The high board proved you had guts.
Carried a knife from 6 years old.
Played sports with no protective gear.
Drank from the hose.
Mom kicked us out of the house early and didn’t let us back in until dinner.
Got injured. Got over it.
Drove at 14. Took driving test at 16 and passed.
First beer at 14. First cigarette then too.
Got into fist fights as early as 2nd grade. Never thought about pulling my knife.
Treated girls with respect. Treated elders with respect.
Thing is that kids bounce. Most moms now don’t realize that.
Your post is making me melancholy——those were carefree days.
I never drove my kids to school either-——ever. Everyone in the neighborhood walked no matter what the weather. (Inner suburb—no school buses).
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We too were kicked out of the house...sometimes locked out...LOL! We lived in the Country and could always find something to do.
Started driving when I was under 10 years old.
Same as you, played all kinds of sports. I see the softball players now with the face cages and protective gear and just roll my eyes.
Rode on the tractor fender right above the wheels...had to hang on tight as it was pretty bouncy as Dad drove through the fields.
Drove a tractor through the side of the barn when I was about 5. Baled hay and worked on/around extremely dangerous equipment from the time I was a tiny kid.
Rode my bike 5 miles into town by myself to see Grandma...did that a lot. Grandpa paid me to pick up nails after they added onto the house (when I was 4 or 5); gave me a penny for each that I found. Kept me in candy for most of one Summer (I think he was putting out new nails...LOL!)
By the time we were 10-12, we all had mini-bikes and snowmobiles.
Spent a lot of time in the emergency room, but had a lot of fun.
Oh...the local bar was the only place that had video games...so we were always running in and out of there. Good hamburgers, too.
First smoke at 12 for me (went to a private school and we had a smoking lounge). Drove at 11 (took my sister’s Opel GT to see my gf at 12. She was at her parents’ summer home in MA.). The late 60s/early 70’s were fun.