Ahhhh...The good ole days

Discussion in 'Free Speech Alley' started by SabanFan, May 13, 2003.

  1. SabanFan

    SabanFan The voice of reason

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    According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's or even the early 80's, probably shouldn't have survived.

    Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint, the slats were apparently too far apart, and there were no bumper pads. 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 children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat.

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

    Horrors!

    We sampled cake batter and cookie dough with raw eggs in it, and survived. We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, ice cream, and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we were not overweight because we were always outside playing.

    We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from this.

    We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode 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 street lights came on.

    No one was able to reach us all day. No cell phones.

    Unthinkable!

    We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, personal cellphones, personal computers, or Internet chat rooms. We had friends!

    We went outside and found them.

    We played dodge ball and baseball, and sometimes the ball would really hurt.

    We fell out of trees, got cut, and broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits 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 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.

    We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home 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.

    Some students weren't as smart as others, so they failed a grade and were held back to repeat the same grade.

    Horrors!

    Tests were not adjusted for any reason.

    Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected. 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 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.
     
  2. Latide97

    Latide97 Founding Member

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    Great Post! As a parent of a nine and three year old I try not to be a trendy parent. I tell them there is one thing they will never get away with and thats disrespect. I want them to be kids. My nine year old finally got a playstation after begging for it for every birthday and christmas since she was five, but I allowed it with some clear rules. I have never been so proud of her then when a friend was over and said "lets play playstation" and she said "are you kidding, its not raining outside" I want my kids to be so dirty at the end of the day that I cant stand it. She has probably spent a total of 2 hours on that video game in 5 months. She lives for softball and just recently made the slidell all-stars. She didnt make it last year and she was fine with that. I tell yall she is pretty amazing. Okay enough of my Kathy Lee talk.
     
  3. lsu99

    lsu99 whashappenin

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    Great post and I agree with everything except eating worms. Even at a young age, eating a live worm never crossed my mind.
     
  4. eric d

    eric d Founding Member

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    Not only did I do most of that, but I also rode my bike without a helmet. It's amazing that I didn't die before I got to be a teenager if you listen to safety nazi's of today.
     
  5. BayouBengal

    BayouBengal Founding Member

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    Even though I am not that old in respect to some of the members here but I caught the tail end of all that when I was growing up.

    I loved going out in the woods and spending all day. There was one thick area where we cut out a bunch of small trails and made a sort of a maze to hide and chase. We also had a small oval with some good slopes and could get some real good speed on the old bicycle. We would time ourselves to see how fast of a lap we could do. I knew those trails so well. There was even a swimmin' hole complete with a rope swing.
     
  6. JD

    JD Founding Member

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    And while yall lampoon all of that stuff, the life expectancy increases year after year after year.
     
  7. SabanFan

    SabanFan The voice of reason

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    Why would you want to live to be 80 or 90? All you do is bitch.
     
  8. BayouBengal

    BayouBengal Founding Member

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    I would attribute the increase in life expectancy to advances in medical care.
     
  9. LSUsupaFan

    LSUsupaFan Founding Member

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    You forgot swam in the bayou, never wore shoes, and didn't go to the doctor unless the bone was sticking out.
     
  10. BayouBengal

    BayouBengal Founding Member

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    The "swimmin' hole" I was talking about was a small bayou. The are we swam in was in a bend and it was at least 10 feet deep at that part. We were able to jump off of a tree that was at least 30 feet tall. Man we need some stupid stuff.
     

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