When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning.... Uphill... Barefoot... BOTH ways...yadda, yadda, yadda
And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way I was going to do that to my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!
But now that I'm over the ripe old age of forty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in Utopia! And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!
1) I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!
2) There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!
3) Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass! Nowhere was safe!
4) There were no MP3's or Napsters or iTunes! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!
5) Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and mess it all up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless. Cause, hey, that's how we rolled, Baby! Dig?
6) We didn't have fancy stuff like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it!
7) There weren't any cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't make a call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your "friends". OH MY GOSH !!! Think of the horror... Not being in touch with someone 24/7!!! And then there's TEXTING. Yeah, right. Please! You kids have no idea how annoying you are.
8) And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your parents, your boss, the collection agent... You just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!
9) We didn't have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'. Your screen guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen.. Forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!
10) You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! There was no channel surfing! You had to get up and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!! NO REMOTES!!! Oh, no, what's the world coming to?!?!
11) There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons!
12) And we didn't have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove! Imagine that!
13) And our parents told us to stay outside and play... All day long. Oh, no, no electronics to soothe and comfort. And if you came back inside... You were doing chores!
And car seats - oh, please! Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on. If you were lucky, you got the "safety arm" across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that was your fault for calling "shot gun" in the first place!
See! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled rotten! You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1970!
(We could add a lot about making quilts and sewing to this!)
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LOL and had to let you know I had to print this to give to my son who turns 41 this year with sons that turn 13 and 10. Hoping he reads this to them. I grew up when gas turned to 40 cents a gallon and waited in line for hours to get it at 35 cents. Thanks
827I have to agree to everything you said here. I will be 42 on the 3rd and I say this to my nephews and niene all the time. Thanks DeVon
72397That is funny. but each generation will be different to the last, and as technology progresses faster and faster so will the changes appear more dramatic. Children these days do seem to have a lot of money spent on them and I really don't know how parents can afford it. My kids have all grown up even though I am only 45 my kids did not have mobile phones or computer games because they were not that popular when they were little, and I am so glad because as a single mum on one income (a good one but still only one) I would not have been able to buy them all of those things. Having said all of that, I have all of those thing myself now, I am a complete techno junkie, if it is a gadget I want it. lol.
19430I could add a lot more because I grew up in the 1940's and 1950's . Maybe I am more like your parents.!! He! He!
85867The scary thing about these memories is not only can I remember these times but my Kids can relate to it too. Does not seem that long ago. Thanks for the memories. *4U. Marg
24826Oh my godness! That got me laughing! You forgot the party line! If you picked up the phone and someone else in the neighborhood was on, you had to hang up and try again. Sometimes you didn't get your change all weekend, and by then it was monday and you saw whoever in school! I remember my kids complaining because their friends had this, that or the other thing, and I, being a single parent at the time couldn't afford whatever it was. They didn't want to hear any of the above story, but its oh so true. It sure will be intersting to see how that list reads in 30-40 years won't it!
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33580This was great!!! Loved it. And if you go back just a few years before that you only had 4 channels and a little before that you only had 3. Telephone, we started with a party line. Kids would go nuts these days. I know my grandkids think if they are not being entertained 24/7 the start telling you they are bored. Good grief. Get over it! Spoiled is what they are really saying. Thanks so much for sharing. I will certainly have to share. And all I can add is it just goes to show how tuff Mom, Dad and grandparents really are.
23222Thank you for bringing back those memories. Your bio is amazing Hightechgrammy and way up there technologically too!! Times sure have changed fast, and we try to keep up, and in doing so forget how our lives were before all this technology made life "easier". I sort of feel robbed of those memories. The easier technology has made our lives seem, it has been difficult keeping up!! Our children have almost lost the ability to connect on a one-to-one basis, although there is constant contact between them and their piers, through messaging and internet - they have hundreds of friends - but they are seldom bestowed the privilege of uninterrupted "just hanging around" and exploring their surroundings. Oh, and LAUGH... My Mom used the "safety arm" constantly!! Seat belts were unheard of. We loved Asteriods and Space invaders - our absolute favourite was Pin Ball machines, just yesterday my DH and I were wishing we could find one. Would you mind if I forwarded these classic observations onto my children and bring back a few memories for them too?? Thanks again for the memories.
11329This world would not be in such a mess if we could all live like in the good ol' days. Life was simplier, people were happier, 'cause we weren't running at full speed all the time. I used to get more done and have time to sit and visit. Now I don't stop until I just can't go anymore, and I still don't finish. Is the world spinning faster or have I just slowed down that much? Anyway, you have uplifed me, when I needed it. I am by myself (doesn't happen often) and I laughed my head off ! Everything you wrote is so true!
109777Thanks for this nostalgic look back. wonder what the children today will be saying in 40 plus years to their offspring?
115689Thank you for this and it didn't do us any harm either. I ask myself 'is the world a better place with all the technology we have today?' and I wonder - it puts a whole lot of stress on us all. I am almost 66 and I had it tough as a kid in London. When all is said and done I would not want that for my kids and grandkids.
254968BINGO!!! isn't it amazing that we DID survive. Wow-and you want to know something- I had a great childhood and still can look back and say we had fun growing up. And unfortunately we have no one to blame but ourselves-we continue to spoil our kids daily, sometimes not even knowly doing it-and then turn around and tell them they are spoiled rotten. Oh well, I bet our parents said the same thing about us-I am 53-almost 54- so I do remember those times.
201738647excellent thanks for the long road to home!!!you are right on:):)carolyn
360638111372Can you imagine the kids today going into a store & buying stuff with green stamps!!! LOL!! How many books would it take to get an mp3 player....
Even my kitties are more spoiled than my pets were at home. My folks never took them to the vet for annual check ups and never had anything other than store brand 5 cents a can pet food in the house, no designer beds or cat trees either....yep, lots has changed for all......
261162Thanks so much for this. I have read it before, but it was great to read again. Made me think of the "good old days" again as my dad always said.
Hugs Yvonne
132773Thank you It is my husband's 50th birthday this week and I have copied it and changed the word forty in fifty. He will get it as one of his 50 presents. All the presents have somewhere the word 50 on it. and I was still 1 short so it is very helpful.
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57492Thank you so much - very good job! I feel the same about youth now and then - lazy "fun-junkies", most of them seek for "pleasure" all day long (best example: my own daughter, aged 14...). You made me remember the "good" days again - and we dindn´t feel like we were missing a thing, did we? Although we didn´t own an Atari 2600 - we simply played games out of a cardboard box, like Monopoly - my first electronic game was "Tennis" in TV-teletext... incredible, only two bars and a moving dot... (at least we had a remote)! But I knew rope-skipping and hide-and-seek and other outdoor activities - my children can´t even skip a rope without getting tangled with their feet, hahaha!
Let´s keep on fighting! When my children need something from the paper store (e.g. pens and booklets), I make them go by bike (that´s some "activity" they know, at least) - and it´s about seven kilometers, through two more villages. Very good workout for "couch potatoes", I guess. No car transport unless I´ve got to buy something as well!
The biggest problem with all the (electronic) media is that the kids know a lot about websites, pass phrases, phone numbers, mail addresses and SMS-abbreviations - but all the school stuff won´t stay in their heads, most of it even can´t find a way in there. All stuffed with "rubbish"! Sometimes I just stand there shaking my head when I find out time and time again that I remeber more of the stuff after 20+ years out of school than my kids who should just have heard about it in the latest classes... I just keep on hoping for better days in future ;-)
231Love that part about the "safety arm", 'cause I was that Mom and if I don't watch myself I still stick my arm out to this very day!! (and my kids HAVE kids!) LOL
3 comments
by lflanders
31 Jan 2011
My son is grown and has grand children and I still throw my arm across the seat if he is in the car. I also do it with whoever happens to be in the car with me if I have to stop in a hurry. We learn alot faster than we UN-learn!
5431This is a good one and yes I too can remember how it was in my day cause I'm definitely over 40...thanks for sharing.
20661ohg thanks for the laughs, I needed them & I too remember this & I agree they would never have made it back then!
299559I laughed all the way thru this! I needed a laugh today! Thank you for sharing.
Hugs Dawn
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