PEOPLE OVER FORTY SHOULD BE DEAD

EMail | 1/17/2004 | W. Toeppe

[Taffini]

when I was a kid, we played in a creek a mile from the house and my parents had no idea where we were playing.



we ran in packs when we were kids. the big ones looked out for the little ones---and if they slowed us down we left them home with mom.

the street lights going on, being the signal to get home, must have been universal. we did that too.

[aruanan]

Yes, those were the days.

[Marine Inspector]

Let's not forget the BB Gun wars, and tennis ball cannons.

Marine Inspector

[Riley]

Let's not forget the BB Gun wars, and tennis ball cannons.

We were strictly admonished not to shoot BBs at each other and we didn't, because it seemed like a good idea not to.

But we did have some almighty Buckeye fights, and dirt-clods were permissible projectiles. And any sort of improvised artillery was always really cool.

[Riley]

And then you'd say something at the same instant someone else said it, and you'd both rush to say "Jinx! Tap, tap, Golden Rule, no Black Erasers, no Black Magic". Whoever got that out first won, and the other person had to stay silent until released by the 'jinxer', else he owed him a Coke.

[ntnychik]

"I wish there was somewhere that I could take my kids shooting out here in Norfolk."

That's what Pennsylvania's for. ;-}

[missyme]

THen there was something I think called "Mr Wiggle" you put it on the end of the garden hose and then it started going all over the place and you would try to catch it.

[Riley]

I remember those things.

I remember Wiffle Ball, and kickball. I nailed a pitch in a kickball game one day. It went straight up and struck a passing seagull.

Nobody who didn't actually witness that ever believed it.

[k omalley]

Remember when swimming pools had diving boards, high dives even? We would all show off, doing flips, cannon balls, jack-knife dives. Then insurance companies required the pools to take down the diving boards.
I remember riding my bike down a steep hill with my feet on the handle bars, never got hurt.
I remember drinking a couple of tall glasses of whole milk and eating about a dozen of Mom's cookies made with shortening or real butter everyday after school. Never got fat, in fact I was really skinny.
The kids in my neighborhood would go down to the railroad tracks and place pennies on the tracks and rejoice when we retreived our flattened out coins.

[missyme]

That is quite amazing!
It seemed like everyone was kinda making there own toys out of anything you could find back then, that is what I notice about today's kids they cannot use there hands at all unless it's typing on a keyboard or pushing the remote control. My brothers use to make models with glue like Cars, Airplanes they would make there own skateboards. Kids are motor skilled retarded now a days.

[Riley]

I remember. Even junk that wasn't good for anything else became raw materials for a treehouse or something.

[missyme]

Your right, Treehouse, Wagon, Fort, Pool everything had a use.... we didn't throw everything away after it broke you learned how to fix it or use it some other way.

Every kid I see where I live that has a bicycle with a flat ends up getting a new one cause they will not or cannot fix there flat.. pretty unbeleivable.

[Consort]

I never played Pickle, but it rings a bell.

[navygal]

You are right, the neighbor kids come to us to fix their bicycles

[navygal]

I remember eight track tapes and wish I still had mine

[wideminded]

Kids used to play outside and ride all over town on their bikes. Now they stay inside and play video games, but part of the reason for this is that in most places we have to worry that someone might do something bad to our kids. When I was a kid the probability of this happening was not considered high enough that kids even had to be warned about it. We never locked our door. We used to sled down the hill into the woods head first and no one ever suggested a helmet.

[LaraCroft]

All the fun stuff, but I also remember the chores.

I had animals, and I had to take care of them, feed, water, exersize, clean up after, how ever often it needed to be done. I had to get up early to feed the horses, milk the goats (thank goodness we didn't have milk cows, I did get to sleep a bit in the AM).

When I got home from school when I was older I also had house chores, and when I was about 14 my stay at home mom got a job and I got to do the shopping and cook dinner every night, and then clean up afterwards. We got to watch an hour of TV a day, and sometimes we'd forget to.

And I still found time to ride my horses a few hours a day, or 12 or so on weekends. I gave riding lessons and broke horses for money for extra stuff... you know, grain, brushes, and tack.

My parents were actually quite rich, but I didn't know it.

I had the best childhood ever, and look back longingly at the past as a well loved memory quilt.

Thanks for the memories Jesse.

[LisaMalia]

96 Tears was by ?(Question Mark) and the Mysterions, I think. Wonder where they got that name?

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

You have no discretion...lol.....

[CyberAnt]

One paradox that has always amazed me is the fact the ultra left-wing of the democrat party keeps saying its the over population that is causing all the problems on the earth; poluting the air, etc.

However .. they are constantly harping about everything which causes people to be injured or killed.

The two positions are exactly opposite each other!

Hmmmm? I guess that's why the dems/libs have no core beliefs .. they can't decide if people should live or die.