Posted on 11/27/2004 11:06:55 AM PST by forest
Rummaging through a junk drawer the other day, I ran across a little government pamphlet that says on the back: "This book is valuable. Do not lose it." It is from the United States office of Price Administration and titled, "War Ration Book No. 3." Inside the book are four pages of 48 ration stamps each.
Darned if I can remember exactly how these ration stamps were used -- I was just a kid during the Second World War. But, this book has my name on it, so I kept it. No reason. I just did.
My childhood wasn't a bit unique, compared to those around me. But, in today's litigious world, nearly everyone I knew back then would have either been heavily fined or sued for most of the things we did matter-of-factly.
Every day, in school, was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and the Lord's Prayer. No exception. And everyone participated -- even when they didn't use our version of the Lord's Prayer. It was just something we did. We had a neighborhood of immigrants. So what? No one was ever harmed by it.
Everyone I knew was either a first generation American or their family had just arrived. Nonetheless, every kid in school learned in English because "that was our language." If you couldn't do the lessons, you flunked. Again, no exceptions.
Back then the term "Board of Education" had a uniquely different connotation to students than the term does to today's kids. That "Board" was applied liberally, too. Which means, we behaved in school. Because, if you got paddled at school, sure as hell they would call your parents and you could expect more of the same at home that evening.
As children, we had "wars" with BB guns. No shooting above the neck, of course. We had serious fistfights as well as friendly wrestling matches. We scheduled bike races, often down a large hill. We made go-carts, many of which were able to violate the speed limit on neighborhood streets and the police yelled at us about it.
Also, we all worked at whatever jobs we could get. It was not uncommon to see a 12 year old putting up stock in a store or washing dishes in a restaurant.
Most of us shoveled show in the winter and cut grass in the summer for money. Some of us had paper routes and a few of us were lucky enough to get in caddying at the fancy golf course. I did all of that before I was 14 years old.
Also, as a kid, I had a job filling kerosene lanterns and "road bombs" weekends for ten cents an hour. As soon as I was able to carry the five gallon can of kerosene down the highway, I had that job. I can still remember the smell of the kerosene on my hands and pants, as well as that dirty black soot that made a mess of everything.
After I was 14, I worked in a poultry market, butchering and cleaning chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys by the hundreds. Yet another stinky job.
No seatbelts or other contraptions were used in cars back then. When we took the occasional family trip (I was the oldest of nine), the kids were milling around in the back of the large car, arguing and doing whatever until our father threatened to stop the car and "put and end" to the foolishness. I knew plenty of kids. Yet, no kid I ever knew was ever hurt for lack of a seatbelt. In fact, I cannot remember hearing of any person being hurt because of not having a seatbelt. Only race cars and aircraft had seatbelts back then. Years later, some guys drag racing got hurt, but that's different. Seatbelts would not have helped with what they were doing. They needed roll-bars.
At the fine old age of 14, we were allowed to have 22 caliber rifles. Well . . . I wasn't . . . not exactly, anyway. I worked and had money, though. So, one fine summer day I rode my bike over to Wards and bought myself a single shot 22 rifle. Kids could do that back then. We all had great fun with our rifles out in the woods. No one ever got hurt, nor did we ever bother any person with our shooting. We were only yelled at once by a sheriff's deputy, and then just because we were too close to a road. And, of course we carried the guns home through a residential area -- how else would we get home again? No adults seemed to care.
Also during that magic summer when we all turned 14, our parents started allowing us an occasional beer. We cheated, of course, especially on holidays. Together, we would walk to each of our family homes and have "a drink" (or two) with the parents. We thought we might be getting away with something, stopping at five or six homes. We were not. Our parents all knew each other and kept close track of us those holiday nights via the telephone. We just didn't know that at the time. Our parents also knew that the route we walked to everyone's home totaled over four miles, so we worked it off as we went.
High school was a chore. But, other than lots of girls, it had some benefits. There was a shooting range in the basement and we were allowed to bring guns to school as long as we did not keep both guns and ammunition in our lockers at the same time. Not being likely to bring a rifle to school without ammunition, we always stored the guns down at the range. There was never any argument about that.
And yes, we usually walked the three miles to school. Well, sometimes we would hitch-hike, but that was frowned upon by our elders even back then so we didn't mention it. Unlike today's kids, we got plenty of exercise. Our parents never drove us anywhere. We either walked or rode a bike.
Other than smoking and skipping occasional classes, we never got in much trouble in high school.
Today they talk of mercury and lead poisoning. Back then, nearly every boy I knew played with mercury, often during class on the school desk. And, I cannot remember how many times I tasted leaded gasoline while siphoning -- for reasons that need not be related here. I can also remember all those lead castings we did as kids. Between the six of us guys, we made many thousands of them on cold winter afternoons. Yet, here we are, all senior citizens today. Relatively speaking, none of us are slow learners or crazy yet.
The point is, as kids, we got into just about everything today's environmental whackos say will harm children; and we usually did these things multiple times over years. We even played "war" in the dense smog that blanketed the area next to the Ford Rouge Plant where we couldn't even see across the street. We liked that because it made our game more interesting.
Now let's look at the toll all those harmful activities had on us:
After high school, all of us were in the military and attended at least a couple years college. Four of the guys retired after 30+ years in the skilled trades. One was a master toolmaker and built the prototype robots for his company. One is just now retiring after a long career as a rated neurologist. I was a medical researcher most of my adult life. Four of them are out in the woods for the week deer hunting as I write this. All of us can (and do) walk our target rate of four miles within an hour still today. Two of us would do well to lose a couple pounds. But, four of us always pass our yearly physicals with ease.
Yes, I have joined the ranks of the Senior Citizens. But, excuse me if I do not yet feel the need to act like it. My mother (in her 90s) is old. I think I'll pass on that title for a while yet.
And, for those environmental jerks and other do-gooders who would make everything fun verboten -- in the immortal words recently popularized by John Kerry's mouthy wife during the election campaign: Shove It!
School was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and the Lord's Prayer. No exception.
Immigrants in school learned in English because "that was our language."
The "Board of Education" was wood. A second application was applied when we got home.
12 year olds worked.
No seatbelts were in cars. No one I knew was hurt.
Our parents knew that we walked over four miles, so we worked the beer off.
We even took our 22 rifles to school and stored them in the shooting range in the basement. Ammo was kept in our lockers.
We played with mercury on our desks. No one suffered ill effects
As kids, we got into just about everything today's environmental whackos say will harm children. Yet no harmful effects have been noticed.
And, for those environmental jerks and other do-gooders who would make everything fun verboten -- in the immortal words recently popularized by John Kerry's mouthy wife during the election campaign: Shove It!
Many people grew vegetable gardens so they could have fresh veggies.
We conserved everything, and very little was available to us.
A family friend was once able to buy bubble gum on the black market. We chewed that piece of gum for at least a week. It was such a treat!
One of our battles is keeping the kids from spending all their time indoors with electronic toys. Our sons are limited in their daily electronics play time, but that's not the case with some of their pals. We find ourselves chasing them outdoors to play, whereas we as youngsters had to be dragged indoors at dark. It's a different world.
All of this fits my 1950s early childhood to a T. I agree that more than innocence has been lost. But I do believe strongly in seat belt laws. If you've ever been a first responder to a serious accident where one car's occupants were belted and the other's were not you would feel the same....it is a matter of life and death.
Seat belts were available as a dealer installed option, the fixtures were there. My father had them installed in a 48 Ford because the car his sister-in-law was driving was hit by a drunk driver running a stop sign in the early 40s. She fell of her car on her head on the pavement and needed a funeral. A seatbelt would have saved her life.
b
Also shoes and gasoline. Older people used to give younger people their shoe coupons so growing kids could have new shoes when they needed them.
Now the AARP starts sending you stuff before you even get out of diapers. I'm 58 and still too proud to use my senior card to get discounts. If the kid at McDonald's doesn't pick up on it on his own, I pay full price for coffee. My husband wants every possible discount even if his pride is pulverized in the process. In fact, he regularly urges me to use blue hair rinse and put it in a bun so I can pass for 65, he is so cheap.
bttt
We never got new shoes. Always hand me downs. And none had a car where we lived so none ever needed gasoline.
You'd be surprised at how much better (and, yes, rosier) life is when people take responsibility for their own behavior.
You sure got that right! Wish I had a nickel for every time I heard: "You are responsible for your own actions, no body else."
Also, it seemed like, every adult for a mile around acted like a surrogate parent.
I'll never forget Mrs. Griffith. She knew what all the kids were doing. And if she didn't like it, the parents heard about it very soon.
Kids were responsible for what they did, and parents were responsible for their kids.
Too bad that now only corporations and gov'ts have any responsibility for anything.
I believe in seat belts, just don't believe in a law that requires me to use it.... Has to do with a little something I call Freedom
So, we need to be saved from ourselvse, huh?
Get a clue! I think we are all capable of making inteligent decisions. For those that don't, well, perhaps it's better they not enter the gene pool. I do not need some eletist to tell me when to cross the street. Pubbies are for less government. That is why I come here. WHO ARE YOU?
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Respond to call where you get to pick up the pieces of a six year old because his father exercised that "freedom".
If you want to tell others we make laws to protect them from themselves perhaps you should change to the party that advances this belief. I am not pro-choice, I am anti-stupidity. I don't believe we need you or anybody else to advise us how to protect ourselves or our families.
Anyone who believes they need to save me from my self I consider a friggin Dem. We need less restrictions of our private lives, not more. Nuff Said!
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