To Those of Us Born 1925 - 1970

http://zanylol.com/born1.html ^

[navysealdad]

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930s, '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s!!

[mountn man]

And then there is reality: From 1930 to 2011, the aveage life expectancy at birth for a white male livng in the United States has gone from 60 to 76 and for a white woman, from 64 to 81; Black men have gone from 47 to about 70, and black women from 49 to 76.

What good is it to live longer, if it ain't no fun???

[doorgunner69]

The best rockets were the ones with a bang at the end of the rocket burn.

After the 4th, the stands would have a closeout sale and we would buy up huge quantities. No one cared about sparklers, of course. Firecrackers of decent size were always gone, but ladyfingers and bottle rockets could be had ridiculously cheap.

Kept us in stock for a few months.

[mountn man]

I rode the bales down a time or 2.

[Mears]

I remember the massive July 3rd bonfires.

No more.

.

[jlindseyx42]

Mumbledy Peg !

[lonestar]

Today she would have been investigated.

[cva66snipe]

In the late 1960's I went to a two grades per room grade school. The principal was also my teacher. The man had a three pack a school day Kent 100's habit. After calling roll, The Pledge, Prayer, etc he would either call me or my cousin out in the hall and hand us a $5 bill and tell us to go across the highway {two lane not much traffic} to the General Store and buy him three packs. That today would cause a national scandal. When I see my cousin we still joke about it.

Most of the boys in sixth grade a some of the girls smoked. Recess was about an hour after lunch until the bus came. As soon as he sent us outside to the playground a good portion of the class headed over a hill that lead to the creek bank. Then it was smoke em if you gottem LOL. Most I highly suspect where smokes taken from parents who left them laying around. I waited till high school. No parents permission required. It wasn't encouraged nor discouraged by school staff. Principal in HS was also a Preacher. Thankfully I lost the desire for the cigarettes a few years later when I got out of the service.

This isn't the nation of my youth. Summers camped alone on the lake when dad helped me set up camp, launch the boat & old 7.5 motor, a .22 rifle, our dog, and then left for work on evening shift. He checked in on me every day or so brought in ice and food. That was when I was about 13 - 15. He grew up that way when only him and his brother camped on rivers in East Tennessee all summer and his dad or an uncle checked on them on the weekend. They camped about 40 miles from home close to a family friends farm and could run to him if there was serious trouble. Dad was born in 1928 and I was born in 1957. I had the privileges of the freedoms he had growing up in a saner era. I'm sad my grandsons never knew the nation I knew as a kid.

[Clay Moore]

Tennis ball cannons had a better rate of fire if you used lacquer thinner. Just make sure it’s out before re-loading if you enjoy having eyebrows.

[Rome2000]

Blockbusters were awesome

Equivalent of a quarter stick of dynamite going BOOM in NYC.

[mountn man]

One of the games we played as kids, both boys and girls, was Tackle Pom Pom.

There would be one person who was it, every body else would be at one end of the front yard. The "It" person would yell Pom Pom and everybody would run across the yard, to avoid being tackled.

Whoever was tackled also become it. Now two people would attempt to tackle people as they crossed. Until there was only one person left crossing, with 12 other people trying to tackle them.

[cva66snipe]

The movie was funny but the book version was down right hilarious. Especially The Old Man LOL.

[lonestar]

One of the kids I knew growing up put a firecracker under a tin can with a lid...and yep! it got him across the cheek...big time. Has a scar today.

That would have been in about '47 or '48.

He went on to get a PhD in physics from Rice and was an expert on lightening and was a consultant to NASA when clouds were in the area before a launch.

He's still called "Bubba" in our hometown.

[Mears]

When I was 8 I could stoke an old fashioned coal furnace so we could have heat.

It was in the cellar and we had a 3rd floor apartment.

Lots of stair climbing-—and shoveling.:-)

.

[jttpwalsh]

Thanks for your reply. It was indeed a simpler era, when kids could be kids.

My Dad was also born in 1928, although I am a youngster, born in 1958 :)

I wouldn’t trade those days, for anything !

[Regulator]

maybe that explains some things

Hah. Same thing I thought about me...

[KC Burke]

I can say that I was born before the previous half century in the prior millenium.

[RedMDer]

Now I have to get the book. Thanks. :)

[doorgunner69]

Darn near had that happen to one of us, set a M80 in a jar floating down an irrigation ditch. Neglected to duck, it went off and a big chunk of glass embedded in a tree we were standing near, but not hiding behind.

That irrigation ditch was good for all sorts of mayhem. Like the raft we tried to build that of course did not float.

[IronJack]

I do not know how I survived the beer, the girls and the fast cars.....

Fast cars and faster girls ...

[Zeneta]

Being young, dumb and lucky.

Throwing rocks at live .22 rounds until they went off.

Those were the days.