Those were the days

DamoRed

I don't know where this originated. I read it on another forum. But I'm sure there will be plenty of debate over it. Probably more reminiscing from the older boardsies.


According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who
were kids in the 60's, 70's and early 80's probably shouldn't have survived, because our baby cots were covered with brightly coloured lead-based paint which was promptly chewed and licked. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, or latches on doors or cabinets and it was fine to play with pans.

When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just flip-flops and fluorescent 'spokey dokey's' on our wheels. As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or airbags - riding in the passenger seat was a treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle and it tasted
the same.

We ate chips, bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy juice with
sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.

We shared one drink with four friends, from one bottle or can and no-one
actually died from this.

We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then went
top speed down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into stinging nettles a few times, we learned to solve the
problem.

We would leave home in the morning and could play all day, as long
as we were back before it got dark. No one was able to reach us and no one minded.

We did not have Play stations or X-Boxes, no video games at all. No
99
channels on TV, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no mobile
phones, no
personal computers, no DVDs, no Internet chat rooms.

We had friends - we went outside and found them.

We played elastics and rounders, and sometimes that ball really
hurt!

We fell out of trees, got cut, and broke bones but there were no law
suits.

We had full on fist fights but no prosecution followed from other
parents.

We played knock-a-door-run-away and were actually afraid of the owners
catching us.

We walked to friends' homes.

We also, believe it or not, WALKED to school; we didn't rely on
mummy

or

daddy to drive us to school, which was just round the corner.

We made up games with sticks and tennis balls.

We rode bikes in packs of 7 and wore our coats by only the hood.

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard
of...They actually sided with the law.

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and
problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years have 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!

This is for those who have had the luck to grow as real kids, before lawyers and government regulated our lives, for our own good.

For those of you who aren't old enough, thought you might like to
read about us.
This my friends, is surprisingly frightening......and it might put a
smile on your face:

The majority of students in universities today were born in 1986........They
are called youth.

They have never heard of We are the World, We are the children, and
the Uptown Girl they know is by Westlife not Billy Joel. They have never
heard of Rick Astley, Bananarama, Nena Cherry or Belinda Carlisle.

For them, there has always been only one Germany and one Vietnam.

AIDS has existed since they were born. CD's have existed since they
were born.

Michael Jackson has always been white.

To them John Travolta has always been round in shape and they can't
imagine how this fat guy could be a god of dance.

They believe that Charlie's Angels and Mission Impossible are films
from last year.

They can never imagine life before computers.

They'll never have pretended to be the A Team, RedHand Gang or the
Famous Five.

They'll never have applied to be on Jim'll Fix It or Why Don't You.

They can't believe a black and white television ever existed. And
they will never understand how we could leave the house without a mobile phone.

Now let's check if we're getting old...
1. You understand what was written above and you smile.
2. You need to sleep more, usually until the afternoon, after a
night out.
3. Your friends are getting married/already married.
4. You are always surprised to see small children playing
comfortably with computers.
5. When you see teenagers with mobile phones, you shake your head.
6. You remember watching Dirty Den in EastEnders the first time
around.
7. You meet your friends from time to time, talking about the good old days,repeating again all the funny things you have experienced together.
Those were the days.


As a postscript, a friend I sent it to, sent back an email wondering what it will say about them when its their turn and what their kids will have access to. Now that's scary!! :eek:



Damo

Scarinae

As one of those unfortunates born in 1986, I can tell you that I was thinking "Oh wow, yeah" when I was reading that... And was then surprised by the 'people born in 1986' bit. I just about remember the Berlin Wall falling down, we have a piece of it - and I'd happily comment on nearly every single point in that email too, except there are too many of them and I'm lazy. But then again, I have an older brother and sister who would have played Billy Joel etc around me when I was younger

qz

Slightly ashamed to fall into the "youth" category there!

qwertz

Nice article!

Naos

What a load of bollox.

LadyJ

I was born in 1986.
Yay!

Ah in my day (I'm 20) you could get a can of coke, a mars bar, and a packet of polos for £1 exactly.

fatherdougalmag

Yep. And imagine growing up never having to rewind a video tape before bringing it back (I'm sure we all did that) and some kids will grow up never having seen a coal fire. I come from the planet of 1973 when Super Deluxe's were king (the bikes with the long seats), pre-dating the Chopper and that snazzy bike with the onboard radio or whatever it was. I used to wear 'longers' when the weather was cold. Christmas decorations were 'in' and that meant a nice silver tinsel Woolworths Christmas tree with all sorts of stuff hanging out of the ceiling. None of this 'art deco' minimalist colour coordinating crap that goes on today. Pancake day was about eating as many pancakes as humanly possible. Summer holidays in Kilmuckridge was considered posh. TV was the Dukes of Hazard on a Saturday afternoon with Buck Rodgers that evening and 3,2,1 with Ted Rodgers, The Generation Game and Blankety Blank. Then there was Only Fools and Horses. Don't start me on Sundays. I'll just start crying. Bagpuss etc.

Thing is, what was the thing with Why Don't You when they were telling you get out and go do something less boring than watching TV?

Right, I'm off to watch King Rollo, Mr Ben and Bagpuss on Noggin.

Wertz

*feels a lot older all of a sudden*

Here's one an American friend mailed me a while back;

1972: Long hair
2002: Longing for hair



1972: The perfect high
2002: The perfect high yield mutual fund



1972: KEG
2002: EKG



1972: Acid rock
2002: Acid reflux



1972: Moving to California because it's cool
2002: Moving to California because it's warm



1972: Growing pot
2002: Growing pot belly



1972: Trying to look like Marlon Brando or Liz Taylor
2002: Trying NOT to look like Marlon Brando or Liz Taylor



1972: Seeds and stems
2002: Roughage


1972: Killer weed
2002: Weed killer


1972: Hoping for a BMW
2002: Hoping for a BM


1972: The Grateful Dead
2002: Dr. Kevorkian


1972: Going to a new, hip joint
2002: Receiving a new hip joint



1972: Rolling Stones
2002: Kidney Stones



1972: Being called into the principal's office
2002: Calling the principal's office



1972: Screw the system
2002: Upgrade the system



1972: Disco
2002: Costco


1972: Parents begging you to get your hair cut
2002: Children begging you to get their heads shaved


1972: Passing the drivers' test
2002: Passing the vision test



1972: Whatever
2002: Depends



Just in case you weren't feeling too old today, this will certainly change things. Each year the staff at Beloit College in Wisconsin puts together a list to try to give the faculty a sense of the mindset of this year's incoming freshmen. Here's this year's list: The people who are starting college this fall across the nation were born in 1983. They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up. Their lifetime has always included AIDS. Bottle caps have always been screw off and plastic. The CD was introduced the year they were born. They have always had an answering machine. They have always had cable. They cannot fathom not having a remote control. Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show. Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave. They never took a swim and thought about Jaws. They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are. They don't know who Mork was or where he was from. They never heard: "Where's the
Beef?", "I'd walk a mile for a Camel", or "de plane Boss, de plane". They do not care who shot J. R. and have no idea who J. R. even is. McDonald's never came in Styrofoam containers. They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter. Do you feel old yet? Pass this on to the other old fogies in your life.

A lot of US references in there but it works.

Nostalgia sure ain't what it used to be

tman

i remember being shocked when enttrance to our local cinema went up to £1 from 50p
i'm not old or anything... our local cinema kicked serious ass.

the original post brought a smile to my face even though i'm a child of the eighties.
scary to think, it'll be legal to sleep with a child of the 90s in a couple of years time :eek:

Crucifix

I was born in '86 myself, but I fit in somewhere between the youth and the old crowd.

Lex_Diamonds

**** thread.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

you're OLD

segadreamcast

Sentimental tosh tbh - nice to an extent but... eh... rose-tinted glasses abound - e.g.:

We ate chips, bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy juice with
sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.

Uh huh - I forgot that fat people didn't exist pre-1980.

rymus

few nice bits & pieces there

Sauron

I was born after 1986... so apparently I'm doomed.... ah, nostalgia is good for a little while.. but then I just get tired of living in the past.. all the same, interesting article.

Sparky

i was born in 86 so im youth i suppose, but while the old saying by old people is "the young today have never had it so easy" a few older people that my family knows says different, saying we have never had it so hard.
A few examples they made were.
House prices
Insurance costs

funky penguin

DamoRed wrote:

We also, believe it or not, WALKED to school

Through 3 fields and in your bare feet no doubt. Geroutta that garden, old timer!

Steveire

I can't count the amount of times i've seen that first post. It makes me feel old just to try.

Newaglish

When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just flip-flops and fluorescent 'spokey dokey's' on our wheels. As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or airbags - riding in the passenger seat was a treat.

Erm, I've never worn a helmet on a bike. Woohoo for me!

We ate chips, bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy juice with
sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.

Okaaay, I don't really need to comment on THIS rubbish.

We shared one drink with four friends, from one bottle or can and no-one
actually died from this.

And us ultra-sterile young hippies don't?

We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then went
top speed down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into stinging nettles a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

No, actually, you didn't. Only 7 year old Americans in heartwarming family movies do this.

We did not have Play stations or X-Boxes, no video games at all. No
99 channels on TV, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no mobile
phones, no personal computers, no DVDs, no Internet chat rooms.

Your point?

We had friends - we went outside and found them.

I'm such a lonely, friendless 18 year old!

We played elastics and rounders, and sometimes that ball really hurt!

I don't know what "elastics" is, but I sure a heck have played rounders before! And the tennis racquet hurts even more.

We fell out of trees, got cut, and broke bones but there were no law suits.

So who makes the most law suits? 18 year old college students, or 30-something parents?

We played knock-a-door-run-away and were actually afraid of the owners catching us.

Been there, done that

They have never heard of We are the World, We are the children, and the Uptown Girl they know is by Westlife not Billy Joel. They have never heard of Rick Astley, Bananarama, Nena Cherry or Belinda Carlisle.

Well for a start, whoever wrote this has an atrocious taste in muzak. But I have heard of all these people.

For them, there has always been only one Germany and one Vietnam

We do history, you know.

CD's have existed since they were born.

All those tapes must have been a figment of my imagination!

Michael Jackson has always been white.

Now, this is where you're wrong. Apparently, he used to be black! Hope this doesn't come as a shock.

To them John Travolta has always been round in shape and they can't imagine how this fat guy could be a god of dance.

He was actually quite skinny in Grease & Saturday Night Fever.

They believe that Charlie's Angels and Mission Impossible are films from last year.

They were actually released a couple of years ago now.



OK, now I'm just getting tired of pointing out how ridiculous your post was!

I was born in 1986, and this whole anti "youth" thing that goes on really annoys me. Just because you're older, doesn't mean you're any smarter, wiser or better than your younger counterparts. I actually smiled and agreed with most of this post! Till the end of it, that is.

Sarky

We did not have Play stations or X-Boxes, no video games at all. No
99
channels on TV, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no mobile
phones, no
personal computers, no DVDs, no Internet chat rooms.

And it sucked ass.

Steven

Newaglish wrote:

this whole anti "youth" thing that goes on really annoys me

Paranoid whippersnappers

Sarky wrote:

And it sucked ass.

Sarky, truer words were never spoken.

nadir

We did not have Play stations or X-Boxes, no video games at all. No
99
channels on TV, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no mobile
phones, no
personal computers, no DVDs, no Internet chat rooms.

I was born in 1979, I had a bbc micro when I was 6 and I stayed inside all the time pissing around with it, and it rocked, and I was so happy I didnt have to do all the boaring crap you think is great.

rock on the l33t generation XD , it's evolution baby!

Tar.Aldarion

1986 for teh win tbh...do not be harsh i'm only young!

StupidLikeAFox

Clearly if your born in 1986 or later you do not realise that some stuff happened before that. I reckon the youth should set up a load of dodgy nursing homes, thatll teach the old to be so patronising and condescending!

Jim_Are_Great

DamoRed wrote:

We also, believe it or not, WALKED to school; we didn't rely on mummy or daddy to drive us to school, which was just round the corner.

Did EVERYONE at this time live around the corner from school?

Piste

I agreed with the original post, which is shocking since as I was born post-eighties....

Flukey

I did my Leaving Cert in 1986, so I can relate to all the stuff in that first post!:)