How did we ever survive? During the winter we would hook a toboggan onto the back of the station wagon and the parents would drag us around the snow-covered dirt roads.
We did that as well , bounced off of telephone poles , mailboxes , snowdrifts , and anything else that was within a 20 foot rope length from the bumper of the car. Oh yeah , and no helmet.
And ornery pretty little girls would make mud pies and see which boy who wanted to please her and make her smile would do anything to accomplish that. Even eat dirt. You know what, eating a bit of dirt or not always washing your hands before grabbing food and wolfing it down, made our immune systems work in overdrive and made them and us strong. We didn't have many allergies and anaphylactic shock syndrome, or die from eating nuts, peanuts, or shellfish. Very over protective parents, overuse of antibiotics, and anti-bacterial soaps have made us weak!
We called it hookey bobbin , as a strangers car made it slow around a corner on a packed snowy street we'd grab the bumper and slide on the ice in our best Sunday shoes no tread leather soles. then let go before the stop at the end of the street .
What's a helmet ? What ever happened to skipping school and hanging out at a pool hall smoking cigarettes, going fishing hunting or skinny dipping. We rode bulls horses no pads or face guard helmet not even a cup and some how survived and always got work done of course I do not remember watching TV till after dark there were only 3 channels. I remember school yard and bar fights when was the last time you saw a good fight that didn't end in a shooting and the swat team being called out.
We didn't have sneaux or a toboggan? However the old man would tie a rope to an overturned hood and drag us around on the grass or rocky road. You know that would get too hot to sit on after a few minutes!
LMAO yea ENLARGEMENT PILLS and for the ladies spandex body girdles and you spay paint on makeup, what next dip and seal like that stuff for tool handles.
My late wife would argue ,"My dad only needed a small box of tools to do all the stuff needed done, but you don't ever seem to have enough ,why ? In his day things were simpler , only a few manufacturers, and fewer manufacturing standards , fewer materials and simpler means to manipulate them . Just look at all the appliances you have against all the appliances your mother had . its a world different. Would you rather wash clothes a wash board like your mother did ? no moving parts except you of course . There will always be something to replace what we did in the past ,ideally to be more efficient ,that is what we buy into in this day and age . I didn't like people pushing me to wear safety glasses or sun glasses, "dad never did" ,I hated those things hanging on my face. Even after a few events ,it did not teach me to alter my opinion. But When dad developed macular degeneration (loosing his vision) being his son realized I could be next in line ,took the issue more seriously . I accepted the change and since then have really appreciated the availability of having them on while I work .and it has saved my eyes in some very serious events reinforcing their use. When we were kids there were a lot of things we did that had nothing to do with growing up and developing some sense about how things worked or what might be expected of us in the future . Granted not all of us wasted our time being stupid, but there was plenty of stupid to go around. As a child no one thought much about torturing an ant hill with a magnifying glass and sunlight ,but now days that activity having been vilified, makes it cause for concern by the general public although they must admit having to use other means to eradicate them from their homes and food stuffs. Hypocrisy is not hard to find .
I got hit by a red Ford station wagon while running across the street in front of my childhood home in Detroit in 1969. Before we moved to the farm in 1971 I used to ride bikes with my friends all over the place. From Rouge Park to Outer Drive. As long as we were home before dark we were good. Using Google maps I know that our longest adventures took us no more than five miles from home, but the oldest kid in the group, my girlfriend, would have only been 11 years old. Come to think of it, she was the same one who decided that we should run across the street when I got hit! After we had settled on the farm I found new kids to ride bikes with. When the occasional car would come down the blacktop (that ended at a former county commissioners house.) we'd yell "CAR!!!" so nobody would ride down a hill and get hit. In the winter we did the same thing while sledding on the icy roads. We put cards in our bicycle spokes to make noise, and that was fun, but making smoke like a train was better. ;-) We'd find an old beer can (they were steel back then) and cut off the top. We'd use a can opener to punch one hole in the side at the bottom and stuff the can full of dry leaves. Any old wire or green stick would do to hold the can, as long as the hole in the bottom was facing forward. Then we'd light the leaves through the bottom hole until they just started smoldering and take off peddling on our bike, holding the can in the wind. This wind passing through the hole was enough to create loads of heat in the tightly packed leaves and they would create the nicest dense smoke you ever saw! The smoke would burst into flame as the leaves began to burn out and allow more air flow. That was the signal to dump out the can and pedal back up the hill for a refill. Only time I didn't have a rifle with me in those days was when we were riding bikes, unless we were going someplace to shoot stuff. I got boxes of .22 ammo if I kept up with my chores. I had my own .22 rifle when I was 12.
This thread reminds me of all sorts of stuff that most kids today would never dream of. (If they did, they'd probably need counseling.) My father was a big black powder cannon enthusiast. (We had a powder magazine in the valley that was ATF inspected annually, usually with binoculars, since it was also home to many bees.) I shot a lot of squirrels with a 28ga muzzle loader as a teen. We went to the State range one summer and I picked up a bunch of bottleneck rifle cartridges. I found that with some black powder, cannon fuse, and toilet paper, these made dandy poppers. Dad thought this was cool, but we were missing their potential. We needed to be able to loft them and drop them on a target. The family mortar team was born! I would load the 28ga with a minimal charge and just an over-powder wad and then hold the butt of the shotgun against the grass while little brother held the popper at the muzzle. Dad would light the fuse with his Camel, and little brother would drop the popper down the barrel. We'd all listen for it to thump at the bottom, and then on the command "FIRE!" I would pull the trigger. The cartridge popper would almost immediately swap ends and trail a faint whisp of smoke from the burning cannon fuse as it made an arc toward the target. (a big Ash tree by the creek) At a distance of 75-100 yards you could still see the flash/puff and get a satisfying echo from the Whoomp! If we were lucky we'd hear the case bounce off the trunk just before it popped. Those were the days!
This day food/industry standards are here not to guarantee the quality just the user do not die to soon of it. If the produce or import something bad the get a fine like $5M but the made $100M profit of it,so guess why there is so much junk made!
Now... I buy cream in a waxed paper carton at Food Lion. Then... I milked cows and all of us kids had to take our turn getting the first pour of milk from the pitcher at supper time so we could get some cream off the top.
