Re: Were you born before 1985?
 

No doubt Mitch.

And even when families didn't have two parents at home (mine were divorced in 1977, Marriage Encounter didn't work) there was still hell to pay from either one if we screwed up.

Re: Were you born before 1985?
 

1955 here.

I too remember a lot of the same things others did. We too stayed out all day and did not come home until my mom started flipping the porch light on and off. Learned to swim in the Mississippi river younger than 5 years old, helping my dad raise shrimp boxes (something that was done in south Louisiana) way back then.
Going out with our pellet guns shooting robins and cooking them over an open fire.
Today's kids are missing out on a lot of stuff. What a shame........

Re: Were you born before 1985?
 

51' for me.

It was ninth grade before I made it through a school year without being paddled.
(so what if David Wooten and I got caught hiding in the girls's bathroom, we didn't
see anything, but still got paddled)
(how were we supposed to know that playing volleyball inside the classroom at
lunch, while supposed to be working on an 'extra credit' project with Mrs.
Watson's world globe was an award she won from Michigan for teacher of the
year"?

Orange fights in the orange groves.
Playing real tackle football
Playing "smear the queer"
Skateboarding down "Suicide Hill", when the top line skateboards had Chicago wheels
and John Watson breaking his "butt bone"
Watching "Dennis the Menace" on Sunday nights and thinking he had "nothing"
Listening to the Beach Boys "Shut Down"
Hoping, praying, that some girl on JC Beach would show up in a bikini
Being taught right from wrong and being required to be accountable for our actions
Listening to the "brought to you in living color" on tv shows
DRIVE IN MOVIE THEATRES, man they were the greatest
"You meet the nicest people on a Honda"
Hell we even made it through the 60's without killing ourselves, well most of us
The movies "Easy Rider" and "Billy Jack" which I still watch anytime I can
Seeing the first 63' Stingray and not seeing any headlights

My own opinion is that when they took corporate punishment out of schools, THAT was the beginning of the end. Then "they" decided you couldn't even spank your kids at home for *^-#'s sake.

I'm glad I won't be here fifty years from now. It's all I can do to tolerate the world today.


Thanks for this thread. One of the best in a while.

Re: Were you born before 1985?
 

How great it was....my addition, Tied ropes to out BMX bike's frame and roped stuff in the alleys to drag them around the neigborhood...loved the winter, it was the best time for riding your BMX bike...Rode in big packs garbage can kickin, you always wanted to be in front or you would get creamed by cans and junk...climded small trees to see who could bend the top down and let go the highest....so many more, we where goofs.

Re: Were you born before 1985?
 

Summer games I remember: Jarts, dodge ball, 4 man baseball-right field hits are an out, war in the woods, building forts, kick the can, tag in pine tree woods at night so you never can see who is it, tennis, going to the beach was a treat, a lot of bike riding, jumping and major crashing, vacations with the whole family (5 kids), sleep overs, camping, bottle rockets, sweet tart tubes, junior baseball, skateboarding, go karts, Tonka toys!!!Oh I had such a huge construction set, army toys, Corgy toys (very detailed small toys and cost a pretty $$) Match box sets with the orange track and the car wash that had the foam wheels to shoot the car, 45 rpm records, black and white TV with rabbit ears, secret knocks on the wall to talk to your brother in the room next to you, skinny dipping (still do...to much fun...HAHAHA), fight with your closes friend and made up 5 min later and act if nothing happened. Children held responsible for their own actions. Looney tunes every Saturday morning and Walt Disney every Sunday at 7pm. Popcorn, tree forts, CB radios, playing cards in your spokes, playing in bails of hay. Spin the bottle and always had to kiss the ugly girl.
Winter time: Skitchin' (hold on to the back of a plow and getting pulled for a few miles until the sander was kicked on to get rid of us), snow ball fight, snowforts, snow balls thrown at cars...today the dent too easy. Alpine skiing, snowmobile rides, snowmen, one peice suit that was always too big or small, sledding on the Flexible flyer and getting your tongue stuck on the metal part just below your chin.
Times have changed a lot, since being raped by my Priest as a child, I am like a hawk watching my 4 yr old and 1 yr old. Never out of my site. Trust is gone in todays cities. I cannot wait to buy a house in the country where I grew up taking on my first job working on a farm. You learn responsibilty, who you are and what you are. Today, people sue for opening coffee between their legs and buring themselves (True story) I think they should be dropped in a vat of hot coffee to teach them a lesson. Times have changed...some for the better, others for the worst.
Born in 64' Really miss those days.....

Re: Were you born before 1985?
 

LMOA, That is so true

Re: Were you born before 1985?
 

69, here We would catch cuda's under the bridge and see how long they could live in a condo's pool. :D lmao

Re: Were you born before 1985?
 

Great thread!

64' here.

Never saw the inside of the house during daytime. I was riding bikes downtown at about 10 years old. Kicked a meter-maid in the ass when she was bending over. My friends and I spent the rest of the day ditching the cops. When I got home they where there waiting. I had to spend the rest of the summer cleaning cop cars.

I used to ride over to the local airport, hang around and try to poach a ride. I flew around with people who's names I never knew. My mom knew what I was doing, knew I loved airplanes and saw no harm in letting a perfect stranger take her kid out for a flight.

We had BB gun wars all the time. I took three BB's in the face. My mom dug them out with tweezers and threw a band-aid over the holes. Never did that again. Stuck to dirt clod wars, it didn't hurt so much.

When I was tall enough to reach the pedals and see over the dash my dad let me drive. he would send me downtown to pick up beer. That would never happen today.

Re: Were you born before 1985?
 

:eek:

Re: Were you born before 1985?
 

Oh man, did no one ever catch lightening bugs and put them in a jar in your room when you finally did have to come in the house? We had the dirt clod fights but we put M-80's in ours. When you could still buy M-80's Of course, we got caught smoking cigarettes to light them with. We thought it was a good reason! Then every kid on the block would get a gallon milk jug, cut a hole in the side and fill it with persimmons. Only the very hard ones and the rotten ones. When we were all loaded up, let the fighting commence! And no one complained when someone got hurt. Shoot, when I got knocked out of the tree and broke my wrist, we all sat around and laughed. Until someone noticed how funny it looked. So we finally went to find my mom. There were bike wars, skateboard wars, smear the queer, Philadelphia football, and helping Mr. Hawkins rebuild that '65 Mustang. Then it was all about getting the chores done so I could lay in the sun in peace. With my radio blasting of course. I fell asleep once and my dad dripped Coppertone on my stomach and told me a bird crapped on me. Those were the days....