[GlowWorm]

Hey Tuberoller -> How could you forget Rock'Em Sock'Em Robots! Man, those were the days.

 

[JMT]

Tube, great post (or rant). Being a child of the 60s and a teen of the 70s, I can definitely relate to what you are saying. Do you remember when they actually allowed you to ride in the BACK of a pickup truck? Hurt like hell, but the closest many would get to riding in a convertible.

Some of the best times that I had as a kid was right after Christmas. We would collect a bunch of trees that people left out for the county to pick up and build Xmas tree forts in an empty lot (remember empty lots? Plots of real estate with NO house built on it.) We would end up having dirt clod fights with other kids who built similar forts near us.
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What the hell is a "Stunt Bike" and why do they cost $750.00?

Don't know what those are, and why they cost what they do. But I do remember my bike of choice during elementary school was an "Apple Krate" by Schwinn. Remember that? Candy apple red, 5 speed with the nut buster gear shift, tiny front wheel, banana seat, and a huge sissy bar in the back. I outgrew that and graduated to a Schwinn Varsity 10 speed. Got stolen, got another one, that one got stolen, got another, got stolen yet again. At that point we gave up.
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I could go to the newstand in the morning before school and look at a Penthouse

I could just go look in my dad's secret hiding place.

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You could get into a fight with a another kid and the next day you'd be buddies again.Today that guy is likely to shoot you and you sure can't make up after that.

Saddest thing that I ever encountered was going to my high school alma mater and finding out that they had metal detectors at all of the entrances. I remember that my high school dances were held at night, not mid-afternoon like most of them now days.

I tell my kids this all the time.....I would hate to be a teenager in these times.

 

[Hiker]

Quote:

Originally posted by hempcamp -- We played army, our whole neighborhood had ranks and uniforms and all. I was boisterous and opinionated, so I got to be one of the generals. The battlefield was an abandoned gravel pit and the surrounding yards. Campaigns went on for years until we got more interested in football and baseball than pretend games. -- There was the Pinewood Derby in the early years, then later we learned lashings in Scouts, and we came home and built tree forts and towers. We also had a garden and we did science experiments with potatoes and pennies and lemon juice and stuff.

I did all of this stuff too (including being the general). We would alternate between wars first pretending we were in the Civil War and then several months later it would be World War II. There is still a fort in my backyard that my friends, my sister, and I made from extra bricks and cinder blocks that were piled in the back of my yard. We would fight between yards in my neighborhood all day and night. We had all types of cap guns from long muskets to fake uzis. And all of this took place when I was growing up during the 90s. I feel sorry for all the kids that missed out on these types of things. Im also surprised I was able to do this in my neighborhood with all the anti-toy gun crap happening. I guess all my neighbors were cool and understanding.

The Pinewood Derby was another good memory of mine. I had some great times with my dad building cars every year and then finally winning it all! The rest of my scouting career was great as well and I still love camping and backpacking.

Another thing that was mentioned in this thread was playing sports in the street. I remember several summers ago when we would play baseball or football in the street every night. We would even try some lesser known sports such as cricket, but we had fun no matter what we did. It was all about fun.

I guess it seems that I might have had a more old fashioned growing up than most kids these days and I am certainly glad that I did. Its true that I did use the computer sometimes and internet for games, but not half as much as kids do today. Heck, I never even had a video game system except atari until I got PlayStation 3 years ago. This was not because my parents wouldn't buy it for me, but rather because I was simply not interested. I think a good deal of my fun while growing up had to do with my parents. They did all the things that I did while growing up and suggested them to me when I was bored. I found them to be fun and I was fortunate enough to have a neighborhood filled with kids that found these activities just as fun as I did.

I really do think kids are WAY too involved with video game systems and computer games these days. Kids need to be outside being active. This is one of the reasons why there are so many obese children today. If only they knew the joys of pickup games and pretend battles and anything else of the like, I think they would be much happier.

 

[gbeard]

My kids (20-girl, 17-boy) spend much of their waking moments glued to a video game, computer screen or MTV. We always stressed the importance of being involved in other things--music, sports, church groups, etc. as a way for them to GET THE HELL OUTTA THE HOUSE! It worked, they are very busy kids/semi-adults. They still don't have as much fun as my freinds and I during the early '60's through early '70's...

Making a fort out of any available materials--No girls allowed! Playing Baseball, basketball, whiffleball, touch (always started out touch

) football, riding bikes, playing army, Saturday afternoon matinee's at the Harris-Grand, camping in the yard, Flashlight tag, watching the stars, catching lightning bugs and smearing the "lightning" on your hands--Yech! Green light-Red light, Statue, 12 o'clock Midnight, watching the "real" Wonderful World of Disney every Sunday night, Knothole seats at the IU games. Frisbee, Scouts, catching crawdads, climbing through the storm drains, checking out my buddy's dads Playboy mags, making a fort out of available materials--Inviting the girls to check it out! Swimming in the quarry. Camping in the state park. Sneaking into an "R" rated movie, Going to the homecoming bonfire and dance(with a real band!), watching the hippies protest in Dunn Meadow, and later on, pretending to be a hippie protesting in Dunn Meadow. Working on your car, because it won't start

, and fixing it because you can

! Going to see an honest to goodness rock concert with all your buds before mom and dad new what rock 'n roll really was... PRICELESS

.

 

[chadbang]

Darn, I didn't realise life had gotten so drab for kids today. I guess we had to use our imaginations more to keep entertained. Let's see, back then the local rich kid (and only child) had a Vac-U-Form toymaker. You put sheets plastic on a hot mold and made toys. That was the bomb. I guess it was more creative than video games, but I find it hard to believe kids today don't ride bikes alot. I never was off mine! And living in Hawaii was great because the woods and streams were right there for exploring. Hunting crayfish, building damns. Hm, now that I have a son I better pick a spot with good access to nature.

But all that adventure stuff came to a halt when I started to read seriously at age 10. Then I never when out of the house except for football games after school and the occasional comic book reading sleep over. I bet I would have loved to have had video games back then. I know I went mad for Mattel Football when it came out. Of course I was 19 then and not a kid.

But maybe it's depends on where you grow up, too. Like I said, Hawaii had nature and then I moved to a small town in PA. Pretty mild and safe place. Maybe parents don't mind kids playing with games since cities are pretty bad places to be out and about these days.

But I agree about the internet. Now I hardly go out with friends - I come to Head-fi. Of course my friends still want to hit bars and I'm a dad, now. Kinda figure I better put childish things behind me. But I still would rather log on to Head-fi. I swear the conversation here is better! Or maybe I just tired of rehashing the same junk with my friends.

 

[soundboy]

Remember Stretch-Armstrong? On a warm/hot day, we'll let him sit in the sun for a hour or two, then nail him to the fence, and shoot BB guns at him. His innards just ooze out. Sick, isn't it?

Mmmmm....those good old days before the Atari 2600. We would come home from school, watch a couple of episodes of "The Brady Bunch", then it's time to ride our bikes. We didn't go far but we would ride for 2-3 hours before dinner time. Alternately, it was either baseball or play tennis at the local high school court.

Other than the original Pong by Coleco, I never had a video game system. No Atari of any sorts, Colecovision, whatever-it-was-called from Mattel, Playstation, Nintendo, etc.... I did puchase the original Gameboy but promptly sold it to a coworker. However, I still have a early 80s Nintendo handheld game machine (keeping those lions inside the cage).

The days before CD, DVD, computers, etc.... fond memories of my parents' top loading RCA VCR with the "wired" remote control, the knot-turning TV, and "Starblazers" (my first anime).

 

[sephka]

A further sign of societal deterioration: My school "banned" certain bands. Among them: Coldplay. Yes, Coldplay.

 

[lini]

Oh my - you're stirring up memories, guys. I was a 70s' kid, too. Those were the days - with almost no responsibilities to care for, just wonderful...

Nowadays, there seems to be a lot of political correctness instead of common sense - and maybe respect for individuality. But what annoys me most, is that kids nowadays already have to play a role as customers - they get constantly brainwashed by advertising/commercials, so that they are forced into brand consciousness and have to get the impression that having fun only works by constant spending of money. In addition, real/unique individuality is somewhat replaced by "pre-select" individuality (meaning you obtain your individuality by your choice of consumer goods). Well, and then there's globalization (= cheap labour for the industry and practically no taxation), joblessness and so on - I think, growing up seems the least desirable option for a kid these days...

Greetings from Munich & sorry for the rant!

Manfred / lini

P.S.: Dusty: Matchbox Beachbuggy, ey? I wonder where I have left mine...

P.P.S.: JMT: Yeah, the all so secret hiding places. Some of the discoveries left a trace of doubt conderning my father's taste, though...

 

[Tuberoller]

I still have all my old stuff. When I left home,my Mom packed it all up and kept it safe from my younger brothers. I remember Hot Wheels,Red Ryder BB Guns,Stretch Armstrong, and Rockem' sockem' robots. Man,those were the times.

I actually feel sorry for kids today. I don't think it's their fault that the world was far safer then and that PC was not an issue outside of politics. I had a subcription to Playboy when I was 12. I had it sent to my uncle's house and he kept them for me. We had the best TV shows as well,remember Bewitched,Speed Racer,The Brady Bunch,Batman,The Green Hornet, reruns of The Little Rascals,The Three Stooges,. remember when Star Trek was a new show? I did'nt watch much TV but the stuff I watched was great.

Thanks for memories guys.

 

[JMT]

Just for old times sake:

1969 Schwinn Apple Krate

Looks like the one I had, but mine had a huge sissy bar on the back.

 

[Tuberoller]

Mine had the big sissy bar too but it was Black and Gold and had Gold wheels. It was a Smokey and The Bandit edition with the GT printed right on the seat. That shifter was so cool but God help you if you got into it with your sack. It hurts just thinkin' about it

.

 

[hempcamp]

Quote:

Originally posted by JMT 1969 Schwinn Apple Krate

How hideous looking.

We spring chickens usually had BMX-style bikes, although I do think my first bike was a similar Schwinn with a bannana seat and equal-sized tires.

--Chris

 

[john_jcb]

I guess I was a child of the 60's being 10 in 1960. My life was great. I lived on a small island that was sparsley populated in the Pacific Northwest. I had a horse of my own access to our boat and a tractor to drive around our small farm. We went hunting and fishing whenever we felt like it. It wasn't much for culture but if you enjoyed outdoor activites it coud not be beat.

 

[soundboy]

I remember when a Mongoose BMX bike was something to lust after....especially the ones with the fiberglass mag wheels. Now you can find Mongoose BMX bikes at Walmart!!

JMT....no tassles on the ends of the handlebars??!!

 

[MusicLover]

Quote:

Originally posted by sephka A further sign of societal deterioration: My school "banned" certain bands. Among them: Coldplay. Yes, Coldplay.

Why did they ban Coldplay? There is absolutely nothing wrong with that band.