Kids these days will never know….

[Back Alley Gator]

Being told "Goddammit, boy. Rub some dirt on it and get back out there!"

 

[Nalt]

The elementary school I went to had the radiant heaters and a coal burning boiler to provide said heat. And believe it or not, instead of eating the crayons we would melt them on the heaters...

 

[Gator By Marriage]

In this "example," "C" MIGHT be a guy that "A" joined the Army with in 1985, went through OSUT together, both went to Fulda together, then lost touch with after "C" went to Ft Bliss in 1988, then ran into each other again in Afghanistan in 2008 when C was training Afghan Special Forces and A was doing the thing he does. For purposes of this "example," "A, B, and C" are friends to this day.

Here's another "example" that I've used before purely as an "example" of something kids today will never experience: "A, B, and C" building a pipe bomb and using the timer from the board game "Run Yourself Ragged" as the timer (putting metal contacts on the timer to close the circuit, in this "example," one would have 60 seconds to flee by bike) and blowing up a tree in a school yard. Allegedly, life in the 70's-80's was a fun time for kids... for example...
View attachment 51145

I know guy who may have done something similar with an old alarm clock. Allegedly.

 

[Gator By Marriage]

I remember that as well. I think it’s a mixture of the the chemicals themselves and whatever had happened to those clothes that made their owners feel the should probably use chemicals to cleanse them. It’s bad.

Same on ironing. My wife and I still do it and our boys know how to do it. As for music, I’ve done a decent job there. Almost anytime they’re in my car and I ask what they want to listen to, inevitably one of them will ask for Smashing Pumpkins. That’s a proud moment.

My son (now 21) went through a period in high school where he couldn't get enough of Steve Winwood; and not just the solo stuff, but Traffic and Blind Faith as well. He still loves the Little Feat "Waiting for Columbus" album.

 

[Gator By Marriage]

Yup... and broken bones (on the elementary school "steel death" playground/swings) and stitches were the norm... now as a parent, you get grilled by the ER Doc so he can try and determine if he needs to call PD for child abuse. I've never had a broken bone, but between the ages of 4-8 alone, I had 5 ER visits for stitches!

My sister had a bad habit of getting hurt to the point where she needed to go to the ER. Stitches, broken collar bone, broken ankle, etc. Every one of her injuries occurred while she was doing something she shouldn't have - riding her older sister's bike that was too big for her, skateboarding after being told to come home, etc. At one point, she was on a first name basis with several employees of the local ER. My mom used to often joke in later years that nowadays we would have gotten a visit from social services.

 

[Nalt]

My sister had a bad habit of getting hurt to the point where she needed to go to the ER. Stitches, broken collar bone, broken ankle, etc. Every one of her injuries occurred while she was doing something she shouldn't have - riding her older sister's bike that was too big for her, skateboarding after being told to come home, etc. At one point, she was on a first name basis with several employees of the local ER. My mom used to often joke in later years that nowadays we would have gotten a visit from social services.

When one of my daughters was in 4th grade she fell while climbing on the monkey bars at school and broke her arm. This was early-to-mid day when she fell. Even though she complained to the teacher that her arm hurt they never contacted Mrs. Nalt or anything. Just sent her home on the bus like nothing had happened. As far as I know they didn't even send her to the school nurse...smh...

 

[itsgr82bag8r]

Put a bandaid on it

Did you mean “rub some dirt on it”?

 

[soflagator]

My sister had a bad habit of getting hurt to the point where she needed to go to the ER. Stitches, broken collar bone, broken ankle, etc. Every one of her injuries occurred while she was doing something she shouldn't have - riding her older sister's bike that was too big for her, skateboarding after being told to come home, etc. At one point, she was on a first name basis with several employees of the local ER. My mom used to often joke in later years that nowadays we would have gotten a visit from social services.

My parents had a habit of hoping bad things would go away. Broke my arm skateboarding(very obviously broken) and they waited a full 24 before accepting it and taking me to the ER. Had appendicitis and it nearly burst before going in. Hyperextended my elbow and chipped the bones snowboarding and they were like, “lifts are still running let’s get another run in”. The looks on the nurses’ and doctors’ faces was always like “seriously guys?”

 

[AugustaGator]

Did you mean “rub some dirt on it”?

That too. But there was likely significant bleeding so, it warrants a bandaid after dousing with alcohol. Maybe even with some antibiotic ointment that was made in the 50s.

 

[Detroitgator]

The elementary school I went to had the radiant heaters and a coal burning boiler to provide said heat. And believe it or not, instead of eating the crayons we would melt them on the heaters...

Your potential exposure to the lead paint would explain a lot of things... a whollllllle lotta things....

 

[Gator By Marriage]

My parents had a habit of hoping bad things would go away. Broke my arm skateboarding(very obviously broken) and they waited a full 24 before accepting it and taking me to the ER. Had appendicitis and it nearly burst before going in. Hyperextended my elbow and chipped the bones snowboarding and they were like, “lifts are still running let’s get another run in”. The looks on the nurses’ and doctors’ faces was always like “seriously guys?”

Did they have a large insurance policy on you? It might explain things a bit.

My mom had been an RN, so she was always pretty on top of what was serious and what wasn’t.

 

[Detroitgator]

Put a bandaid on it

these were all 5+ stitch incidents, so legit.

On that note, and Pro-Tip #6987: and this is when I was 17 or 18, but if you go into the ER needing say 8 stitches, and the Doc says to you, "Because of that tissue, if I numb it up, it will swell, then when the swelling goes down, the stitches might loosen up/open, do you think you could tough it out?" AND there is a hot chick in her 20's standing right there next to him.... DO NOT, I say again, DO NOT TOUGHT IT OUT! It does NOT get you anything from said hot chick in her 20's!!!!

 

[TLB]

My parents had a habit of hoping bad things would go away. Broke my arm skateboarding(very obviously broken) and they waited a full 24 before accepting it and taking me to the ER. Had appendicitis and it nearly burst before going in. Hyperextended my elbow and chipped the bones snowboarding and they were like, “lifts are still running let’s get another run in”. The looks on the nurses’ and doctors’ faces was always like “seriously guys?”

Did they have a large insurance policy on you? It might explain things a bit.

I was going to ask if you were an only child, or the youngest. Sounds like they realized early on you might have been a mistake, and if an accident happens...well...

 

[soflagator]

Did they have a large insurance policy on you? It might explain things a bit.

My mom had been an RN, so she was always pretty on top of what was serious and what wasn’t.

No. Just a family of mules, specifically on my mom’s side. She actually had broken her pelvis a few years earlier skiing, and not only walked down the last 50 yards of the slope to the base but went a full week of work before going to the doctor. Needless to say, when I hurt my elbow she gave me her best Michael Keaton gif and told me to keep going. Lift tickets aren’t free and you can whine and moan in Florida. Kind of a mantra.

Ftr, I did go back up. And went back to the same kicker in the park, same trick and stuck the landing that time. I also wept later on as it was the most painful of the injuries I’ve sustained.

Forgot to mention puncturing my wrist about a half inch from the vein on a broken piece of china doll my sister had hidden under her bed. They reacted quickly then, but only took me to a neighbor who was once an RN to save a hospital visit. Again, lift tickets aren’t free.

 

[Treebeard]

That too. But there was likely significant bleeding so, it warrants a bandaid after dousing with alcohol. Maybe even with some antibiotic ointment that was made in the 50s.

Or... squeee-squeeeee!

 

[Back Alley Gator]

 

[CDGator]

 

[jeeping8r]

Like you’re going to teach her, or are planning to kick her out of the family?

Both depending upon her attitude, she's seeing a deputy maybe he can keep her in line

 

[jeeping8r]

Why?

She wants to learn

 

[TLB]

My oldest is a HS junior, and while above average on intellect I believe they represent the generation well enough. She has stated they used a cassette tape for something back in middle school, so that is hands on application. However, I doubt she can image what an 8-track is, and there's no way in hell she knows what a reel-to-reel would be.

She is aware of records, and that they preceded CDs. She's never really used a CD or a record, everything is streaming and/or digital downloads. She may even know of the old 45's, those smaller records, but maybe not. She would have no idea why it's called a 45, or that the standard records were 33, and there is no way in hell she can conceive of a 78.

She knows of AM and FM because it's standard on every car radio. But she doesn't know what AM and FM stands for, or what the difference is. And there's no way in hell she knows there were other bands that were used. I'm still so glad I held onto my grandfather's old Grundig, and maybe someday I'll show her all the various broadcast bands it picked up. The reel to reel is gone, but the turntable is still there. Radio used to work when I was a kid, but not any longer. Maybe we'll unscrew the back panel and I'll introduce her to vacuum tubes. No way in hell she will care as she puts her iPods back in and wanders off to do her own thing.