To all born in the 1940's, 50's. 60's. 70's and early 80's.....

[herb weedmen]

heck the only eletronics i remember was the board game operation..you no take out wrenched ankle...and the nose lite up if ya touched the sides..oh there was an atari game with pong i think it was called..came out just befor the commador 64 computer..

even that was to late in life for some of us...


ahh building a good fort ..yeah that was the way to spend a summer..
and boy we loved to hitch cars in the winter...


i remember buying dubs for 50 cents...




herb weedmen

 

[herb weedmen]

i no this threads run its course but i wanted to comment anyways..

i have to say the ones who are making these far out changes in our world is the same folks who are commenting on this thread..lets face it ..it was our generations that made these changes..i think we thought that we would never let our kids face the same kinds of ridicule we did for things like growing our hair long or running around smoking pot and having open sex..
yes it was our generation that brought us great things like computers and we helped technoligie to race to the state it has taken over most of our lives..my kids never had toget up to change the channel on the tv and i have made them lazzie by giving them these things. if our microwave ovens shit the bed our kids would starve to death.we reap what we sow..

i beleave we've change things in this world for better or worse ..

but i do miss the old days..

we sure had it made..


herb weedmen

 

[GET MO]

I was born in 83, but my folks were kinda naturalists, I grew out in the woods and didnt watch no tv, those were the days... I remember buildin a go-cart with no breaks, only way to stop it WAS by crashing into the bushes! One time I fell into a frozen over water hole and my lilsister had to help me out. Remember tieing her up to a tree and leavin her for a while, told her she was mountain lion bait! Catchin frogs,tadpols. Buildin unsturdy tree forts.....Those were the days, glad I was able to grow up like that! Good thread.

 

[Feyd]

I was born in 1987 but my childhood wasn't much different than someone from my parents generation in a few respects. My older brother and I are separated by an 18 month gap so we are pretty close in age. We were always outside, right after we ate breakfast and did our morning chores (clean the room, make our beds). When I was five years old my grandmother bought me a NES system. Sometime after that we got a SuperNES, and so on and so on. My brother and I always wanted a next-gen console when it would come out but at the same time we also loved playing outside.

We would play outside during the day, hockey in my friend Martin's driveway, playing 21 with the cul-de-sac as the basketball court, riding go-carts, trampolining, and playing in the woods. We would go in the woods and build mini fortresses and bunkers using trees, sticks, and dirt. We would have pine cone wars, hurling those dense green mother fuckers at each other. We used our imaginations a lot of the time to entertain ourselves, before that became "gay". We rode bikes around our neighborhood or just went for a ride in other neighborhoods where we didn't know where we were going. We never told our parents where we were going just "out for a ride". The only stipulations were that we come back for dinner or call if we ended up staying at a friends house.

But when we would come back from being outside we'd load up some Mario, Donkey Kong or Duck Hunt. Street fighter, TMNTs, and SuperNES Football. Then we got a playstation when it came out but we still played outside. Football, roller blading, basketball, skate boarding, long boarding.
As much as I loved playing outside and being active I still loved video games. I guess when you grow up in the gaming generation it's easy to understand why you would rather sit down with a controller and frag some bitches instead of holding up a stick and saying, "Pow!" Kids need to be active and healthy in order to stay fit, but unfortunately their parents don't draw the line or regulate their video game time. It was always something to do on a rainy day besides play monopoly or risk. When you got home and showered after a long dirty day of playing football in your yard we'd kick back and watch TV or play some games.

So don't blame the technology as much as you would blame the parents! Sometimes I wish I was born decades earlier so I could grow up in the days of innocence and simplicity. But I enjoy my gadgets far too much and are too interested to see what the future brings to want to fulfill that dream.

 

[GET MO]

Yeah we had an NES but my parents barely let us play it! Seems parents these day rely on t.v. as babysitter.

 

[Joe Hawkins]

SCHOOL -- 1957 vs. 2007

Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.
1957 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
2007 - Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge> them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it.

Scenario: Jeffrey won't be still in class, disrupts other students.
1957 - Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by the Principal.
Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2007 - Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.

Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.
1957 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.
2007 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. State psychologist tells Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's Mom has affair with psychologist.

Scenario: Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.
1957 - Mark shares aspirin with Principal out on the smoking dock.
2007 - Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.

Scenario: Pedro fails high school English.
1957 - Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, goes to college.
2007 - Pedro's cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English banned from core curriculum. Pedro given diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.

Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from 4th of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant bed.
1957 - Ants die.
2007 - BATF, Homeland Security, FBI called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, FBI investigates parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated, Johnny's Dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

Scenario: Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary hugs him to comfort him.
1957 - In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
2007 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.

 

[Harry Gypsna]

Wa-hey i come in right at the end of that one...81 boy over here.....

 

[The_Leader]

my son was born in the 80s. i, in the 6Os.

we are as different as night and day.

luved the examples Joe. i hate i had to watch it happen.

i had a person 2O yrs my jr actually say while bowling, " u guys use to write the score down and DO the math?" i was floored.

cell phones, computers, cable tv, good porn, and sientology didnt exsist most my over half my life. imho thats a huge diff from growing up w/all the above plus much much more. just look at icmag itself.

 

[Mr.Happy]

Capture the flag for life!

Capture the flag for life!

When I was 10, 11, 12 our neighborhood would support giant 30 man capture the flag games that would last for hours to several days. I remember this crazy mo' fo' who jumped from a 15 foot deck to get out of jail. He was my hero.

The weird thing is that the neighborhood is no different environmentally and the number of kids has remained constant but I can now drive eighty down the street on a summer night and not worry about hitting anyone.

Maybe they're inside handling their micro grows...?Nah they're on facebook poking people.

And screw the entertainment/media f'holes that have supplied us with terrorizing thoughts(remember those commercials about not talking to strangers) that ensure we will continue to feed our children with high priced internet and cable bills.

Oh and anyone that sues a property owner when their kid falls out of tree is a douchebag.

 

[flubnutz]

whats with the school buses taking kids to school? when i was a kid the only ones that rode the school bus were the kids from out in the country coming into town. i used to walk to grade school, or ride my bike, without that bike i was screwed, that thing was my faithful steed when i was a youngun

 

[herb weedmen]

joe that is so true ..my kid got arrested in school for saying fuck you to a teacher not that thats a cool thing by anymeans but they threw her in jail for it..now i no theres pervs that are walking the streets that should be in jail but to throw 17 yr old girl in jail for speaking her mind is just crazy..they called it verbal assult..what ever happen to free speech ...back when i was a kid if ya said such a thing ya got the shit knocked out of ya by the principle and then your folks would kick your ass but good..not to mention the grounding that could last up to a whole yr..

even then i would be such a pain in moms ass that she'd tell me to just get the hell away from her..haha


herb weedmen

 

[ARTofMAKINGfire]

I can remember almost to the day that the innocence of childhood diminished. It was during one of those nostolgic moments, playing outside in the street. It was when I became aware of a guy in a gold colored Lexus, with a fat gold rope chain around his neck, and a big shiny nickle-plated gun stuffed into his waist, double-parked in the middle on the street. I remember first how there was a group of girls that ran up to his car wanting to talk to him. Then I can remember an officer looking at this man and nodding knowingly at him, then looking away. All these things sparked so many questions in my mind, that sometimes I feel like my whole life has been spent searching for the answers... I was 8 years old. Still don't have any answers.

Sorry. Reading this thread just made me aware of how many people here look at things through a VERY different point of view. Did anyone NOT grow up in the suburbs and get the newest game system for Christmas every year???
(Only reffering to the 80's kids, I don't feel this applies to 70's and earlier. I feel like prior to this life was more on life's terms. If you dad beat you, he beat you. Now, kids call CPS. Back then, like everyone was saying people had to just deal with things without instant gratification, without knowing how to, just going out, failing and learning from mistakes. The 80's generation I feel like many are much like the kids of today. While some are older now and maybe have learned life lessons by now, I don't think the caliber of a 18 year old male NOWADAYS can compare to one of back then. And I grew up in the 80's too, just not like all of you Pampers wearin, Desitin havin', video game playing, steak and meatloaf eatin', wise-ass online never in person panzies.)

I hope some of you older guys are getting what I'm saying with the 80's kids. And I hope some of you URBANITES can chime in and explain that not everyone grew up playing hide and seek with Johnny until the fireflies came out!

 

[flubnutz]

good point ... for some it would be remember when carryin meant havin an italian switchblade in your pocket instead of a 9mm

 

[ARTofMAKINGfire]

More like remember when BBQ's and get togethers in the hood were about how many Marino's Italian Ices you could eat or how many girls you could catch (yea, I been chasin them since I could run) not who's playing security or who's gaurding the bomb...

 

[flubnutz]

i rember pics of kids runnin thru the spray of fire hydrants when the city'd crank them open in hot summer so the kids could cool off. i wonder if they still do that.