Reality Check

F1nut · January 2005

My Mom used to cut chicken, chop eggs and spread mayo on the same cutting board with the same knife and no bleach, but we didn't seem to get food poisoning.

My Mom used to defrost hamburger on the counter AND I used to eat it raw sometimes too, our school sandwiches were wrapped in wax paper in a brown paper bag not in icepack coolers, but I can't remember getting e coli?

Almost all of us would have rather gone swimming in the lake instead of a pristine pool (talk about boring), no beach closures then.

The term cell phone would have conjured up a phone in a jail cell, and a pager was the school PA system.

We all took gym, not PE... and risked permanent injury with a pair of high top Ked's (only worn in gym) instead of having cross-training athletic shoes with air cushion soles and built in light reflectors. I can't recall any injuries but they must have happened because they tell us how much safer we are now.

Flunking gym was not an option... even for stupid kids! I guess PE must be much harder than gym.

Every year, someone taught the whole school a lesson [and provided comic relief] by running in the halls with leather soles on linoleum tile and hitting the wet spot. How much better off would we be today if we only knew we could have sued the school system.

Speaking of school, we all said prayers and sang the national anthem and staying in detention after school caught all sorts of negative attention. We must have had horribly damaged psyches.

I can't understand it. Schools didn't offer 14 year olds an abortion or condoms (we wouldn't have known what either was anyway) but they did give us a couple of baby aspirin and cough syrup if we started getting the sniffles.

What an archaic health system we had then. Remember school nurses? Ours wore a hat and everything.

I thought that I was supposed to accomplish something before I was allowed to be proud of myself.

I just can't recall how bored we were without computers, Play Station, Nintendo, X-box or 270 digital TV cable stations.

I must be repressing that memory as I try to rationalize through the denial of the dangers could have befallen us as we trekked off each day about a mile down the road to some guy's vacant lot, built forts out of branches and pieces of plywood, made trails, and fought over who got to be the Lone Ranger. What was that property owner thinking, letting us play on that lot? He should have been locked up for not putting up a fence around the property, complete with a self-closing gate and an infrared intruder alarm.

Oh yeah... and where was the Benadryl and sterilization kit when I got that bee sting? I could have been killed!

We played king of the hill on piles of gravel left on vacant construction sites and when we got hurt, Mom pulled out the 48 cent bottle of Mercurochrome (kids liked it better because it didn't sting like iodine did) and then we got our butt spanked. Now it's a trip to the emergency room, followed by a 10-day dose of a $49 bottle of antibiotics and then Mom calls the attorney to sue the contractor for leaving a horribly vicious pile of gravel where it was such a threat.

We didn't act up at the neighbor's house either because if we did, we got our butt spanked (physical abuse) here too and then we got butt spanked again when we got home.

Mom invited the door to door salesman inside for coffee, kids choked down the dust from the gravel driveway while playing with Tonka trucks (Remember why Tonka trucks were made tough .. it wasn't so that they could take the rough Berber in the family room), and Dad drove a car with leaded gas.

Our music had to be left inside when we went out to play and I am sure that I nearly exhausted my imagination a couple of times when we went on two week vacations. I should probably sue the folks now for the danger they put us in when we all slept in campgrounds in the family tent.

Summers were spent behind the push lawn mower and I didn't even know that mowers came with motors until I was 13 and we got one without an automatic blade-stop or an auto-drive. How sick were my parents? Of course my parents weren't the only psychos. I recall Donny Reynolds from next door coming over and doing his tricks on the front stoop just before he fell off. Little did his Mom know that she could have owned our house. Instead she picked him up and swatted him for being such a goof. It was a neighborhood run amuck.

To top it off, not a single person I knew had ever been told that they were from a dysfunctional family. How could we possibly have known that? We needed to get into group therapy and anger management classes?

We were obviously so duped by so many societal ills, that we didn't even notice that the entire country wasn't taking Prozac!

How did we ever survive?

janmike · January 2005

Thanks for taking me back in time, to the good old days. How sweet they were.

VR3 · January 2005

:rolleyes:

We need side B, please?

TroyD · January 2005

Amen, F1, amen...

BDT

Mjr7531 · January 2005

Perhaps, but it's all we know, sooner or later, People like Sid and I and dozens of others I haven't mentioned will be saying the same things...
"Man, in my day, we walked to the car, and our cell phone didn't always get service, and not everybody had tivo, and iPods could only carry 80 gb of music (Could you believe we compressed music back then!?)"
Times do change, eh?

Strong Bad · January 2005

I remember during summer vacation most of our time was spent outside playing. When we got thirsty, we ran to the garden hose and drank straight from it. When it was time for dinner, mom yelled out the back door.

No video games keeping us indoors. No bottled water. No pagers and cell phones to get ahold of us.

Those were the days!

John

Polkapops · January 2005

And even though it relatively wasn't THAT long ago - how fast things have changed (and not all for the better) Kinda scary to think what the next 20-30 yrs will bring.....

Dan

amulford · January 2005

Ain't it the truth. Mom still has THE BELT hanging in the kitchen on the dishtowel rack just as it always has. I'm still afraid to touch it...

beardog03 · January 2005

Remember when PoP`s used to tell you...

"I had to walk two miles to school...
"In the snow...
"Uphill , both ways.."!!
"You kids don`t know what rough is..."

And let`s not forget the paddling you got in the principals office for being mean to somebody !

Man things have sure changed....

Now I just get fired..!!

madmax · January 2005

Makes you wonder.

I lived through 5 major accidents with no seatbelt, no airbags and no injuries. Same for my friends who were with me.

I rode bikes at night with no lights, fell down with no helmets or kneepads, and never got hurt.

Bought beer when I was 13 and no one really thought much about it.

Used reloading powder to make firecrackers when I was 10 and never blew myself up.

Took my rifle out a few times a week by myself when I was 14.

Carried my rifle 1/2 mile through the town on the way to the woods.

Rode in the back of station wagons, vans and even in the beds of pickup trucks until I was over 18 with no seatbelts.

Stayed at home alone when necessary. Hungry? Hell no. I could cook when I was 10.

Were my parents trying to off me or are we just too damn paranoid these days...

madmax

DAGLJAM6 · January 2005

A few more:

1)Jumpin' the schwinn over those tonka trucks (no helmet,pads,etc.)
2)looking for the dirt "clods" WITH the rocks in them 'cause a head shot during a pitched battle would drop you.
3)"Pong" was good for a sleepover and official star status in the neighborhood.
4)running through the mosquito fog,from the abatement truck, rolling in from the main road.
(may still pay for that one but hell it was fun at the time):D

DarqueKnight · January 2005

We didn't have to start locking our doors at night until I was in high school. Imagine that.

Airplay355 · January 2005

u just complained about the modern world on the internet

Demiurge · January 2005

Originally posted by Airplay355
u just complained about the modern world on the internet

I think he just complained about how unhinged we've become, and I agree 100%.

This world has turned into nanny central with a modicum of class and decency. Often protect our kids from the harmless small stuff and ignore the big stuff in the name of 'diversity'.

BlueMDPicker · January 2005

I was 6 when we got our first television. 45 RPM records were introduced the same year.

I don't think we had door locks, if we did no one had a key.

There was no such thing as a school bus in our town.

The mailman walked his route.

Cop cars were a rarity - most cops walked a beat.

My Dad and I used to listen to baseball games on the radio and keep box score cards.

On Saturdays, we got $1 to go to the movies, buy snacks there, and grab a hamburger and coke on the walk home - at a local tavern.

We knew all our neighbors.

I don't remember ever being bored as a child.

spwuinmk67 · January 2005

Even at a young age compared to some(I'm 18), I've had a slight experience about what you guys are talking about, and I wish our society wasn't the way it is. I can deal without a phone on my hip, I don't have to listen to someone unless I'm there. I'll go to the lake or beach any day over the pool. Hose water or bottled? I'll take the hose. If only this was more common now. I hope that when I have kids in the future, they feel the same as I do. It's kinda funny though, as far as the cell phones go...I work in Radioshack, and I can't even count how many kids I see under 10 that come in asking about, for, or already have one. It amazes me. The only reason I got one when I got my license was for emergency's.

Jstas · January 2005

Originally posted by Vr3MxStyler2k3
:rolleyes:

We need side B, please?

This poor sap just doesn't get it.

Granted I grew up in the late 70's through early 90's but the world was vastly different even just 10 years ago.

Shizelbs · January 2005

Some things change for the better, some things for the worst. But most of all, most things change.

Now thats deep.

VR3 · January 2005

No, I get it perfectly.

But what I do get better than anything else....

IS that people from THAT glorious generation changed OURS to what it is now.

So while you wanna say this is and this was, you gotta look at SIDE B.

I think it sounds great, no worries, just hardcore outdoor fun - but theres ALWAYS Side B.

And yeah, it will be scary to wonder what my generation will change... We got some effed up people...

Willow · January 2005

what about when TV shows actually dealt with moral issues not about money and sex...well they did but moraly..

edit..I wanted to add when I was younger I got caught steeling carrots from a neighbours yard.....my punishment was to buy seeds with my allowance and plant them in his garden... makes me laugh now

George Grand · January 2005

I think I turned out okay. I didn't realize the deck was stacked that bad against me making it though. Think I'll have a glass of rum.

George Grand (of the Jersey Grands)

PhantomOG · January 2005

say what you want about society and values but no way in hell do i wish i was living in a different time prior to right now.

i'll keep my values and morals the way i see fit and not care what the biased media spews. at the same time i'll enjoy all the modern day advances that i *choose* to.

my mother is still alive today thanks to a mechanical heart valve. and just recently she had a brain tumor removed and was home and up and about in less than a week. i myself have had multiple minor surgeries.

are modern day advances ruining my life? absolutely NOT.

RobXant · January 2005

I look around my neighborhood and think why do i feel my daughter can't walk or ride her bike to school? I did, I suppose that I've seen all the Moury Povich special reports on child abduction.

I think we are just overexposed with so many stories about 'rare' crimes that they seem commonplace in our minds. I mean in a nation of millions, some of the one-off, or several-off, crimes get such coverage that it makes them standout in our minds. The percentage of kids getting taken from their beds at night has got to be something like 1:5,000,000, but put it on FOX news for three weeks straight... Suddenly everyone is buying bars for their kids room's windows.

It's our fault that we can't recognize the danger for what it is, miniscule. We just can't get over that mental wall.

TroyD · January 2005

I don't think anyone is *bashing* today's world, per se. It is what it is.....However, I do think that kids are missing out on some of the great things about growing up in our generation as my parents lamented about my generation....

Funny thing, my parents house to this day has never been locked. I don't think they could find a key to it if they had to.

BDT

faster100 · January 2005

if our society started out as how it is now and progressed backwards, would we still miss the good ol days?

People are bad now out there, its not the media who tells me this, They are out there.. I lock my doors, i lock my car.. i have a gun, i don't use strangers for babysitters, Its the times man.. the way it is now.

I too miss the way things used to be, like the K cafe in k-mart, lol.. playing outside at 5-6 years old alone in the yard, But i was young when things were 'better" so all the new technology is great to me now.. so i have to lock my door, i gotta watch that guy in the parking lot wandering around.. with progress and times changeing, everything evolves even people.. criminals are no exception.. unfortunatly!

To say the media has got us all "freaked out" No we are just more informed now.. take it how you need to. i watch news now and then and mostly for the weather forecase (hey im in fla) LOL
otherwise id just get depressed from all the negative crap going on.

No turning back now, I love the 50's and 60's era but sure dont think i could handle it after living in the 2000's

madmax · January 2005

The part that worries me is that we learned something when we fell down and scraped our knees or did stupid things. I think protecting everyone from everything makes us loose common sense about reality.
madmax

exalted512 · January 2005

we never locked our doors until about 4 years ago
last year someone stole my dads tools out of his truck though(they were in the bed)
the guy lived down the street, he had also stolen his neighbors weed eater...
dumb ****
-Cody

bobman1235 · January 2005

My dad lives in NH, literally doesn't even have keys to his house, and leaves the keys to his cars in the cars while they're in teh driveway.

Growing up (this is NOT that long ago, I'm 24) our parents would basically let us leave the house in the morning and as long as we checked in by nightfall they didn't worry. Nor should they. I have to agree with someone above who said that we're essentially overexposed thanks to a frantic media overdramatizing everything that happens for a good story. There've been nutjobs out there for as long as there's been society. Sure there's more of them now - there's more EVERYONE now. But assuming your kids are at least moderately intelligent about not getting into cars with strangers, and they don't venture far from home and you don't live in the ghetto, I'm sure it's almost just as safe now as it was 10 or 20 years ago. It's the parents responsibility to not let your kids rot away in front of the TV, not make them afraid of their own shadow, not give them everything they want without working for it.

As far as how litiginous (sp?) we've all gotten.... fight back man. Stop letting people take away the Pledge of Allegiance. Vocal Minority has never been a more apt phrase. Most people are much more reasonable than the nut jobs who get all the airtime. Most people don't mind the Pledge of Allegiance in school (Under God or not). Most people think it's ridiculous that someone can sue you if they break into your house and are hurt in the process. And last I checked, this is a democracy. Let yourself be heard if you don't agree with something, and make it come to a vote, and you'll be surprised how many people share your views, and you'll be surprised how things could potentially change (or stay the same...).

I'm on a rant now, because F1Nut's posting is scary, because as young as I am, I can see the direction we're going in. My parents were very old-fashioned in how they raised us (thank God) - I got a smack when I was bad (and I always yelled to my parents that I'd have them arrested - that's scary), and it made me a decent person (I hope). So I hope peopel wake up from this daze they're in, stop being scared to take action and do what they think is right.

Demiurge · January 2005

Yeah man....I'm almost 25 and it's even gone way down hill since then. We used to play 'guns' or 'cops and robbers' almost every night in the summer. Getting scuffed up and staying out when it was dark. A lot of that stuff doesn't even happen anymore and I think kids are missing out on it.

bobman1235 · January 2005

Originally posted by Demiurge
Yeah man....I'm almost 25 and it's even gone way down hill since then. We used to play 'guns' or 'cops and robbers' almost every night in the summer. Getting scuffed up and staying out when it was dark. A lot of that stuff doesn't even happen anymore and I think kids are missing out on it.

HAHAHA, that' funny, I was talking to some old friends a couple days ago, and we were just talking about how we would play "guns", and how we'd draw pictures of guns or swords in our school notebooks, and now we'd probably be locked up in Juvey for some of the things we did and said when we were just being kids.

PhantomOG · January 2005

Originally posted by bobman1235
My dad lives in NH, literally doesn't even have keys to his house, and leaves the keys to his cars in the cars while they're in teh driveway.

Growing up (this is NOT that long ago, I'm 24) our parents would basically let us leave the house in the morning and as long as we checked in by nightfall they didn't worry. Nor should they. I have to agree with someone above who said that we're essentially overexposed thanks to a frantic media overdramatizing everything that happens for a good story. There've been nutjobs out there for as long as there's been society. Sure there's more of them now - there's more EVERYONE now. But assuming your kids are at least moderately intelligent about not getting into cars with strangers, and they don't venture far from home and you don't live in the ghetto, I'm sure it's almost just as safe now as it was 10 or 20 years ago. It's the parents responsibility to not let your kids rot away in front of the TV, not make them afraid of their own shadow, not give them everything they want without working for it.

As far as how litiginous (sp?) we've all gotten.... fight back man. Stop letting people take away the Pledge of Allegiance. Vocal Minority has never been a more apt phrase. Most people are much more reasonable than the nut jobs who get all the airtime. Most people don't mind the Pledge of Allegiance in school (Under God or not). Most people think it's ridiculous that someone can sue you if they break into your house and are hurt in the process. And last I checked, this is a democracy. Let yourself be heard if you don't agree with something, and make it come to a vote, and you'll be surprised how many people share your views, and you'll be surprised how things could potentially change (or stay the same...).

I'm on a rant now, because F1Nut's posting is scary, because as young as I am, I can see the direction we're going in. My parents were very old-fashioned in how they raised us (thank God) - I got a smack when I was bad (and I always yelled to my parents that I'd have them arrested - that's scary), and it made me a decent person (I hope). So I hope peopel wake up from this daze they're in, stop being scared to take action and do what they think is right.

exactly. all the whiners get the airtime and everyone just assumes the worst about society. even if society is *so* horrible, that doesn't mean people have to accept it.

complaining about spoiled kids? *easy* solution, don't spoil your kids. not giving a child everything they see on tv is NOT hard, just don't buy it. my biggest gripe with society today is how *whiny* everyone is and how no one takes responsibility. i always learned growing up "if you want something done right, you do it yourself." if you think current society makes for crappy parents, how about doing the parenting yourself instead of letting MTV do it?

i'm sure there are some aspects of the "good old days" that can't be totally reproduced but all in all if that's how you want to live NOTHING is stopping you.

don't want modern medicine? don't go to the doctor, no one is forcing you. don't want computers, cell phones, Playstation, 250 cable channels? don't buy 'em. don't like to be clean when you cook? hell, never do your dishes, no one is making you. eat all the raw meat your stomach can take, there's no law against it.

look at the amish for crying out loud. this is a country where you can, for the most part, live like you want to live. i guess if you want to spend your life whining about how horrible things are and reminiscing about some fantasy "good old days", then that's fine too

Reality Check

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