How True This Is

leon · #1 02-05-2009, 03:39 PM

Hi guys, ans many of you probably fall into this group, myself included, I thought it might be a good read.

I certainly can relate to this

Leon

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL MY FRIENDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE

1940's, 50's, 60's and early 70's !

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us and lived in houses made of asbestos..
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, raw egg products, loads of bacon and processed meat, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes or cervical cancer.

Then after that trauma, our baby cots were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets or shoes, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

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

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

Take away food was limited to fish and chips, no pizza shops, McDonalds, KFC, Subway or Nandos.

Even though all the shops closed at 6.00pm and didn't open on the weekends, somehow we didn't starve to death!

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

We could collect old drink bottles and cash them in at the corner store and buy Toffees, Gobstoppers, Bubble Gum and some bangers to blow up frogs with.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because......

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

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.ï¿∏ï¿∏

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of old prams and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. We built tree houses and dens and played in river beds with matchbox cars.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo Wii, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 999 channels on SKY,
no video/dvd films,
no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet 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..

Only girls had pierced ears!

ï¿∏

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

You could only buy Easter Eggs and Hot Cross Buns at Easter time...

We were given air guns and catapults for our 10th birthdays,

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!

Mum didn't have to go to work to help dad make ends meet!

FOOTBALL, RUGBY and CRICKET had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! Getting into the team was based on

MERIT

Our teachers used to hit us with canes and gym shoes and bully'sï¿∏always ruled the playground at school.

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.They actually sided with the law!

Our parents didn't invent stupid names for their kids like 'Kiora' and 'Blade' and 'Ridge' and 'Vanilla'

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO

DEAL WITH IT ALL!

And 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 our lives for our own good.

And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.

PS -The big type is because your eyes are not too good at your age anymore

astroron (Ron) · #2 02-05-2009, 03:52 PM

Good one Lon

I can relate to most of those things happening to me

Thanks for the post

matt · #3 02-05-2009, 04:03 PM

I can relate to most of that.

I still marvel at how much things have changed since I was growing up in the 70s...and early 80s.

Like most things, there have been some positives and negatives.

Kevnool (Kev) · #4 02-05-2009, 04:31 PM

How the world has changed.
If i asked my boy to go outside he would look at me silly.
and when his pc don't run properly i look at him silly.
Cheers Kev.

gbeal · #5 02-05-2009, 04:49 PM

As a baby boomer, this begs the question of why this forum is so popular, as one of the things it bemoans is the internet, LOL.
A great read though Leon, and close to the hearts of many here I suspect.
Gary

dpastern (Dave Pastern) · #6 02-05-2009, 05:51 PM

I can relate to most of that as well. We wrap kids in cotton wool balls these days, hence them being hideously spoilt, self centred brats, with little or no manners. Some of their parents aren't much better either.

Some might consider me mean for my words, but as far as I'm concerned, society has went downhill badly in the past 15 years especially. And the way things are going, it's only going to get worse, far worse.

Many of todays youth have poor work ethics - regularly late to work, poor quality workmanship, laziness, and irregularity in attendance.

Just my honest observations.

Dave

KenGee (Kenith Gee) · #7 02-05-2009, 05:52 PM

A friend of mine with kids moaned that he had to buy a car for his teenage son. I asked him why, why get the kid to get a part time job and pay half like I knew his father had made him do when we were that age. He looked at me as if it had never occurred to him not to give in to his kids wishes. Sad really we are producing a generation of kids unable to cope with not getting their way. I think our only hope is for the GFC to be long and deep.

WadeH (Wade) · #8 02-05-2009, 05:52 PM

Ahh, those were the days!!! Thanks for posting Leon.

dpastern (Dave Pastern) · #9 02-05-2009, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KenGee

A friend of mine with kids moaned that he had to buy a car for his teenage son. I asked him why, why get the kid to get a part time job and pay half like I knew his father had made him do when we were that age. He looked at me as if it had never occurred to him not to give in to his kids wishes. Sad really we are producing a generation of kids unable to cope with not getting their way. I think our only hope is for the GFC to be long and deep.

How true. I never got anything for nothing - I had to *work* to get things that I wanted. Kids these days expect their parents to cough up. Thankfully, due to theological reasons, I do not want kids, and I'll never have to put up with that sort of behaviour.

What's GFC?

Dave

Phil · #10 02-05-2009, 06:33 PM

How true is that. Have to show my kids this.
Phil

PCH (Paul) · #11 02-05-2009, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dpastern

How true. I never got anything for nothing - I had to *work* to get things that I wanted. Kids these days expect their parents to cough up. Thankfully, due to theological reasons, I do not want kids, and I'll never have to put up with that sort of behaviour.

What's GFC?

Dave

Global Financial Crisis !

marki · #12 02-05-2009, 07:19 PM

I am going to print this out and put it up on the notice board outside my office at school. I especially liked the bit about the cane

I recieved it on numerous occassions when I was at school and the only scars I got from it were to learn my lesson and behave

.

Mark

PCH (Paul) · #13 02-05-2009, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dpastern

I can relate to most of that as well. We wrap kids in cotton wool balls these days, hence them being hideously spoilt, self centred brats, with little or no manners. Some of their parents aren't much better either.

Some might consider me mean for my words, but as far as I'm concerned, society has went downhill badly in the past 15 years especially. And the way things are going, it's only going to get worse, far worse.

Many of todays youth have poor work ethics - regularly late to work, poor quality workmanship, laziness, and irregularity in attendance.

Just my honest observations.

Dave

10 out of 10 for accuracy David. I'm sure much of it is down to both parents having to work to make ends meet. Families don't have time for kids anymore, and so try to buy their friendship back - either with money, "things" and/or lack of discipline.

Just my 2c

Alchemy (Clive) · #14 02-05-2009, 07:45 PM

i pity kids these days, they will never get to experience the fun we had.

ah..... those were the days

PCH (Paul) · #15 02-05-2009, 07:46 PM

Oh by the way, great post Leon.

It caused me to have a think over many a happy time from my younger days. Shoving bangers up frog's backsides never seemed a terrific idea if I'm honest

acropolite (Phil) · #16 02-05-2009, 07:50 PM

How true and sad it is Leon, brings back memories.

At 56 I look back and remember my first skateboard, made from the remains of some old roller skates (aluminium alloy wheels, no 2 of which were the same diameter) that belonged to my brothers.

Billy carts made with scrap timber and pram wheels salvaged from the tip.

My first radio was an old valve model also salvaged from the tip. In those days it was OK for a kid to go to the tip and forage.

A tree fort adorned the flowering gum tree in the front yard, never mind falling out or getting stung by bees in the flowering season. The gum nuts provided wonderful projectiles to be hurled great distances, often on the grouchy neighbours garage roof, usually until she came out and hurled abuse at us. This was not done for simple pleasure, the old duck used to race us to the ball each time it went over the fence then refuse to give it back, so this was our way of getting even.

An underground fort was dug in the back yard, by hand of course, then covered with old roofing iron and a veneer of soil and grass.

If I wanted to visit a friend or go swimming at the local waterhole, it was by pushbike, bought second hand and not until my 10th birthday.

Pocket money didn't exist, I had to mow the neighbours lawns to get money. The furthest jobs were around 1Km away and in very hilly areas, no car, I had to push the mower there and carry the petrol can as well. I still remember earning $15.00 in one day, a lot of money in 1968.

My first video game was a TV tennis game put together from a design in Electronics Australia.

Then there was cracker night,

A kid could just go to the shop and buy whatever you wanted, several weeks before and up to the night, no one blew their hands off or eyes out....

Did I mention spud guns....

My kids can't even drive a nail or screw something together, all my mate's kids are the same, I can't recall making a conscious effort to make them that way.

I wouldn't swap my childhood for 10 of theirs.

Jazza11 (Jeremy) · #17 02-05-2009, 07:58 PM

Lol sounds like fun and i was born in the 90's so i really dont know what much of that is like but sounds fun

Ric · #18 02-05-2009, 07:58 PM

So true Leon and we are still here.

My mum used to tell how she put a teaspoon of rum or brandy in my baby bottle to help me sleep better. And that was under instruction from the doctor. I was only around 12 months old.

How times have changed.

Glenhuon (Bill) · #19 02-05-2009, 10:50 PM

I'm a '47. Happy memories you brought back Leon. Kids today don't know what they are missing. Mum used to put a teaspoonfull of scotch in my bottle, and she told me I was one of those kids who threw the (glass) bottle out of the pram, ended up using a stubby with a teat on it. I wonder if it had any lasting effect, Hic!

Bill

MrB (Simon) · #20 02-05-2009, 10:56 PM

Brilliant Leon, spot on.
I only just made it methinks, born in '75, glad I got to enjoy all those things.

Anyone remember magically knowing when their mums were calling them?
You couldn't really hear her calling, you were miles away... down at the bush tracks or something.... never really sure how but you knew she was calling.
I'd always get home just in time for dinner! Usually caked in mud or something.

Quote:

Mum used to put a teaspoonfull of scotch in my bottle, I wonder if it had any lasting effect, Hic!

LOL Bill, me too!