Anyone over 40 ??

thepoolguy

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Feb 13, 2001
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All of those over 40 will surely remember and smile!




First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, our baby cribs 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, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

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


Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

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

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

We ate cupcakes, bread and butter and drank soda pop 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.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride 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 did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell 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.

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 in us forever.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house 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. Imagine that!!

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

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, 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 are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS! Please pass this on to others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!
 

Chanman

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The Benefits of Growing Older
-You can eat dinner at 4:00
-Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off.
- Kidnappers are not very interested in you.
- It's harder and harder for sexual harassment charges to stick.
- People no longer view you as a hypochondriac.
- Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't remember them either.
- Your supply of brain cells is finally down to a manageable size.
- Your eyes won't get much worse.
- Things you buy now won't wear out.
- No one expects you to run into a burning building.
- There's nothing left to learn the hard way.
- Your joints are more accurate than the National Weather Service.
- In a hostage situation you are likely to be released first.
- You can live without sex but not without glasses.
- Your back goes out more than you do.
- You quit trying to hold your stomach in, no matter who walks into the room.
- You buy a compass for the dash of your car.
- Your arms are too short to read the newspaper.
- You sing along with the elevator music.
- You constantly talk about the price of gasoline.
- You enjoy hearing about other people's operations.
- You consider coffee one of the most important things in life.
- You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge.
- People who call at 9 p.m. ask, "Did I wake you?"
- You send money to PBS.
- You can't remember the last time you laid on the floor to watch television.
- Your ears are more hairy than your head.
- You talk about "good grass" and you're referring to someone's lawn.
- You get into a heated argument about pension plans.
- You bought cable for the weather channel.
- You have a party and the neighbors don't even realize it.

AND

- People send you this list . .
 

ocelot

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May 21, 2003
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Yeah,

That was my childhood. Remember riding your bikes without helmets?! These helmets are utterly ridiculous and seeing little kids who can't even get up any speed on their bikes wearing a helmet kind of just makes me want to puke. What a bunch of sissies we are all becoming.
 

Another Steve

Put Pete In
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Jul 7, 2002
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Rode in the car standing up in the front seat only my Dad's arm as a seatbelt.

Banana seat bikes, kick the can, hide and seak, basecards in the spokes, BB guns, rode/walked a mile to get an icee, no one tried to kidnap us.

I know that was a long time ago but sure makes ya think.
 

boilermaker

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Feb 7, 2001
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Not only rode bikes with no helmets but with a buddy riding on the handle bars. Shoveled snow off the driveway just to play basketball in freezing temps. Then would go home and bend a hanger into a circle slam the hook into the top of the door and make a ball from a pair of socks. Used to dunk like I was Dr. Dunkenstein.
 

danmurphy jr

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If you chose sides with a baseball bat, played stickball, the original horse, tackle football in the streets or CYO basketball, you're gettin there.

"If you maintain an erection 4 straight hours, cease medication." Viagra commercial!
 

danmurphy jr

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Remember when your folks bought the Christmas tree Christmas eve and you decorated it and took it down the day after. All your presents fit in the stocking. The yucky stuff "socks- underwear- etc under the tree. Good stuff was for birthdays and school work

"Medication may cause acne,blurred vision or suicidal tendencies" Blood pressure med. ads
 

cisco

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I remember telling my father that the nun had hit me with a ruler because I was talking in class. He said "come over here son". Then he slapped me for wasting his hard earned money that he was spending so I could get a better education.
 

cisco

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How old is Grandma?


Stay with this -- the answer> is at the end -- it will blow you away.

One evening a grandson was talking to his grandmother about current events. The grandson asked his grandmother what she thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general.

The Grandma replied, "Well, let me think a minute, I was born, before television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, contact lenses, Frisbees and the pill. There was no radar, credit cards, laser beams or ball-point pens.Man had not invented pantyhose, air conditioners, dishwashers, clothes dryers, and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and man hadn't yet walked on the moon.


Your Grandfather and I got married first-and then lived together. Every family had a father and a mother. Until I was 25, I called every man older than I, 'Sir'- and after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, "Sir.' We were before gay-rights, computer- dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy.

Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense. We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.

Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege. We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent. Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins. Draft dodgers were people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started. Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends-not purchasing condominiums.


We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings. We listened to the Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President's speeches on our radios. And I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan ' on it, it was junk. The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam.Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and instant coffee were unheard of.

We had 5 & 10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents. Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel. And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.

You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600 but who could afford one? Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.In my day, "grass" was mowed, "coke" was a cold drink, "pot" was something your mother cooked in, and "rock music" was your grandmother's lullaby."Aids" were helpers in the Principal's office," chip" meant a piece of wood, "hardware" was found in a hardware store, and "software" wasn't even a word.


And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby. No wonder people call us "old and confused" and say there is a generation gap.....and how old do you think I am ???.....

I bet you have this old lady in mind...you are in for a shock!Read on to see -- pretty scary if you think about it and pretty sad at the same time.
This Woman would be only 58 years old!
 

DOGS THAT BARK

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Remember those Blue Jeans that were stiff as card board. I got 2 new pair at beginning of school year---and the iron on patches for knees you always wore out. I use to cringe when I had to wear jeans with holes in them or worn out tennis shoes.and can you imagine the embarrasment if they made you wear earring to school.
Got spanked in school every other week--which ment you automatically got another when got home.Was allowed to watch cartoons only on Saturday from 7 to 10 am--mighty mouse-herculoids-with a little Sky King episode thrown in.
--not sure but believe the 1st image ever to be projected on tv screen was felix the cat--I might be mistaken.
 

Chanman

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Remember this time of year when I had to set the alarm for every two hours to go out and start my car, (could see the road looking@ floor from the backseat), so I could make to work in the morning. A 'luxury' was the plug in car radiator heaters.
 
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danmurphy jr

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Anyone remember why they called the rear open seats in the 30s Fords, "Rumble seats."
Remember those huge guys who delivered the ice for the ice boxes or set up the chutes for your coal delivery. There were 3 TV stations and the TV was made in the mid-west
 

Englishman

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I love this thread. I remember when we were kids, my mum used to make us sandwiches in the morning during the summer break from school, and we would go out 'exploring" all day with friends...just a bunch of kids exploring the counrtyside, wading into streams, picking wild fruit, hiking up hills and across huge fields. Just being kids.

We weren't scared of anything, didn't care about TV or money, talked to anyone we met, walked miles aimlessly. Home before dark. Dinner and straight to bed to read books before mum told us to put the light out and go to sleep. These summers seemed to go on forever. I don't even remembering it raining - and remember, all this happend in England, so maybe I'm recollecting it all with too much fondness.

Still, it was truly a time of innocence for us.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.
 

Chanman

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Englishman said:
I love this thread. I remember when we were kids, my mum used to make us sandwiches in the morning during the summer break from school, and we would go out 'exploring" all day with friends...just a bunch of kids exploring the counrtyside, wading into streams, picking wild fruit, hiking up hills and across huge fields. Just being kids.

We weren't scared of anything, didn't care about TV or money, talked to anyone we met, walked miles aimlessly. Home before dark. Dinner and straight to bed to read books before mum told us to put the light out and go to sleep. These summers seemed to go on forever. I don't even remembering it raining - and remember, all this happend in England, so maybe I'm recollecting it all with too much fondness.

Still, it was truly a time of innocence for us.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.

Great Post. Small world, except for "all this happend in England." Insert "Iowa" for me.
 

blaster

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THOSE WERE THE DAYS! Remember wanting the new Converse Chuck Taylor's (high tops ) and mom taking me to the Acme and getting me sneakers from the rack telling me they were just as good. Only problem was that they had the hard plastic bottoms that never wore out. Shit! when it rained I used to slide half way down the street. Bike helmets were for pussies. If you don't believe me, I have the scars in my head to prove it. Great Times!
 

bear

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Blaster ......tooooo funny...been there done that...scars to prove it...Paper Routes....made good $ at 2 cents per paper...sold em at the Railroad station during the evening as well and commuters usually gave a 3 cent tip. 10 to 20 bucks a week was BIG. Frozen clothes off the clothesline in winter, burning leaves in the fall, cars that could backfire,trying to pick up the yankees on the old scratchy radio.....putting your ear up to it so that you could hear....Who was coming to the Yanks from our Kansas City Cousins....Bobby Shantz? Roger Maris? Sneaking up to the woods to smoke some cigarettes with the neighborhood kids. Russians in Hungary, Victory at Sea, Combat were the regimen on TV with added commentary from Dad who spent 4.5 years all over Europe in WW2, 5 kids in my family and many had more than that some...lots more...Stay at home moms,...... 1st TV had a 7inch screen and a huge (musta been 40 lbs) magnifying glass in front of it. The "Cape Man" was making headlines in the Daily News. gang activity?? No such thing as calculators when I went to school...
Used carbon paper to write 1000 times..."I will not......."
Bars were all over the place.......almost all gone now. Hell, how do bars survive if ya can't smoke there or drive home...Maybe its better that way.. Lost friends to drunk driving and to alcoholism.
It was a good time to grow up.......neighborhoods filled with kids...
open doors etc. BUT it was a tough time as well.....big families and not a lotta $ around.. There was a lotta good wholesome kid fun and play..a lot of independance...we took our hats off when inside and learned early to respect our elders.............sure........ but we were not all that innocent!
 
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