Things ole farts did that kids today can't

16/25

#2

Almost all of those except the ones about snow and ice. I didn't see snow on the ground until 1973 when I had moved away and came home for a visit. Don't tell anybody but I still drink out of a garden hose on occasion.

Andy

FL/GA PLS., post: 337897, member: 379 wrote: ‰ÛÏBorrowed‰Û from someplace‰Û?.

Raise your hand if you survived a childhood in the 60s, 70s, and 80s that included one or more of the following, frowned-upon activities (raise both hands if you bear a scar proving your daredevil participation in these dare-devilish events):

1. Riding in the back of an open pick-up truck with a bunch of other kids
2. Leaving the house after breakfast and not returning until the streetlights came on, at which point, you raced home, ASAP so you didn‰Ûªt get in trouble
3. Eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the school cafeteria
4. Riding your bike without a helmet
5. Riding your bike with a buddy on the handlebars, and neither of you wearing helmets
6. Drinking water from the hose in the yard
7. Swimming in creeks, rivers, ponds, and lakes (or what they now call *cough* ‰ÛÏwild swimming‰ÛÏ)
8. Climbing trees (One park cut the lower branches from a tree on the playground in case some stalwart child dared to climb them)
9. Having snowball fights (and accidentally hitting someone you shouldn‰Ûªt)
10. Sledding without enough protective equipment to play a game in the NFL
11. Carrying a pocket knife to school (or having a fishing tackle box with sharp things on school property)
12. Camping
13. Throwing rocks at snakes in the river
14. Playing politically incorrect games like Cowboys and Indians
15. Playing Cops and Robbers with *gasp* toy guns
16. Pretending to shoot each other with sticks we imagined were guns
17. Shooting an actual gun or a bow (with *gasp* sharp arrows) at a can on a log, accompanied by our parents who gave us pointers to improve our aim. Heck, there was even a marksmanship club at my high school
18. Saying the words ‰ÛÏgun‰Û or ‰ÛÏbang‰Û or ‰ÛÏpow pow‰Û (there actually a freakin‰Ûª CODE about ‰ÛÏplaying with invisible guns‰Û)
19. Working for your pocket money well before your teen years
20. Taking that money to the store and buying as much penny candy as you could afford, then eating it in one sitting
21. Eating pop rocks candy and drinking soda, just to prove we were exempt from that urban legend that said our stomachs would explode
22. Getting so dirty that your mom washed you off with the hose in the yard before letting you come into the house to have a shower
23. Writing lines for being a jerk at school, either on the board or on paper
24. Playing ‰ÛÏdangerous‰Û games like dodgeball, kickball, tag, whiffle ball, and red rover (The Health Department of New York issued a warning about the ‰ÛÏsignificant risk of injury‰Û from these games)
25. Walking to school alone

Tell us what crazy stuff you did as a child.

21/25 here. We just didn't have snow here growing up. 🙂

Andy Bruner, post: 337911, member: 1123 wrote: Almost all of those except the ones about snow and ice. I didn't see snow on the ground until 1973 when I had moved away and came home for a visit. Don't tell anybody but I still drink out of a garden hose on occasion.

Andy

Me too. 🙂

100%
Have you been talking to my mom?

Growing up, my folks had a couple FULL sized station wagons. Remember those? A 1968 Pontiac Catalina was one of my folk's cars. Driving from MA to MD to visit my grandparents would be done at night to avoid some traffic while my brother and I were on asleep on mats in the back of the car.

My home town had a ski slope within walking distance from my parent's house. One winter, there was enough snow to cancel school for a week or more. Every single day, I carried my skis to the slope and enjoyed skiing all day. The slopes had rope tows. How many dangers going on there? o.O
A friend and I once took a toboggan up to and "rode" the bigger slope. No protective equipment other than a WWII gas mask for protection from the flying snow for the front person.

There were woods behind my parents' house. Numerous times, a friend and I (sometimes just me) would explore for hours at a time in those woods.

How about ice skating on open ponds? Did that as well. Played ice hockey on those open ponds as well.

However has the human race survived?

Thats a fairly familiar list from our 'city days'. When we moved to the country we took it to a new level. Bonfires with 50 foot dead cedars as the center piece, deer hunt before school and put the rifle (and ammo) in your locker, etc., etc....
I cannot think of a week growing up that wouldn't involve Homeland Security today. For the record I turned out just fine (more or less)...

FL/GA PLS., post: 337897, member: 379 wrote: ‰ÛÏBorrowed‰Û from someplace‰Û?.
Tell us what crazy stuff you did as a child.

I'm not fully sure the statute of limitations has ran out yet...might get in trouble if I spilled the beans just yet.

I'm pretty sure I did all of those, many times.

How many out there use to take a yardstick to the laundromat to rake change out from underneath the machines?

PS -The old oriental guy that owned the place use to run us off if he caught us...I guess we were getting too close to his "honey hole"!

imaudigger, post: 337928, member: 7286 wrote: I'm not fully sure the statute of limitations has ran out yet...might get in trouble if I spilled the beans just yet.

Me either, for now let's not go there. Maybe the "Cash Klan" could enlighten us, and HC too, but HC is probably with the Pope.:-)

FL/GA PLS., post: 337897, member: 379 wrote: ‰ÛÏBorrowed‰Û from someplace‰Û?.

Raise your hand if you survived a childhood in the 60s, 70s, and 80s that included one or more of the following, frowned-upon activities (raise both hands if you bear a scar proving your daredevil participation in these dare-devilish events):

1. Riding in the back of an open pick-up truck with a bunch of other kids
2. Leaving the house after breakfast and not returning until the streetlights came on, at which point, you raced home, ASAP so you didn‰Ûªt get in trouble
3. Eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the school cafeteria
4. Riding your bike without a helmet
5. Riding your bike with a buddy on the handlebars, and neither of you wearing helmets
6. Drinking water from the hose in the yard
7. Swimming in creeks, rivers, ponds, and lakes (or what they now call *cough* ‰ÛÏwild swimming‰ÛÏ)
8. Climbing trees (One park cut the lower branches from a tree on the playground in case some stalwart child dared to climb them)
9. Having snowball fights (and accidentally hitting someone you shouldn‰Ûªt)
10. Sledding without enough protective equipment to play a game in the NFL
11. Carrying a pocket knife to school (or having a fishing tackle box with sharp things on school property)
12. Camping
13. Throwing rocks at snakes in the river
14. Playing politically incorrect games like Cowboys and Indians
15. Playing Cops and Robbers with *gasp* toy guns
16. Pretending to shoot each other with sticks we imagined were guns
17. Shooting an actual gun or a bow (with *gasp* sharp arrows) at a can on a log, accompanied by our parents who gave us pointers to improve our aim. Heck, there was even a marksmanship club at my high school
18. Saying the words ‰ÛÏgun‰Û or ‰ÛÏbang‰Û or ‰ÛÏpow pow‰Û (there actually a freakin‰Ûª CODE about ‰ÛÏplaying with invisible guns‰Û)
19. Working for your pocket money well before your teen years
20. Taking that money to the store and buying as much penny candy as you could afford, then eating it in one sitting
21. Eating pop rocks candy and drinking soda, just to prove we were exempt from that urban legend that said our stomachs would explode
22. Getting so dirty that your mom washed you off with the hose in the yard before letting you come into the house to have a shower
23. Writing lines for being a jerk at school, either on the board or on paper
24. Playing ‰ÛÏdangerous‰Û games like dodgeball, kickball, tag, whiffle ball, and red rover (The Health Department of New York issued a warning about the ‰ÛÏsignificant risk of injury‰Û from these games)
25. Walking to school alone

Tell us what crazy stuff you did as a child.

All of the above plus more as I grew up in rural north Arkansas and we would try just about anything. Very few toys so you had to use your IMAGINATION??

mlove5648, post: 337939, member: 5459 wrote: All of the above plus more as I grew up in rural north Arkansas and we would try just about anything. Very few toys so you had to use your IMAGINATION??

Southwest Arkansas for me. Try just about anything...very few toys...lol...her Daddy didn't care much for my imagination.

DDSM:angel::beer:

All items except 17 which I did do (shoot guns) but without mom or dad around.

I can add this to the list.

Drive tractors (working) without cabs or fenders (steel seats) starting at age 8 (John Deere A's and B's). Driving every other car or truck on the farm by age 10. Driving on I-15 in Idaho at age 15 without a drivers license with my dad riding shotgun so he could rest. In today's world my dad would be charged with child endangerment and the farm wouldn't be successful because my brothers and I wouldn't be allowed to do much of the work.

I fear that kids these days really won't learn how to work because government regulations don't allow it!

Those were normal every day experiences.
Holding and lighting your black cat fireworks, basically being given a hundred count ribbon of black cats a starter stick and turned lose
Riding on the tailgate of pickup or on top of farm machinery
Snow was rare, when it did happen, chaos commenced immediately

For me childhood was in the 50s & 60s although my sons survived the 70s, and 80s quite well that included many of the frowned-upon activities. For me the list was:

1. Riding in the back of an open pick-up truck with a bunch of other kids
2. Missed that one, country kid no street lights, still was outside until dusk.
3. Eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the school cafeteria
4. Riding your bike without a helmet
5. Riding your bike with younger brother on the handlebars, and neither of us wearing helmets
6. Drinking water from the hose in the yard or at the barn.
7. Swimming in creeks, rivers, ponds, and lakes (or what they now call *cough* ‰ÛÏwild swimming‰ÛÏ)
8. Climbing trees almost daily in the summer.
9. Having snowball fights (and accidentally hitting someone you shouldn‰Ûªt)
10. Sledding without any protective equipment.
11. Carrying a pocket knife to school. Elementary school had only one requirement, student had to be in scouts and also carrying a "totin' chip" card that showed you had completed safety course for knives and hand ax.
12. Camping
13. Using a garden hoe on snakes as directed by mother or grandmother.
14. Playing politically incorrect games like Cowboys and Indians (See 18 below)
15. Playing Cops and Robbers with *gasp* toy guns (See 18 below)
16. Pretending to shoot each other with sticks we imagined were guns (See 18 below)
17. At about 13 shooting an actual gun at ground hogs around the barn foundation or a bow (with *gasp* sharp arrows) at a cardboard box with paper target, unaccompanied by parents. Father had trained me and I hunted small game with father and my cousins by that age.
18. Didn't need to say the words ‰ÛÏgun‰Û or ‰ÛÏbang‰Û or ‰ÛÏpow pow‰Û we had cap guns by age 6 or 7 and BB gun by age ten. Once the BB gun was available aiming even a toy gun at another person was cause for a spanking.
19. Working for your pocket money well before your teen years. Yep farm kid bailing hay and driving pickup (as old as I was) in the fields at 9 or 10. Started plowing fields on my own at about 13.
20. Was making enough (Farm kid working 40 to 50 hours/week @ $.50/hr.) that I was required to open bank savings for about 60% of income. Then could take the remaining money to the store. Candy and sodas were the small items, comic books, hot rod magazines and Mad Magazine were the real targets.
21. Old enough at the time to think that pop rocks candy and drinking soda craze was a bit silly.
22. Getting so dirty that your mom washed you off with the hose in the yard before letting you come into the house to have a shower
23. Writing lines for being a jerk at school, either on the board or on paper
24. Required activity in elementary school was playing ‰ÛÏdangerous‰Û games like dodgeball, kickball, tag, softball with wood bats, and red rover.
25. Lived beyond the walking to school distance. However, at 13 five of us completed a five mile hike without adult supervision for a Boy Scout requirement. Likely would be stopped and get parents in trouble today.

Back in my days, country town, you'd learn to drive early, rock up for drivers licence and the fairly new to the district Policeman would, with surprised look say "oh I thought you must've had your licence". Having seen particular person out and about driving on the roads.
We'd have horse dung fights. Neat hand sized balls make great things to fling about. Chose ones just set enough to hold together in transit but squishy on impact.
I'd regularly drink out of our water troughs. Scoop away that bubbly green slimy gunk. Rationale, if it was okay for the cows then must be fit for drink.
Snowballs. Once hit the headmaster as he rounded the corner and the real recipient ducked.
Riding push bikes flat chat on footpaths. Cleaned up a little old lady. She was ancient to a 10 year old. Probably in her 40's.
Pocket knives were essential kit for skinning rabbits to.... Stop there, memory failure :-O
Walk up town heading to rifle practise with my 303 slung over my shoulder.
Just generally being a Prat, and yet in a clean healthy way.
Yea, much on the list bike stuff excluded. But then I had a Ferguson 28 to do stuff on.

Proudly display my firearm in the gun-rack while I was parked in the high school parking lot....

Walk through town with a deer rifle on my shoulder without getting tackled. Then stop and talk with the gym teacher about how the hunt went.

Man someone sure screwed things up BIG TIME...

What is this street light thingy so many of you remember?

Coming home around dark-thirty was normal, but a tractor or hay wagon was normally involved. Definitely wasn't on a stroll from hanging out all day with a bunch of other kids with nothing to do.

Had plenty of experience driving long before I was old enough to apply for a license.

Learned all sorts of swear words and crude sayings from other farmers who employed me when I could break away from working for Dad. One memorable occasion involved one of the cruder locals chastising me for not being able to get the hitch pin into the wagon hitch/drawbar hole as he rocked the tractor back and forth blindly attempting to get the holes lined up. He said something about hair and I had no clue what he was talking about.