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We had to get up to turn the channel, and worry about getting zapped by a giant static spark when we touched the big metal knob. Anyone remember the technique for going from channel 1 to 28 in one shot?
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One trend I'm glad to see go is that no one ties dogs to trees much anymore. I remember my next door neighbor had a German Shepard, and that dog spent his entire life tied to a tree. His. Entire. Life.
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This is so true.
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I have a friend who is gym teacher, and he's always at odds with the school principal, because she wants the kids to always feel like winners. He can't convince her that failing is good sometimes.
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When I was 16, I use to steal newspaper from the recycle place at night, get a few VW engine blocks and some palets and head to the beach. It's amazing how bright that fire got! |
I'll tell you why things are different nowadays...
News broadcasts... At some point in the 60's networks started realizing they got much higher ratings by scaring the hell out of the public. It progressively got worse in the 70's and 80's, horror stories of serial killers running rampant, wanting to steal and kill your children. When in fact, they were no more rampant then they were during the depression or the industrial evolution. Ted Bundy was pretty unique, but that was just one man. There have been a hand full of Gacy's around in history, he just got all the attention because he was a clown and that stuck in peoples heads more--so essentially that was just marketing. Don't get me wrong, I still believe these things are newsworthy and some extra precaution is a good thing, but the constant 'threat' that the news seems to sell us every night isn't there at all...and probably never has been. |
sad to say but a big part of the problem was created by the women's liberation movement and parents who bail on marriages so easily - kids today mostly grow up in families with one parent or in a family where both mom and dad work, some out of necessity and then the millions of baby boomer yuppies where both mom and dad have careers. Out of guilt parents over compensate and over protect. Part of the reason we as kids felt secure enough to do all sorts of risky creative things after school is because we knew mom was at home and the neighborhood was filled with other moms who actually knew you by name. A kid can walk around his neighborhood today and he might as well be stranded in Manhattan - he's likely not to know anybody well enough to knock at their door and ask for help. I knew if I got in a fist fight that sooner than later some parent was going to come running and tear us apart. That kind of security is what kids need - not the over protective structure of some program or activity you enroll your kids in or suiting him up in plastic armour so go forbid he doesn't break his collarbone. There was this invisible safety net that kids instinctively knew existed and made them brave enough to do things on their own, they didn't wait for somebody to tell them what to do with their free time. Don't you remember as a kid how cool it was when somebody broke their arm or other bone - it was like a war injury, couldn't wait to get out of the emergency room to show the cast off and get people signing it. Every kid broke something - boys anyway.
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But wait, my parents both worked back then too. My dad worked for the CBC (as a technician and as VTR man on a camera crew), my mom worked at a local hospital (on the switchboard as it was called back then). I never once got a ride to school, all us kids just walked together. After school there was no long procession of cars waiting to pick up kids. WE WALKED.
And if you played hockey? Most of the kids I grew up had used equipment mostly, at least in the early years. Mine was given to my dad by my uncle, it was Canadian military issue hockey equipment, the shinguards didn't even match! lol. There were often no rides to games or practices, which were almost always on outdoor rinks (unheard of today!). I would put all my equipment on at home, then hoof it over to the rink with my skates and helmet slung over my stick, slung over my shoulder (like a hobo). If the game was on the other side of the city (usually at 5 am) the coaches and a few parents would meet at the school at 4 am, and us kids with no ride would walk over in the fucking dead of winter and catch a ride with the group. It was tons of fun actually. The times when my mom or dad could come along to the games I of course then got a ride, and it was nice to have them standing on the side watching me play, but it wsn't something any kid took for granted. Today kids get rides everywhere, school and back, to the arena and back, to the pool and back. Parents aren't parents anymore, they are fucking chauffers. |
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:1orglaugh |
1970 here.
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Mom called the cops on me when I was 12... I love my Mom ;-)
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I grew up mostly near beaches, so one thing I'd add is that shoes were nearly always optional attire. In fact, you were in danger of being labled a shoe-be if you wore shoes anywhere near a beach. Thats what tourists do.
You might think that the biggest danger was stepping on broken glass, but it wasn't. It was actually those darn old style tin soda/beer can pull tabs. They could be found just about anywhere that humans lived or played. http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thu..._pull_tabs.jpg You could also walk into any phone booth and dial zero to make a phone call. If you were bad, you could tell the operator (yep, real human always there) that the machine took your dime and they wouldnt charge you collect for the call. In fact, they'd credit your next bill AND place your call for free. Yep. When you were new in a neighborhood, you would meet at least half a dozen families on moving in day. They'd come help you move in, and invite you for dinner that night, or bring you a welcome gift basket. Yes. Really. And if you were a kid being bad, you could bet that another kids parent would catch you just as well as your own. And you wouldnt sue another parent for disciplining your child if they needed it, you'd THANK them and apologize for your little naughty child. |
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Those were the days:) I was born in 1970
Mr. Romance |
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I like the idea of everything being in walking distance, I live in a great little area of town here in windsor where I have that now to a point--even a local outdoor rink close by. |
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One of our favorite toys. We were on this thing all day.
http://www.marxtoymuseum.com/_borders/greenmachine.jpg |
I fall into that category, and here I am, alive and kicking.
The best part: we did NOT have video games or even VCRs at home and we bonded with our parents instead of drooling in front of a screen. |
If we ever have a war that can be fought virtually, we will have some seriously skilled soldiers behind those keyboards!
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101 Kids that Made it to the big League!
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I had one of these too! |
Damn we had a tree swing you had to climb 25 feet up a tree to get on it was roped on the tree in between the one we jumped from to the one we swung into to stop and climb down. Well with the numbers game after ohh 1000 swings the rope broke. Kid who fell 20 feet to the floor of the woods we played in broke his leg and arm. We carried him home since there was no cell phones and his mom took him to the hospital. 2 casts later he was the first to try our new rope swing. No law suits no punishments. Nothing but the cost of having fun. We used to play king of the hill on my stair way. 14 steps with a banister on one side. If you got knocked down sometimes you caught your arm in the railings. No broken bones. You got hurt you sat out and had chocolate milk for 10 minutes and resumed fighting for king of the stairs. Then when you saw my moms head lights pull up in the driveway we rushed to put the 2 twin mattresses back in the spare bedroom.. Ahh good old 70's and 80's in NJ!!:1orglaugh
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Great story. |
Well.. there *are* people who died from doing things like riding in the back of pickups and kids *did* get sick from sharing germs. That's why there are laws and such today.
But it's good to be a survivor. When I was in Mexico, I realized that Common Sense still plays a big part down there. Some balcony railings are really short, not even near being "code" in Canada. But you know what? Don't lean so far over them! Sure, there's no sign in the street telling you to watch out for the construction hole. But USE YOUR EYES and go around. It was refreshing to see. |
Dave I have 101 one these. We need to get a drink and laugh our asses off about some of the unsafe shit we did... Good times for sure.
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I survived! Now I'm the most over protective Dad!
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I got bored after reading the 3rd sentence.
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Exactly :2 cents: |
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This is accurate for the UK as well :thumbsup
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