"The Good Ol' Days"

[jmwhalen]

My preacher friend sent this to me. Regardless of your age, I feel that there is wisdom in this message. I disagree with the statement "who have had the luck", since scripturally there is no such concept as luck. Additionally, I am not too sure the conclusion "People under 30 are WIMPS !" best conveys the intent/"spirit" of the message. However, the message well sums up the "whatever happened to the old days" sentiment, and perhaps why I talk about "The Andy Griffith Show"often!

________________________________________________________________________

People over 35 should be dead.

Here's why ..........

According to today's regulators

and bureaucrats, those of us

who were kids in the 40's,

50's, 60's, or even maybe

the early 70's probably

shouldn't have survived.

Our baby cribs were covered

with bright colored lead-based

paint.

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 seatbelts

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 ate cupcakes, bread and

butter, and drank soda pop

with sugar in it, but we were

never 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 cell phones,

personal computers, or Internet

chat rooms.

We had friends!

We went outside and found

them.

We played dodge ball, 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.

And you're one of them!

Congratulations!

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 !!!!!

People under 30 are WIMPS!

______________________________________________

In Christ and with Christ,

John Whalen

[GymRose]

Here in Australia it was the mid 80s this way of life took us through to and it was wonderful to have to have experienced such a way of life.

I look at all the BMX tracks the kids have made alongside the creeks in our area and the council keeps tearing them down and yet....................... They are building conrete bike and skate parks :x: :x: :x: All of which are un supervised and what are the kids ganna hurt themselves on more. Half the fun of BMX riding was building the jumps and tracks ourselves but council officials forget what it is to be kids I think. :down: :down: :down:

My kids will never know what it is to experience the joys of being a kid that we did and I do find that extreemly sad.

I personally think this piece needs to be sent to every politition, council officer and especially the lawyers that keep our Sue Nations alive. ( please forgive me anyone here who is a layer ). Law has its place but we have gone TOO far.

Another one to add to the list

We had a weekend

Mum made us do our chores inside the house on a Saturday morning

While outside Dad was mowing the lawn

Then in the afternoon we went to sport or a family outing

Saturday the shops closed at 12pm not to be opened till 9am Monday

Sunday was the day we were rarely seen

But we always had a nice sit down lunch as a family

I remember the sun beaming in the kitchen window at that time each day

No racing just relaxation as a family

Nobody believes in weekends for family & friends anymore

:down: :down: :down:

[cymba22]

I had seen this on my other site...and i tell you...it is sooooooooooo very true

[Dad Ernie]

Greetings,

I remember when....

My grandma got a new fangled ring-a-ding phone. You picked up this cone shaped thing and you had to stand on a chair to reach the mouth piece, then twirled this handle several times until you woke up the operator who then placed your call. Sometimes you could tell she was still listening in, or perhaps it was someone on our party line. Sometimes I would just listen in to the party line. As I got into school, the information operator was just that. I remember calling her for math, english and geography questions. She was always helpful and never once told me not to do that. I thought that was what she was there for.

I remember our Benjamin Franklin Pot Belly Stove. In the winter, that is from August to June, we had to make sure we had enough fire wood on hand. We would get it blazing at night just before bedtime, but by morning, of course, we froze our tucus off.

Also in the morning, I remember my uncle wading through the snow to the outhouse. It seems he was always the first one up and that was his job, to make a path so that the rest of us could get to the potty. It was always wonderful to be next in line AFTER him. The seat was always nice and warm.

I remember our radio, you know the one that looks like an upside down U with one big eye in the middle? Evenings and Saturday mornings we gathered around to listen to the Lone Ranger, Sergeant Preston, The Shadow and so many more. We had such an active imagination, we could visualize being there, sometimes to our delight, other times to our terror.

In the summer we always loved it when the iceman came around. Every kid in the block would run to his truck to maybe get a piece or a chip of the ice that broke off as the iceman separated the blocks.

I recall when I was about 3, maybe 4, I was always running off to some friends which lived perhaps a mile away. Over the prairie and a few roads and I was there. My friends dad would often bring home a giant watermelon and boy was it great on a hot summer afternoon. During this time, I had somehow acquired a hand made knife. The blade and handle was each about 4 inches long. No one ever took it from me, only warned me to "be careful and don't hurt yourself". I was, and I learned how to whittle.

I remember an old Model A that my uncle took me into town in to see a Saturday matinee. On the way back he let me sit on his lap and I got to be a big guy and drive. Whoopee.

So many memories, so much fun. Yes, those were the good old days.

Blessings,

Dad Ernie