Jon Ison
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| posted on 28/2/06 at 06:37 PM |
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For the old farts amongst us
Got this email other day, after reading a thread earlier I thought I would share it with you all.
The the bit about building carts was very apt for us builders on here.
THIS IS FOR ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and
70's!!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they
carried us.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get
tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored
lead-based paints.=20
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, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar
in it, but we weren't overweight because
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!=20
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 Play stations, 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 b! ones and teeth and there were no
lawsuits from these accidents.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us
forever.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and
tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out
very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang
the bell, or just yelled for them!
Football teams had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who
didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!=20
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They
actually sided with the law!=20
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!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as
kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own
good.
and while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave
their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!
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JoelP
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| posted on 28/2/06 at 06:49 PM |
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lol - but jon, im a child of the 70s and im only 26, surely im not an old fart already?! 
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NS Dev
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| posted on 28/2/06 at 07:17 PM |
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Heh heh, I'm "only" 28 and it all fit for me too!!!
(eeek, we're getting old Joel! )
[Edited on 28/2/06 by NS Dev]
Retro RWD is the way forward...........automotive fabrication, car restoration, sheetmetal work, engine conversion
retro car restoration and tuning
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jacko
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| posted on 28/2/06 at 07:19 PM |
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Ah! the good old days !!!!!!!
and only 49
[Edited on 28/2/06 by jacko]
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omega0684
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| posted on 28/2/06 at 07:33 PM |
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what are you on about there sunshine, i still do all that stuff now#
Alex
I love Pinto's, even if i did get mine from P&O!
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Peteff
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| posted on 28/2/06 at 07:56 PM |
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Born in the 50's
I've never broke a bone though. Mi mam didn't smoke or drink either, couldn't afford to. There was only one car in our street and
the toilet was down the yard next to the coalus. I can still remember the house being wired up to the electric, we used to fetch gas mantles from the
ironmongers shop before that and we had a radio that ran on an accumulator battery that you had to have swapped when it ran out. In the fine weather
we were all bathed in the tin bath out in the yard as well, if you were at the end of the list you came out muckier than you went in. EEEE, them
were't days. Tell that to kids nowadays and they wouldn't believe it.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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rusty nuts
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| posted on 28/2/06 at 08:07 PM |
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I'm an old fart (54 this year ) I still remember my first pair of "long" trousers when I was 13. Broke loads of bones over the years
but mainly since I was 30 . Had to leave school at 15 as my parents couldn't afford forme to stay on
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Confused but excited.
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| posted on 28/2/06 at 10:53 PM |
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I'm 58 and definately an old fart.
Yes I remember all that, especially when looking through the rose tint of nostalgia.
Then because I am an old fart and cynical, I take them off and remember my mum panicking every time I cut myself because she could remember a time
before anti-biotics when a scratch could have been fatal.
I can remember my cousin aged 10 being flogged in the street, with a leather strap, by my bitch of an auntie because he was half an hour late for his
tea. The maggot!
I remember playing out all day in the summer and winter with my mates.
I remember wondering why know one would say why one disappeared.
Nobody talked about pervs to warn young kids then. It wasn't the done thing.
Sorry to drag this down.
I do applaud the sentiment, but for some it wasn't quite so rosie. Fortunately for me personally it was.
Can we get back to cars now . Please.
[Edited on 28/2/06 by Confused but excited.]
Tell them about the bent treacle edges!
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Fozzie
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| posted on 28/2/06 at 11:01 PM |
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Also born in the 50's
Wow..... brought back some good memories there Jon. I still remember building my first go-kart, and it was so true about forgetting the brakes.
Do any of you remember playing cowboys and indians and making bows and arrows out of stripped back twigs?....
Ahhhhh memories...... wonderful!
ATB Fozzie
'Racing is Life!...anything before or after is just waiting'....Steve McQueen
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millenniumtree
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| posted on 28/2/06 at 11:22 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by chris mason
talking of which i bet a lot people used to fill there spokes with bread bag clips or wedge a lolly pop stick into the spoke's to simulate a
motorbike sound 
I used to run an aluminum can over with my mountainbike. The can would stop at the steering fork, and the edges of the knobbly tires would rub
against the can, making a glorious sound! I could simulate the sound of gear changes by speeding up and slowing down.
We made our own bows and arrows too.
Amazingly, I've never broken a bone, but my brother did nearly take my finger off with a (dull) machete!!
Wonderful times!
[Edited on 28/2/06 by millenniumtree]
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Jon Ison
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| posted on 1/3/06 at 07:16 AM |
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I remember the carts well, father never had a drill so it was red hot poker through the wood too make holes, brakes came later from a stick on a
pivot onto wheel, then further mods saw a brake lever up front with a piece of rope acting on original lever.
Lolly pop sticks in wheel ? always till neighbours shouted at you "oi some one on nights in here"
20 aside footy on playing fields all day, no wonder we was slimmer.
Spending every weekend under car with ya dad ? always summat wrong with it, they had too do a Decker once a month ??
I also remember very well keeping any bollockings at school or wherever too myself, telling mum and dad would have bought on another one.
Oh and walking too school well over 2 miles each way, my mum never had a 4x4.
Must be loads more.......
Throwing arrows ???
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David Jenkins
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| posted on 1/3/06 at 09:08 AM |
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I broke a front tooth on a cart - going down a hill with 4 of us on board... guess who was bottom of the heap when we crashed!
...and I banged my head climbing rocks on the sea-shore,
...and assorted minor injuries, usually caused by playing silly buggers with my mates.
Still around today (obviously) and still refuse to grow up.
On the weekends my parents used to give me breakfast, then I'd be out the door for the rest of the day. I only got a rollicking if I missed an
evening meal, or came home well after sundown.
I'd hate to be a kid these days...
David
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jimmyjoebob
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| posted on 1/3/06 at 09:34 AM |
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The nanny state has all kids in control now so just wait for them to turn their full attention to the adults!
Already talking about 'inevitable road pricing'. They have made the roads so inefficient they can bring in any 'safety' or
'emission reduction' measures they like. Within five years you will be mileage rationed - although I am sure you will be able to pay a
hefty supplement to increase this...
The nanny state rolls on unchecked...
If at first you don't succeed, hide all evidence you ever tried!
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