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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 24 of 24. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Phil on November 26, 2002, at 17:09:52
You are probably over forty or approaching it if you get this: You
lived as a child in the 50s, 60s or early 70's. Looking back, it's
hard to believe that we have lived as long as we have................As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special
treat. Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint. We
had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors, or cabinets, and when we
rode our bikes, we had no helmets. (Not to mention hitchhiking to town as a
young kid!)We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Horrors. We
would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode down
the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the
bushes a few times we learned to solve the problem.We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we
were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all
day. No cell phones. Unthinkable. We played dodge ball and sometimes the
ball would really hurt. We got cut and broke bones and broke teeth and
there
were no law suits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was
to blame but us.Remember accidents? We had fights and punched each other and got black and
blue and learned to get over it. We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and
drank sugar soda but we were never overweight.... .....we were always
outside playing. We shared one grape soda with four friends, from one
bottle and no one died from this?We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X. Boxes, video games at
all, 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, personal
cellular phones, Personal Computers, Internet chat rooms,............... we
had friends. We went outside and found them. We rode bikes or walked to
a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rung the bell or just walked in
and talked to them. Imagine such a thing. Without asking a parent! By
ourselves!Out there in the cold cruel world! Without a guardian. How did we do it?
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms and although we
were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes,
nor did the worms live inside us forever.Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who
didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment..... Some students weren't
as smart as others so they failed a grade and were held back to repeat the
same grade....Horrors. Tests were not adjusted for any reason.Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected. No one to hide
behind. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard
of. They actually sided with the law, imagine that!This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem
solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years has been an explosion of
innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and
responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.And you're one of them.
Congratulations!
Posted by Deb R on November 26, 2002, at 23:09:57
In reply to Please read if you're over 40...or under : ), posted by Phil on November 26, 2002, at 17:09:52
Hi Phil,
It gives me the horrors to realise just how much things have changed since our childhood. I was born in 1960, in Australia, which was probably even a bit more 'behind' in having to lock the doors etc. We used to live near a river and we spent our summers trekking around, not telling anyone where we were heading. We had to be home by 'tea time' or 'lunch time' and that was the only rule.
I could write a tome here about those wonderful days, but I won't! One thing though, I wonder how the lack of freedom that we had affects our kids. We have three children and they don't really get much 'alone' time...do you know what I mean? Ah well, I want to write more and tell you about my glorious childhood, my fingers are itching to keep typing and typing!! he he...tell me a bit about the things you remember and I will as well...ok bye for now,
Deb.
Posted by shar on November 26, 2002, at 23:16:37
In reply to Please read if you're over 40...or under : ), posted by Phil on November 26, 2002, at 17:09:52
Also, being taught what to do about snakes and tarantulas, poison ivy/oak if you ran across them...not just being kept inside to avoid them. And, tornadoes, too.
Treehouses, putting pennies on railroad tracks, following a creek as far as you could, explosions at science fairs (big smile through soot-blackened face), learning that you don't take a bone away from a dog to play fetch (and no law suit to follow).
OTHER people's parents telling YOUR parents what you did wrong. And, getting in trouble for it, too. There always seemed to be a watchful eye around...dang it!
Trick or treating without fear.
Summer nights with someone's dad telling scary stories (flashlight under the chin).
Yup. A whole different time it was.
Shar
Posted by Phil on November 27, 2002, at 7:02:05
In reply to Re: Please read if you're over 40...or under : ), posted by Deb R on November 26, 2002, at 23:09:57
I saw another list somewhere of things that weren't around when we were kids. It's hard to believe.
I grew up in a small farming community north of Corpus Christi, TX and I remember when we got our ABC affiliate. Smokin!! Three channels.
I could write a book but won't. I loved Little League baseball but one of my favorite times was around 13, listening to the great Motown bands and all the music on my little radio.
And who could forget sneaking out at midnight and staying out till 4 a.m. and you're 13-14 years old. It was such a rush.
Bottle rocket wars with my neighbors, shootng baskets at the 'chicken pen.' haha We had a basketball goal nailed to a tree and had so many games there that the dirt was like concrete.
I don't know if we even locked the house when we went on vacation(arguing in a car instead of home).
I love the little town where I grew up. If there were jobs there, I'd move back.Phil
Posted by Racer on November 27, 2002, at 15:53:34
In reply to Please read if you're over 40...or under : ), posted by Phil on November 26, 2002, at 17:09:52
I didn't make up games with tennis balls or sticks, I made up games with a horse!
And we didn't just ride in the back of pickup trucks, we rode in the back of the hay truck: bales of hay, balanced carefully enough, with a dozen shrieking girls fighting over who got to sit on the wheel hub for the really BIG bounces!
I look back and do wonder that I survived at all, especially when I consider all the really stupid things I did: jumping picnic tables, galloping bareback on the beach, walking home late in the evening through the park...
And I do wonder when I see the care taken now. Back then, everyone knew you fell off horses, and sometimes got hurt. Nowadays, we can't let someone ride a horse again if they've come off, because the court might consider that to be gross negligence. Sheesh!
Posted by Rach on November 28, 2002, at 1:38:40
In reply to Speak for yourself, Buddy!, posted by Racer on November 27, 2002, at 15:53:34
The world has changed so much in such a short amount of time. Its like these changes haven't happened gradually over 40 years, they have exploded out in the past 8 years.
Posted by Deb R on November 28, 2002, at 8:49:01
In reply to Re: Please read if you're over 40...or under : ), posted by Phil on November 27, 2002, at 7:02:05
Hey Phil,
We used to go skinny dipping in the river, had a huge tree swing that we would swing out over the water and (if you were brave enough) you would drop right out in the deep water!
Our milk used to be delivered by horse and cart (no I am not kidding!) and we used to sleep outside in summer, then sneak out the front to buy choc milk from the 'Milko' at 3am! The sound of the horse clopping up the street was comforting to us as kids.
There were lots of tin roofed houses and we used to go (as we called it) 'lobbing roofs' where you would chuck a rock on the roof and run like heck so scared and excited. I think that was my training for the sprinter I became in later years. I would hate any little shits that threw stones on our roof nowadays....funny that.
We used to get little bottles of milk to drink at recess in primary school (supplied by the government) - it was nice in winter, spring and autumn but horrible in summer as they were never put in a refrigerator....bleah.
My best friend and I used to collect empty soft drink bottles as they had a refund from the corner store - we used to make what seemed like lots of money, which we would immediately spend on lollies (candy, sweets - depending on where you come from!).
I used to be able to ride my bike right around the block no-handed! You know the joke, "Look Ma, no hands" (around the block again) "Look Ma, no feet" (around again) "Look Ma, no teeth!!". he he. Well, I did 'come a cropper' (fall off) and just about took all the skin off my right arm and leg and that was horrible! I dont think Mum even took me to the Doctors, and yet when our kids had much smaller accidents we were always trotting them off to the Docs.
Once you start along memory lane its hard to stop, please write more everyone as this is very enjoyable to read....thanks for starting it Phil!
Love,
Deb.
Posted by tina on November 28, 2002, at 13:40:31
In reply to Please read if you're over 40...or under : ), posted by Phil on November 26, 2002, at 17:09:52
What a great stroll down memory lane. I've always thought the past was way better than the present or anything that could come in the future and you've just proven I'm right.
Posted by tina on November 28, 2002, at 14:09:39
In reply to Re: Please read if you're over 40...or under : ), posted by Deb R on November 28, 2002, at 8:49:01
"Punch buggy" "The Wheels on the Bus" "99 bottles of beer on the wall"
Drumming your fingers on the back of a sticky green vinyl seat singing off key at the top of your lungs
watching the city landscape give way to a wild wall of trees and mystery
turning onto a long dirt track under an arch that says "Camp Something"
pulling into a clearing and filing off into designated tent groups assigned with the task of finding a flat spot without rocks so that the bottom of your nylon tent isn't cut to ribbons and your seemingly good night's sleep isn't turned into a tossing and turning battle with the earth's cast offs
checking your belongings are all there as fast as you can..not really caring if they are or not
changing into camp dress, the hat and sash with a dozen embroidered badges emblazened, proudly displaying to the rest of your tribe your skills and accomplishments like the hard won eagle feather or bears teeth on a brave's necklace or tunic
trailers, campers, tents and RV's
cookouts, bonfires, bbq's and coleman stoves
hot chocolate in sleeping bags
canned spaghetti
potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil. s'mores
felled trees set in a circle, kumbaya
wet socks, bug spray, ghost stories, "what's your name, where are you from?"
running barefoot to the outhouse at 2am in the dew-soaked grass with moonlight or flashlight guiding you there
clothes marked with your name
plastic collapsable dishes etched with your initials
toothbrush and soap in sealed plastic neon cases
cold water sponge baths....showers only fell from the sky
plastic wrapped matches and mini first-aid kits
bandaids-bug bites and bee stings all treated with the same little bottle of incredibly stinky "what the hell is this stuff?"
THE handbook....your bible, your late-night advisor, your encyclopaedia, your flower and leaf press, your diary,
your table leg shim so the wobble doesn't spill the warm juice balanced precariously on the edge of the largest crack in the top of the picnic table.
ponchos too big for anyone but sasquatch but your mom insisted on packing one anyway
the squashed, mushy "just in case" peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
scrapbook for sketching flora and fauna and for writing down the names of things that couldn't possibly be real
the rock and stone collection in your boots
the stick and grass collection in your hair
the mud-caked knees and fingernails....
standing in line under a sagging canvas lean-to, waiting for your plate to be filled with the best tasting canned spaghetti in the world and, eventhough it's been burned to the bottom of the pot, you're grateful that the warmth travels all the way to your toes
Leaning forward over your filled spoon to take a long inhale only to have a waterfall gush from the hood of your enormous poncho onto your dinner plate
Changing into your pyjamas while inside your sleeping bag because to do otherwise would mean shivering until your teeth broke and fell out.
Stuffing your clothes for morning into your sleeping bag while your sleep so they'll be warm in the misty half-dawn when the annoying cacophony of birds startle you from the deep satisfying dream-filled ecstasy of a sleep only camping as a child can produce.There's nothing like a weekend at Girl Scout camp.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~....and to think, most of today's kids haven't had the pleasure.....
Sad isn't it??
Posted by Phil on November 28, 2002, at 20:05:00
In reply to Re: Please read if you're over 40...or under : ), posted by Deb R on November 28, 2002, at 8:49:01
Why are you guys so far away? I'd love to go to Australia. Horse and cart milk deliveries and tin roofs.
Those were all great.
Ahh, the memories. I remember the first time I saw two dogs 'stuck'. haha I wasn't very old and had lots of questions. It was a medium sized male and small female dog. Talk about belly laughter.
The meanest dog in town was the Steindorf's. I went to school with their son who still lives there with his wife. They had a huge black dog and while most dogs protected their own boundaries, when Steindorf's dog saw you 4 blocks away, he was coming! When the 'banana seat' bikes came out, my friend Joe and I(on the same bike) were being chased by this beast. Joe was in charge of peddling but was laughing too hard to peddle. I was on the back trying to kick the dog and calling Joe every cuss word I knew-which was every one. Joe was a great friend, I loved that guy. Later that summer, Joe and I were at the new high school. It had this one long sidewalk that opened to a grassy area and was 12" high. We would get up a lot of speed and go flying off this deal...it was real fun! Joe went off on the banana bike, hit the edge, pulled up, up, oh shit! He landed on his back. We were laughing so hard we were crying. I don't know if we were tough or too dumb to get hurt. Big city kids had fun things to do, we had to invent things.
My friend Joe died in a motorcycle wreck at 21. I had originally showed him how to drive one. I hadn't seen him in a year and I was crushed. I guess today, I really miss him. Sorry...damn.
It all just kind of hit me again.Phil
Posted by tina on November 29, 2002, at 7:42:52
In reply to Re: Please read if you're over 40_tina, Deb, posted by Phil on November 28, 2002, at 20:05:00
so sorry about Joe, the memory still makes you smile so remembering is good. Joe would be glad you can laugh at stuff like that.
Posted by Phil on November 29, 2002, at 14:47:49
In reply to Re: Please read if you're over 40_ » Phil, posted by tina on November 29, 2002, at 7:42:52
It's a trip. You think there's no feeling left and out of the blue...
I'm burning CD's and playing my drums with them today. That's how I stole, or rather, got some chops. The CD's are stopping halfway thru on my stereo. Weird.
Posted by tina on November 29, 2002, at 17:15:11
In reply to Re: Please read if you're over 40_ » tina, posted by Phil on November 29, 2002, at 14:47:49
You play drums do ya Phil. Me too. I'd be pretty good if I had my own kit to practice on. Usually I just pick up the sticks and I'm a natural. Got a good 'inside' beat, ya know?
I hope you enjoy banging away......
love ya
tina
Posted by shar on November 30, 2002, at 11:46:02
In reply to Re: a fun memory too, posted by tina on November 28, 2002, at 14:09:39
I never went to camp (a case of my sister didn't like it when she went and my parents weren't gonna go thru that bs again...) so I really enjoyed your description, and how visceral (I'm not sure that's the right word) it is. I mean, like the sticky fingers, cold water, warm juice, I could feel all that stuff...
Thanks, you are great at imagery...do you write songs?
Shar
Posted by Deb R on December 2, 2002, at 7:58:19
In reply to Re: a fun memory too, posted by tina on November 28, 2002, at 14:09:39
Hey Tina,
I loved reading what you wrote about your girl scout camp - I feel cold and shivery just thinking about how freezing it must have been for you. How old were you when you went?
Nice writing too T - ok I think you should write a book AND take your own photos for it!!! Hey you have it all ya know.
Love,
Deb.
Posted by Deb R on December 2, 2002, at 8:18:16
In reply to Re: Please read if you're over 40_tina, Deb, posted by Phil on November 28, 2002, at 20:05:00
Hey Phil,
I remember 'banana seats' on bikes - they came out over here on a bike brand called "stingray" - at least I think thats what they were called. Isnt it nice how one memory leads to another and suddenly you can 'feel' a slow smile spread across your features and you are back there, feeling and living the glorious days of childhood. Steindorfs dog sounds like a real mongrel - the banana seat was handy for "dinkying" - thats what we called it when two of you got on the one bike. You would say "Give us a dink" and leap on the back, my friend and I would both pedal - except on my 'girls' bike, my best friend would sit on the bag carrier which was attached over the back wheel!
Nowadays the Steindorfs would probably have been sued for allowing their dog to chase kids.
I bet you and your best mate Joe had way more fun than the big city kids Phil! This will probably sound a bit lame, but I am sorry about Joe dying so young, its a shit of a thing huh. I lost a friend when I was 15 and I will never, ever forget her, just like you and Joe I guess.
One of these days I am going to write all the stuff down about the things we did as kids - I dont want it all to just disappear.
Hey what else do you remember about those days. It was scary starting high school - we were told all 1st years got the "Royal Flush" where some tough kid would push your head in the toilet bowl, then flush it! I was so frightened it would happen to me that I dont think I went to the toilet once in the first month.....agony!
Bye for now,
Deb.
Posted by tina on December 2, 2002, at 8:49:19
In reply to Re: a fun memory too...Tina, posted by Deb R on December 2, 2002, at 7:58:19
thanks for the compliments. I do write some songs and poetry and lots of prose. most of it not very good, some ok, some I will share, like the memory of camp.
I'm dealing with another loss here. Another suicide. I posted about it on social.thanks again for the nice words and I'm glad you enjoyed the images.
tina
Posted by Deb R on December 6, 2002, at 6:36:02
In reply to Re: a fun memory too...Shar and Deb, posted by tina on December 2, 2002, at 8:49:19
Hey Tina,
I would love to read more of your writing....how about at ASH? You do write so beautifully.
Love,
Deb.
Posted by harry b. on January 2, 2003, at 14:35:41
In reply to Please read if you're over 40...or under : ), posted by Phil on November 26, 2002, at 17:09:52
My best memories are of spending time at my bgrandmother's. My dad died when I was 5yo, then came an abusive stepfather. When he divorced my mother I was left pretty much to my own devices because mother was not around much.
I would ride my bike 20 miles to get to my grandmother's place. It was grand. There was no running water so I had to pump water & haul it to the house by the bucketful. With no plumbing, there was only the outhouse. Baths were taken in the kitchen.
Heat & meals were provided by a big old wood burning cook stove and my grandmother made the best pies in the world.
In the winter I slept upstairs beneath several homemade comforters. The only heat was from the wood stove below. Grandmother would get up around 4 or 5 am to get the fire going again so I would be warm when I came down for breakfast.
The milkman & the breadman both delivered to the house and grandmother would always have a nickle for me so that I could buy a treat from the back of the breadman's truck.
I walked the woods with my BB gun, shooting anything that caught my eye & when I turned 12yo I got a .22 rifle that I would take into the woods with me & shoot at targets (can you imagine THAT today??).
I'd go fishing & skinny dipping with the farm kids in the area and we'd ride ponys and tractors and jump from the hay loft into the hay wagon way below. We'd round up the cows and herd them back to the barn. Once we tried riding a large hog, but it did not work out too well.
My grandmother only watched one TV show, The Tonight Show. I remember Jack Parr as host.
We made homemade icecream, turning the handle, scraping off the blades, and we made and bottled rootbeer soda.
My grandmother was the best influence in my life. I still think of her often. Whenever I see rose bushes or smell the sweet scent of honeysuckle, tons of warm memories come rushing to my mind.
harry b.
Posted by Phil on January 2, 2003, at 18:05:22
In reply to Re: Please read if you're over 40...or under : ), posted by harry b. on January 2, 2003, at 14:35:41
Man, makes me want to go back. What area of the country was that? Just curious.
Phil
Posted by Noa on January 2, 2003, at 18:35:54
In reply to Re: Please read if you're over 40...or under : ) » harry b., posted by Phil on January 2, 2003, at 18:05:22
I often wonder how we lived without some of the conveniences--like no air conditioning. I'm so spoiled now.
I remember the first time I saw an ad for what would become a fax. They showed a document being typed in New York and arriving in LA. We didn't believe it!
Kids I know cannot tell time on an analog face clock, because they were raised on reading digital. I love face clocks because they give you not just the time, but a sense of time--a visual idea of how much has passed, and how much is left, etc. (that is why the actual numbers on face clocks are not that important, I guess). I wonder if the kids' sense of time is different because of this.
Posted by harry b. on January 3, 2003, at 13:30:24
In reply to Re: Please read if you're over 40...or under : ), posted by Noa on January 2, 2003, at 18:35:54
Phil, I grew up in Adams County, Pennsylvania. That is located in south-central Pa. Not all that far from Lancaster & "Amish Country".
Noa, same here. I wear only analog watches & all the clocks on board my boat are analog. I have several antique mantle clocks (that chime) but I can't use them on the boat. They are in storage now, but I guess I'll end up selling them.
harry b.
Posted by Noa on January 4, 2003, at 9:02:38
In reply to Re: Please read if you're over 40...or under : ), posted by harry b. on January 3, 2003, at 13:30:24
On PSB, Tabitha linked us to a site called YesterdayLand, which I think is a hoot, and is relevant to this sentimental thread.
Posted by Rach on January 4, 2003, at 21:30:57
In reply to Re: Memories of stuff past..cool website link, posted by Noa on January 4, 2003, at 9:02:38
This is the end of the thread.
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