we realize we were fighting ourselves.

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

WE HAD YARD DARTS!!!!!!

G Brown Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK

Add walking a mile or two to school, and back. Making 'bangers' out of weedkiller and sugar in copper pipes. Cutting kindling with an axe once your dad knew you could pick it up. Having chores and knowing every adult had the right to 'give you a clout' if you were misbehaiving.
We had bombsites to play on...then building sites. gravel quarries to slide down on corrugated iron sheets as sleds. We cooked on open fires as cub scouts and went swimming in rivers without lifejackets. If you wanted a bike...you built it from bits out of 'the tip'.
Ain't being young fun - when you arn't dragging your parents around! Especially when they hadn't a clue what you were up to. Biggest sin was turning up on the door with a policeman or irate neighbour. Then it was 'the belt'.

TJBNovember Loc: Long Island, New York

Learning to drive when gas was $0.35 a gallon, and I know many will go me better on that.

Mavrek Loc: Ocala, Florida

I can't imagine why we have fond and enduring memories of such a deprived and neglectful childhood. Who wants to join me in returning to those times now that most of us are retired, we could have us some awesome good fun!!

llamb Loc: Northeast Ohio

In 1957 I was standing on our front sidewalk shooting my Mossberg target rifle at a target 25 yards away in our garage. We had a large piece of boiler plate for a backstop. I policeman driving by stopped and asked what I was doing. I said "Practicing for Tuesday night's match." He told me to be careful and drove off. We used to shoot in the dirt floor basement of the High School where all the utilities ran. The wonderful DCM (Director of Civilian Marksmanship) program provided each junior shooter a brick (500 rounds) of .22's a year.
If a 10 year old kid would stand on a sidewalk and shoot today. 4,392 court appointed councilors, psychologists, judges, etc... Edited later to include: SWAT-TEAM!

~Lee

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

I agree. I grew up in Oklahoma and my first car was a 1953 Chevy. I worked hard and got a 1973 Dodge Charger with the super hemi engine. Then I had a new Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais. I think it was 1980 or 81. I traded the Olds for an MG Midget the first time it cost me $20 to fill the tank. (I'd love to have a $20 fill up now on anything but my motorcycle. The MC takes premium and it has a 3.5 gallon tank and I get 30mpg). The wife has a Kia Sorento that costs us about $35-$40 to fill up and she gets about 17mpg. I fondly remember those 15 cent and we complained when we had to pay 20 cents a gallon.. and a dollar? are you kidding me? lol.

donrosshill Loc: Delaware & Florida

My God. I am 83, how did I survive. Technology has been great thing. But I think Common Sense is by far better.
Don