1.30.2007

 

Question 5

I was thinking about technology and "the old days" before things like e-mail, blogs and the internet existed. My kids are always asking me, "What was it like when you were growing up, Mom?" and "What do we have today that you didn't have?"

Besides the obvious answers--Nintendo, computers, cell phones--I thought it might be fun to put our heads together and come up with "Things We Didn't Have Growing Up". Help me out.

Comments:
Or the opposite question - what did we have then that no longer exists:
-skates and skateboards with metal wheels.
-mimeograph machines.
-gas station attendants.
-free place settings/dishes when you deposited money at a bank.
-The Washington Senators and the Seattle Pilots.
-12¢ comic books.
-Big Mac, Fries, Drink = 99¢
-Getting paddled at school for misbehaving.
-Mr. Potato Head used a real potato.
 
I got this on an email this morning simultaneous with Nell's query. It's that schmaltzy, nostalgia stuff that's making the rounds and proves how old, stodgy, predictable, increasingly conservative and self-centered our yuppie generation is. But it does mention drinking straight from the hose, which was kind of fun:

....Before the Internet or PC or the MAC.......

....Before semi-automatics and crack....

....Before Playstation, SEGA, Super Nintendo, even before Atari...

....Before cell phones, CD's, DVD's, voicemail and e-mail....

.....way back....

....way......way.....way back.....



I'm talkin' bout hide and seek at dusk.



Red light, Green light



Red Rover....Red Rover......



Playing kickball & dodgeball until the first...no...second...no...third streetlight came on.



Ring around the Rosie



London Bridge



Hot potato



Hop Scotch



Jump rope



Duck....duck....GOOSE!!!



YOU'RE IT!!



Parents stood on the front porch and yelled (or whistled) for you to come home - no pagers or cell phones.



Mother May I?



Hula Hoops



Seeing shapes in the clouds



Endless summer days and hot summer nights (no A/C) with the windows open.



The sound of crickets



Running through the sprinkler



Happy Meals



Cereal boxes with that GREAT prize in the bottom.



Cracker jacks with the same thing.



Ice pops with 2 sticks you could break and share with a friend.



...but wait.....there's more....



Watching Saturday morning cartoons



Fat Albert, Road Runner, Smurfs, Picture Pages, G-Force & He-Man, Schoolhouse Rock



Watching Sunday morning oldies (Abbott & Costello, Three Stooges)



Wonder Woman & Super Man Underoos



FONZIE.....AYYYYYYYY



Playing Dukes of Hazard



Catching lightning bugs in a jar



Christmas morning



Your first day of school



Bedtime Prayers and Goodnight Kisses



Climbing trees



Swinging as high as you could to try and reach the sky



Getting an Ice Cream off the Good Humor Truck



A million mosquito bites and sticky fingers



Jumping down the steps



Jumping on the bed



Pillow fights



Sleep-overs



A 13" black and white TV in your room meant you were RICH



Running till you were out of breath



Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt



Being tired from PLAYING



WORK meant taking out the garbage or doing the dishes



Your first crush



Your first kiss (I mean the one that you kept your mouth CLOSED and your eyes OPEN!)



Rainy days at school meant playing "Heads up 7UP" or “Hangman" in



The classroom, Remember that?



Oh, I'm not finished yet....



Kool-Aid was the drink of the summer



So was a swig from the hose



Giving your friends a ride on your handlebars



Wearing your new shoes on the first day of school



Class Field Trips with soggy sandwiches



When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there



When a quarter seemed like a fair allowance; and another quarter a MIRACLE



When ANY parent could discipline ANY kid, or feed him, or use him to carry groceries...And nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of

it.



When your parents took you to McDonalds and you were COOL



When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited you at home



Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of drive by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc.



Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! And some of us are still afraid of them!



Didn't that feel good? Just to go back and say, "Yeah, I remember that!"



Well, let's keep going!!



Let's go back to the time when...



Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo"



Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "do over!"



"Race issues" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.



Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "monopoly"



Catching fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening.



It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends.



Being old, referred to anyone over 20. (CRAP! I'm officially old!)



The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties.



Nobody was prettier than Mom.



Scrapes and bruises were kissed by mom or grandma and made better.



It was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride the "big people" rides at the amusement park.



Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.



Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dog-dare."



Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles.



The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.



Water balloons were the ultimate, ultimate weapon.



Older siblings were your worst tormentors, but also your fiercest protector
 
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