Getting Old (are you one of us)??
20 January 2004, 08:17 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 60's, 70's and early 80's probably shouldn't have survived, because our baby cots were covered with brightly coloured lead-based paint which was promptly chewed and licked.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, or latches on doors or cabinets and it was fine to play with pans.
When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just flip flops and fluorescent 'spokey dokey's'on our wheels. As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or airbags - riding in the passenger seat was a treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle and it tasted the same.
We ate chips, bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy pop with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.
We shared one drink with four friends, from one bottle or can and
no-one actually died from this.
We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then went top speed down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into stinging nettles a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We would leave home in the morning and could play all day, as long as we were back before it got dark. No one was able to reach us and no one minded.
We did not have Play stations or X-Boxes, no video games at all. No 99 channels on TV, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no MP3 and no Internet chat rooms.
We had friends ,we went outside and found them.
We saved our pocket money to get the latest 12" single
We played hide and seek and street rounders, and sometimes that ball really hurt.
We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones but there were no law suits.
We had full on fist fights but no prosecution followed from other
parents.
We played knock-and-run and went garden hopping, and were actualy afraid of the owners catching us.
We walked to friend's homes.
We also, believe it or not, WALKED to school; we didn't rely on mummy or daddy to drive us to school, which was just round the corner.
We made up games with sticks and tennis *****.
We rode bikes in packs of 7 and wore our coats by only the hood.
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and 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're one of them. Congratulations!
For those of you who aren't old enough , I thought you might like to read about us.
This my friends, is surprisingly frightening......and it might put a smile on your face: The majority of students in universities today were born in 1983........They are called youth, the future of our once great country
They have never heard of We are the World, We are the children, and the Uptown Girl they know is by Westlife not Billy Joel.
They have never heard of Rick Astley, Bananarama, Nena or Belinda Carlisle.
For them, there has always been only one Germany and one Vietnam.
AIDS has existed since they were born.
CD's have existed since they were born.
Michael Jackson has always been white.
To them John Travolta has always been round in shape and they can't imagine how this fat guy could be a god of dance.
They believe that Charlie's Angels and Mission Impossible are ideas for Films that were only made last year.
They can never imagine life before computers.
They'll never have pretended to be the A Team, RedHand Gang or the Famous Five.
They can't believe a black and white television ever existed and don't even know how to switch on a TV without a remote control.
And they will never understand how we could leave the house without a mobile phone.
Now let's check if we're getting old...
1. You understand what was written above and you smile.
2. You need to sleep more, usually until the afternoon, after a night out.
3. Your friends are getting married/already married.
4. You are always surprised to see small children playing comfortably with computers.
5. When you see teenagers with mobile phones, you shake your head.
6. You meet your friends from time to time, talking about the good old days, repeating again all the funny you have experienced together.
7. Having read this , you are thinking of forwarding it to someone because you think they will like it too...
Yes, you're getting older,you are one of us
Phil
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, or latches on doors or cabinets and it was fine to play with pans.
When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just flip flops and fluorescent 'spokey dokey's'on our wheels. As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or airbags - riding in the passenger seat was a treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle and it tasted the same.
We ate chips, bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy pop with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.
We shared one drink with four friends, from one bottle or can and
no-one actually died from this.
We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then went top speed down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into stinging nettles a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We would leave home in the morning and could play all day, as long as we were back before it got dark. No one was able to reach us and no one minded.
We did not have Play stations or X-Boxes, no video games at all. No 99 channels on TV, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no MP3 and no Internet chat rooms.
We had friends ,we went outside and found them.
We saved our pocket money to get the latest 12" single
We played hide and seek and street rounders, and sometimes that ball really hurt.
We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones but there were no law suits.
We had full on fist fights but no prosecution followed from other
parents.
We played knock-and-run and went garden hopping, and were actualy afraid of the owners catching us.
We walked to friend's homes.
We also, believe it or not, WALKED to school; we didn't rely on mummy or daddy to drive us to school, which was just round the corner.
We made up games with sticks and tennis *****.
We rode bikes in packs of 7 and wore our coats by only the hood.
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and 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're one of them. Congratulations!
For those of you who aren't old enough , I thought you might like to read about us.
This my friends, is surprisingly frightening......and it might put a smile on your face: The majority of students in universities today were born in 1983........They are called youth, the future of our once great country
They have never heard of We are the World, We are the children, and the Uptown Girl they know is by Westlife not Billy Joel.
They have never heard of Rick Astley, Bananarama, Nena or Belinda Carlisle.
For them, there has always been only one Germany and one Vietnam.
AIDS has existed since they were born.
CD's have existed since they were born.
Michael Jackson has always been white.
To them John Travolta has always been round in shape and they can't imagine how this fat guy could be a god of dance.
They believe that Charlie's Angels and Mission Impossible are ideas for Films that were only made last year.
They can never imagine life before computers.
They'll never have pretended to be the A Team, RedHand Gang or the Famous Five.
They can't believe a black and white television ever existed and don't even know how to switch on a TV without a remote control.
And they will never understand how we could leave the house without a mobile phone.
Now let's check if we're getting old...
1. You understand what was written above and you smile.
2. You need to sleep more, usually until the afternoon, after a night out.
3. Your friends are getting married/already married.
4. You are always surprised to see small children playing comfortably with computers.
5. When you see teenagers with mobile phones, you shake your head.
6. You meet your friends from time to time, talking about the good old days, repeating again all the funny you have experienced together.
7. Having read this , you are thinking of forwarding it to someone because you think they will like it too...
Yes, you're getting older,you are one of us
Phil
20 January 2004, 08:25 PM
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1. You understand what was written above and you smile.
YES
2. You need to sleep more, usually until the afternoon, after a night out.
YES
3. Your friends are getting married/already married.
YES
4. You are always surprised to see small children playing comfortably with computers.
YES
5. When you see teenagers with mobile phones, you shake your head.
NO
6. You meet your friends from time to time, talking about the good old days, repeating again all the funny you have experienced together.
YES
7. Having read this , you are thinking of forwarding it to someone because you think they will like it too...
YES
Ok, I remember everything you spoke of. I was born in 1983. I am highly offended!!!
Were not all teeny bopper, JT loving, spotty, immature teenagers you know!!!
YES
2. You need to sleep more, usually until the afternoon, after a night out.
YES
3. Your friends are getting married/already married.
YES
4. You are always surprised to see small children playing comfortably with computers.
YES
5. When you see teenagers with mobile phones, you shake your head.
NO
6. You meet your friends from time to time, talking about the good old days, repeating again all the funny you have experienced together.
YES
7. Having read this , you are thinking of forwarding it to someone because you think they will like it too...
YES
Ok, I remember everything you spoke of. I was born in 1983. I am highly offended!!!
Were not all teeny bopper, JT loving, spotty, immature teenagers you know!!!
20 January 2004, 09:02 PM
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I think 3 should be changed to:
3. Your friends are getting divorced/getting re-married
Also, does anyone else remember witches hats in public playgrounds? 20 feet high with nothing but tarmac to break your fall. Ahhh, them were the days...
3. Your friends are getting divorced/getting re-married
Also, does anyone else remember witches hats in public playgrounds? 20 feet high with nothing but tarmac to break your fall. Ahhh, them were the days...
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20 January 2004, 09:16 PM
#8
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That post was a breath of fresh air, before all the red tape brigade decided we should become america, I was born in 1968 and can relate in every way to that lot!!
I bet roundabouts are banned now in playgrounds unless of course there is an ambulance on standy and 3 foot of bubblewrap under it.
I bet roundabouts are banned now in playgrounds unless of course there is an ambulance on standy and 3 foot of bubblewrap under it.
20 January 2004, 10:48 PM
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WoW wish I was as old as you lot , and wish I could do BIG smileys
Well, you're not and you can't, so bog off....
[Edited by unclebuck - 1/21/2004 10:07:07 PM]
Well, you're not and you can't, so bog off....
[Edited by unclebuck - 1/21/2004 10:07:07 PM]
20 January 2004, 10:52 PM
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oh damn! I am old then!
Just wish the kids of today would have the respect of others and belongings that we did back then
Always rememebr being asked "where were you today" by mum after a fire wiped out a couple of corn fields, for once, I was nowhere nearby, I was actually wading through a disgusting lake to get to one of it's islands to see what was on the island, but I did not tell her that or I'd have got smacked, so I just said "ooh, out and about" and got grounded as she thought I was a firestarter, a twisted firestarter (ok, I DO have pyromanic tendancies, but they are under control ) lol
Just wish the kids of today would have the respect of others and belongings that we did back then
Always rememebr being asked "where were you today" by mum after a fire wiped out a couple of corn fields, for once, I was nowhere nearby, I was actually wading through a disgusting lake to get to one of it's islands to see what was on the island, but I did not tell her that or I'd have got smacked, so I just said "ooh, out and about" and got grounded as she thought I was a firestarter, a twisted firestarter
(ok, I DO have pyromanic tendancies, but they are under control ) lol
20 January 2004, 11:10 PM
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Just for a minute, forget everything stressful and read this..............
Close your eyes and go back in time...
Before the Internet or the Apple Mac.
Before semi-automatics, joyriders and crack....
Before SEGA or Super Nintendo...
Way back........
I'm talking about Hide and Seek in the park.
The corner shop.
Hopscotch.
Butterscotch.
Skipping.
Handstands.
Football with an old can.
Fingerbob.
Beano, Dandy, Buster, Twinkle and Dennis the menace.
Roly Poly.
Hula Hoops, jumping the stream, building dams.
The smell of the sun and fresh cut grass.
Bazooka Joe bubble gum.
An ice cream cone on a warm summer night from the van that plays a tune -
Chocolate or vanilla or strawberry or maybe Neapolitan or
perhaps a screwball Wait......
Watching Saturday morning cartoons....short commercials,
The Double Deckers, Road Runner, He-Man, Zeebedee Tiswas or Swapshop?, and
'Why Don't You'? -
or
staying up for Doctor Who or Top of the Pops.
When around the corner seemed far away and going into
town seemed like going somewhere.
Earwigs, wasps, stinging nettles and bee stings.
Sticky fingers.
Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, and Zorro.
Climbing trees.
Building igloos out of snow banks.
Walking to school, no matter what the weather.
Running till you were out of breath, laughing so hard
that your stomach hurt.
Jumping on the bed. Pillow fights.
Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause
for giggles.
Being tired from playing....remember that?
The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
Water balloons were the ultimate weapon
Football cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle.
Choppers and Grifters
I'm not finished just yet.....
Eating raw jelly. Orange squash ice pops.
Remember when...
There were two types of trainers - girls and boys, and
Dunlop Green Flash - and the only time you wore them at school was
for P.E.
You knew everyone in your street - and so did your parents.
It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends.
You didn't sleep a wink on Christmas eve.
When nobody owned a pure-bred dog.
When 25p was decent pocket money
When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.
When nearly everyone's mum was at home when the kids got there.
It was magic when dad or grandad would "remove" his thumb.
When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out
to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents.
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 being sent to the head's office was nothing compared to the
fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home.
Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of drive-by
shootings, drugs, gangs etc. 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!
Remember when....
Decisions were made by going " Ip Dip Dog **** "
"Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "Monopoly".
The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was germs.
And the worst thing in your day was having to sit next to one. It was
unbelievable that 'British Bulldog 123' wasn't an Olympic event. Having
a weapon in school, meant being caught with a catapult.
Nobody was prettier than Mum.
Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better.
Taking drugs meant orange-flavoured chewable aspirin.
Ice cream was considered a basic food group
Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true
Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors
If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED.
Dewi
Close your eyes and go back in time...
Before the Internet or the Apple Mac.
Before semi-automatics, joyriders and crack....
Before SEGA or Super Nintendo...
Way back........
I'm talking about Hide and Seek in the park.
The corner shop.
Hopscotch.
Butterscotch.
Skipping.
Handstands.
Football with an old can.
Fingerbob.
Beano, Dandy, Buster, Twinkle and Dennis the menace.
Roly Poly.
Hula Hoops, jumping the stream, building dams.
The smell of the sun and fresh cut grass.
Bazooka Joe bubble gum.
An ice cream cone on a warm summer night from the van that plays a tune -
Chocolate or vanilla or strawberry or maybe Neapolitan or
perhaps a screwball Wait......
Watching Saturday morning cartoons....short commercials,
The Double Deckers, Road Runner, He-Man, Zeebedee Tiswas or Swapshop?, and
'Why Don't You'? -
or
staying up for Doctor Who or Top of the Pops.
When around the corner seemed far away and going into
town seemed like going somewhere.
Earwigs, wasps, stinging nettles and bee stings.
Sticky fingers.
Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, and Zorro.
Climbing trees.
Building igloos out of snow banks.
Walking to school, no matter what the weather.
Running till you were out of breath, laughing so hard
that your stomach hurt.
Jumping on the bed. Pillow fights.
Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause
for giggles.
Being tired from playing....remember that?
The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.
Water balloons were the ultimate weapon
Football cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle.
Choppers and Grifters
I'm not finished just yet.....
Eating raw jelly. Orange squash ice pops.
Remember when...
There were two types of trainers - girls and boys, and
Dunlop Green Flash - and the only time you wore them at school was
for P.E.
You knew everyone in your street - and so did your parents.
It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends.
You didn't sleep a wink on Christmas eve.
When nobody owned a pure-bred dog.
When 25p was decent pocket money
When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny.
When nearly everyone's mum was at home when the kids got there.
It was magic when dad or grandad would "remove" his thumb.
When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out
to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents.
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 being sent to the head's office was nothing compared to the
fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home.
Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of drive-by
shootings, drugs, gangs etc. 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!
Remember when....
Decisions were made by going " Ip Dip Dog **** "
"Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.
Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "Monopoly".
The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was germs.
And the worst thing in your day was having to sit next to one. It was
unbelievable that 'British Bulldog 123' wasn't an Olympic event. Having
a weapon in school, meant being caught with a catapult.
Nobody was prettier than Mum.
Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better.
Taking drugs meant orange-flavoured chewable aspirin.
Ice cream was considered a basic food group
Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true
Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors
If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED.
Dewi
21 January 2004, 12:32 AM
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And now for something completely different, for the genuinely decrepit:
Baby, take your teeth out, it'll be fine
Baby, take your teeth out, it'll be fine
Baby, take your teeth out, there ain't nothing left to talk about
(Interpretive assistance available upon request)
anyone remember the programme "How" lol ....
21 January 2004, 08:07 AM
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what about watching the Wrestling on a Saturday afternoon with your grandad? 5.00 pm I think it was on... Skull Murphy, Mick McManus, Giant Haystacks, Big Daddy and the like..
I loved doing that...
I was only born in 1972, and I sound like a fogey!
I remember when this forum was all fields
I loved doing that...
I was only born in 1972, and I sound like a fogey!
I remember when this forum was all fields
21 January 2004, 08:31 AM
#28
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LOL, anyone remember buying Texan bars? With all your mates seeing who can eat them the quickest...
I also remember buying airfix models from the papershop
But don't go all anti IT - ZX81, Spectrum, Commodore 64 was all part of being a kid in the 80's
Justin 1971
I also remember buying airfix models from the papershop
But don't go all anti IT - ZX81, Spectrum, Commodore 64 was all part of being a kid in the 80's
Justin 1971
21 January 2004, 08:38 AM
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Ahhh memories, good stuff Phil about all the carefree stuff we had when we were growing up as opposed to the sugar coated, PC gone completely mad society we live in today, being a kid was fun then!
Especially the bit about being out the whole day, riding bikes without helmets, god number of times we came off bikes and never thought about smashing our skull on the road!!!
My thinking has always been that kids get taken/driven to school more now because we live in a sicker society but a couple of people have said to me and got me thinking, are we really? Is it just that the media makes more of it now and people's awareness is greater and that really its not that different from 20-30years ago, I dont know.
Gary (Born '68)
Especially the bit about being out the whole day, riding bikes without helmets, god number of times we came off bikes and never thought about smashing our skull on the road!!!
My thinking has always been that kids get taken/driven to school more now because we live in a sicker society but a couple of people have said to me and got me thinking, are we really? Is it just that the media makes more of it now and people's awareness is greater and that really its not that different from 20-30years ago, I dont know.
Gary (Born '68)
