If you lived as a child in the 40's, 50's, 60's or 70's. .
Looking back, it's hard to believe that we have lived as long as we have...
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. Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead based paint. We had no child proof lids on medicine bottles, doors, or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets. (Not to mention hitchhiking to town as a young kid!), and riding on the running board. What's a running board? We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Horrors. 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 streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. No cell phones. Unthinkable. We played dodge ball and sometimes the ball would really hurt. We got cut and broke bones and broke teeth, and there were no law suits 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 ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank sugar soda but we were never overweight...we were always outside playing. We shared one grape soda with four friends, from one bottle and no one died from this. We did not have Play stations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, video games at all, 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, personal cell phones, Personal Computers, Internet chat rooms. We had friends. We went outside and found them. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rung the bell or just walked in and talked to them. Imagine such a thing. Without asking a parent! By ourselves! Out there in the cold cruel world! Without a guardian. How did we do 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. 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. No one to hide behind. 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 has been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. Please pass this on to others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before lawyers and government regulated our lives for our own good.
Posted by KARYN BUSH (Member # 1948) on :
i know...& isn't it amazing how well we turned out!
Posted by Don Hulsey (Member # 128) on :
Man, a lot of those really hit home.
When I was 14 I was "arrested" for being out riding my bike at 1:15 in the morning. I had told my parents I was staying at a friends house. When they called my parents (I later learned) my Dad asked them if I was alright, and if it would be OK if he picked me up in the morning. They put me in the County Jail, in a cell with 2 inmates which (I later learned) were actually employees of the jail. The next time I was out that late, I was driving my own car home from work.
Also, you forgot to mention... Those that did not make the ball team had the option to accept this, and live with it, or practice a little harder, and try out the next time.
Posted by Bob Burns (Member # 268) on :
Hey Mike, You're reminding me this Monday morning of how resentful I am of being a GEEZER......remembering first hand all that you mentioned. But......at least I had the pleasure of experiencing all that I guess! Those times are GONE but, at least at this point, NOT FORGOTTEN!
Posted by cheryl nordby (Member # 1100) on :
Yes, and you knew all your neighbors. You made forts in the woods and didn't have to worry about the weirdos. You had sleep outs all summer long and fell asleep listening to the good ole songs without any killing or violence in the lyrics. You sold kool-aid and flowers on the street corner, and didn't need your mom there to protect you.
Yeah them good ole days were good! But these days are good too. You just have to adjust to the changes.
You can still have sleep overs. But if anybody jumps on the trampoline..you must get a signed permission from the parents. You still know your neighbors, but have to keep an eye on a couple of them. You probably don't sell kool-aid on the corner anymore...but you can go ice skating, roller skating...and do all kinds of other fun things with your friends. You can get online and IM chat, while talking on your home phone, while your cell phone is ringing from another friend calling. The world is still a good place, You just need to keep adjusting. Posted by Bob Burns (Member # 268) on :
Hey Cheryl, You cant be old enuf to remember 'the good ol days'! Anybody out there remember when MILTON BERLE was a RADIO star?.....and LUCILLE BALL was a B movie extra? Lettering paint came ONLY in white, and you had to add powders for color?......God, am I a GEEZER or what?!
Posted by Kathy Joiner (Member # 1814) on :
Mike, regarding the first paragraph, I am reminded of the law of nature. Only the strongest survive. Hehehe we are still here aren't we?
Posted by Si Allen (Member # 420) on :
Hahahahaa Kathy...you are absolutly correct!
sad part is that I am older that the Geezer! What does that make me?
Posted by Mike Languein (Member # 319) on :
Uncle Miltie was sponsored by Powerhouse Candy Bars, and I listened to Gunsmoke - Amos & Andy were two white guys.
Now where did I leave my quill? What did I walk into this room for anyway? My glasses! My glasses!
Oh...on my face, O.K.
Posted by Bob Burns (Member # 268) on :
GUNSMOKE TRIVIA: The guy who played MATT DILLON on the radio was the same fat guy who played CANNON on TV years later. When Gunsmoke switched from radio to TV, they wanted JOHN WAYNE, who refused to do TV, but he recommended JAMES ARNESS, who had played in a few films with Wayne.
PS. HOWDY DOODY's sponsor was OVALTINE, and CLARABELLE THE CLOWN was my first wife.....hahahaha
Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :
Now hang on for a second...
The ones that grew up in the 50's, 60's and 70's are the same ones making the new rules:
nobody gets turned away from little league cause someone couldn't deal with the disappointment
kids wear their helmets on bikes cause someone in the 60's and 70's busted open their skull.. on a personal note, when I was about 6 or 7 years old, my big sister chased me down on her bike and ran over me.. I got even - oh yes - boltcutters and bicycle handbrakes are a wonderful combination. She really coulda benefitted from a helmet but I cant say the same thing for that mailbox she leveled.
cell phones replaced the streetlights cause now Urban Sprawl makes the neighborhoods farther away from each other. When that last streetlight comes on boy you could be in real trouble if ya didnt have a cell phone cause yer neighbors (at least the ones you can trust) are too far away to borrow a phone. Posted by Bob Burns (Member # 268) on :
HOW TO CURE URBAN SPRAWL: Move away to a place everybody hates......like AMBOY, Cal. Of course, if enough knot heads move there, you'll see a MacDonalds and a Chamber of Commerce there, in the blink of an eye! If you build it, they will come! HAH!
Posted by J.G. Kurtzman (Member # 1736) on :
Hey Mike....You sound like we could do a few Guinness together. How about meet me at "Kazoo Corners" in Sherman Oaks next Friday at 7:PM. Remember when Amos N Andy wuz black folks,(Red Fox not having a much different attitude of mind with his "Sanford N Son"), N da Cisco Kid came on just before Jacky gleason in the Honey Mooners.Days when no one neded to lock their house or their car! (In Connecticut) "Whot Hapened"
J.G. Kurtzman
Posted by Stephen Broughton (Member # 2237) on :
I seem to remember years ago we used to have these things called books, they where made of paper and had words printed on them and very few if any pictures, we used to spend hours reading them, amazing does anyone else remember these. Posted by Bob Burns (Member # 268) on :
Back in the mid 50s, a little kid was asked "Wadda you like better, RADIO or TV!?" The kid answered "RADIO......THE PICTURES ARE BETTER!" You old time radio listeners will understand THAT!
Posted by William Holohan (Member # 2514) on :
Radio? Radio? You mean like:
Thre Green Hornet
The F.B.I In Peace and War
The Thin Man
Fibber McGee and Molly
Mr. Kane, Tracer of Lost Persons
It Pays To Be Ignorant (to be dumb, to be dense, to be ignorant) I even remember the meolody.
Lets Pretend (Saturday AM)
The Lone Ranger (radio version)
Ma Perkins (my late mothers favorite)(radio soap opera)
I'll take a double shot of GERITOL and I might be able to drag up a few more. Those were the days...
Posted by Bob Burns (Member # 268) on :
Howzabout: (radio) BOB & RAY TOM MIX STRAIGHT ARROW THE SHADOW LIGHTS OUT(tv too) FRED ALLEN KRAFT MUSIC HALL (tv) KUKLA, FRAN & OLLIE BROADWAY OPEN HOUSE YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS TOAST of the TOWN(Ed Sullivan Show) HOWDY DOODY SNARKY PARKER KOVACS UNLIMITED MY FRIEND IRMA(radio too) MY LITTLE MARGIE MAN AGAINST CRIME(Ralph Bellamy) THE TODAY SHOW w/Dave Garroway THE ORIGINAL HONEYMOONERS (Pert Kelton as Alice) DOUGLAS EDWARDS AND THE NEWS JOHN CAMERON SWAYZE
........am I a GEEZER or WHAT!
Posted by Michael Clanton (Member # 2419) on :
I've not made it to "geezer-dom" yet, but I can relate to "my good ol' days": I was a kid in the 70's (all of 'em)- grew up in a small rural town (pop. 501- even more if you count the coon dogs) I had a 20" bike w/ banana seat and real tall handlebars, built tougher than any tank. It had about a million miles peddled and withstood countless hours of jumping ramps, ditches, small pets...Every activity that me and my neighbors/friends did was OUTSIDE, we roamed the countryside from daylight til dark, we played around ponds and creeks and throughout the woods, we built forts, ran with sticks, and never went anywhere without BB guns and lots of ammo, We played with frogs and green snakes, We hunted and fished and terrorized other animals too numerous to mention, we created more exciting sports (that was played in our yards and fields) than anything you will ever see on ESPN, we got into lots of arguments and fights and wrestling matches, but at the end of the day always figured out a way to get along, because you had to have someone to play with the next day.
I'm not sure what my mom did all day, or even if she knew where we were or what we were doing, but if she ever yelled your name out the door, you'd better be heading home.
Sure, I've got lots of war wounds from the good ol days, but I like to call them "Character Marks"
The Wonder Years is one of my favorite shows, because it captured the essence of my "good ol' days"
Posted by Santo (Member # 411) on :
You guys are just too damn old!!! I don't remember nothing earlier than "Morgus the Magnificent and the House of Shock Theater."
Posted by Raymond Chapman (Member # 361) on :
Mike - I lived as a child in the 40's, 50's, 60's, and 70's....my wife says that I am still living as a child. And I think she is right.
When I was a child I never liked to hear about the good old days where everyone walked to school barefooted and it was ten miles - uphill both ways. But I still catch myself telling my grandkids the same old stories.
And yes, I had the same experiences as has been related here. We never had a key to the house because it had been lost years ago and no one ever locked the door anyway. Our biggest family event in the evenings was to listen to the radio and make up the pictures in our head. It is still better than anything I see on TV.
I don't know if the times were any better then than they are now, but my memory says that they were. But there were wars and people still killed each other, so maybe we have it no better or worse today. As a kid I remember the "colored" drinking fountains and rest rooms and knew that there was an unwritten law that said, "Don't let the sun go down on you in this town." Those memories are not good ones.
The good ones are playing all day in the summer along the creek and not worrying if someone may come along an snatch me up. To hear mother call me from the back porch and to know that there was a meal waiting for me with things from our garden and then to fall asleep next to an open window and hear the frogs croaking...now, those are good memories.
My Dad took in stray dogs and stray people, so our home usually had someone who did not have our last name. They slept on the back porch, but ate at our table. Not all of them smelled very good, but I was never afraid of any. We had a flat bed truck and we never went anywhere without a load of folks (mainly soldiers) who were hitch hiking. There was no indoor bathroom in our house and my Dad could neither read nor write, but I never saw the table empty or heard my stomach growl.
On second thought, maybe those were some very good days.
Posted by William Holohan (Member # 2514) on :
Bob B, With a memory that good, you aren't even in the beginning stages of "GEEZERDOM!"
Posted by Bob Burns (Member # 268) on :
IRISH, Like most GEEZERS, I can remember lots of old useless trivia, but ask me about last week!.............G-O-N-E........!
Posted by Dan Sawatzky (Member # 88) on :
Them were the good old days... in my case the 50's and on up.
But nowadays I think we have it even better. If we long for the simple life we can move out further into the country... things haven't changed much in small towns in many ways. And the smaller the town the more folks are the way they used to be. (this is what we are planning to do) We are planning on buying a good sized acreage out in the sticks to live on with my daughter and husband living on the same property as well. Hopefully our grandkids (when they arrive) will grow up with most of those happy memories that you describe and us more advanced in years (or who lived in the sticks) so fondly remember.
But as a professional I don't thing we could have it much better than we have it now. I love working creatively with my hands but at the same time love having all these nifty tools to help me... something I didn't have way back then.
Creative resources available now in an instant weren't even dreamed of way back then.
And if I get a hankering to see those old shows mentioned above... they are still available on DVD and best of all without commercials!
I think if we make careful choices we can have the best of times now.
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