Kids these days will never know….

[gingerlover]

View attachment 51315

This times 1000.

 

[AlexDaGator]

A nice, hot shower under a full-flow shower head relaxing your sore muscles. Not possible since the Federal Energy Policy Act of 1992.

Gas cans that work. "Ventless" mandated by government since 2009 are useless.


Alex.

 

[Durty South Swamp]

real lightbulbs that produce light for a couple cents a piece. thanks a lot obama.

 

[Detroitgator]

The sweat dripping down your face as you race full tilt down the street on your big wheel and slide around the street corner at full speed slamming into a parked Ford LTD only to bounce up and get back into the race. No helmet, no gloves, no parents.

Only bad thing about a Big Wheel was the front wheel had a tendency to wear out from spinning/slippage too much... My dad used to "patch it up" with a full blown oxy/acetylene torch (not little propane jobber, but his full rig)

I've posted this before regarding Big Wheels, but it also fits here with how much things have changed... back then (in 70's as a little kid), I didn't know a single kid who at some point didn't want to be a soldier, police man, or fireman. When we would pretend to be firemen, we would pull the Big Wheel seat up (remember, it had two pegs with 3 positions) and insert one of the pegs through the end of the handle of a wagon, then put two of those plastic meshlike milk crates upside down in the wagon (fit perfectly) and inside one of the milk crates, we would coil up a garden hose. Someone would sit on top of the milk crates while I pedaled my ass around... this was our "hook and ladder" truck... yes, I was the dumb one, but it was MY hook and ladder truck!

 

[Detroitgator]

A nice, hot shower under a full-flow shower head relaxing your sore muscles. Not possible since the Federal Energy Policy Act of 1992.





Alex.

On this note, one can open the access panel and adjust ones water heater to a much, much hotter level... and when one finishes with that, one can take their shower head off and with a pair of needle nose pliers, RIP THAT LITTLE F'n FLOW RESTRICTOR THE F OUTTA THERE! Winning!

 

[Detroitgator]

real lightbulbs that produce light for a couple cents a piece. thanks a lot obama.

And, in Detroit, we used to get replacement bulbs FREE if you went to Detroit Edison and exchanged your burnt out one.

 

[Durty South Swamp]

I absolutely loved my big wheel as a little kid. I would get going as fast as possible, yank the hand brake, turn the wheel and do a crazy awesome slide around corners or into driveways.

when my son was 3 i started looking for one for him. had an unbelievably difficult time finding one but finally did online, for $185! they arent made anymore so buying one was like trying to buy an original NES. $$$.

I bookmarked it for his christmas list. Came back a month later to purchase and it was gone, never found another one ever again.
sad day in the durty household.

 

[Detroitgator]

And to this day, I think the vacuum tube testing machine at K-Mart was probably the coolest looking contraption ever.

 

[CDGator]

On this note, one can open the access panel and adjust ones water heater to a much, much hotter level... and when one finishes with that, one can take their shower head off and with a pair of needle nose pliers, RIP THAT LITTLE F'n FLOW RESTRICTOR THE F OUTTA THERE! Winning!

We removed that flow restrictor on our new water efficient shower heads. So much better.

 

[CDGator]

Lil Seedy was writing a paper the other night and his laptop died. He said oh well, I'll submit it after I charge the battery. I told him about when I was your age.... You could write a paper for hours and lose it and never get it back. Any little glitch and the paper is just gone!

 

[Altitude Gator]

Lol, you were a HORRIBLE mom...

A former boss of mine coached his sons in youth basketball. His oldest was about 10 and somehow broke his dominant hand. Not knowing the hand was broken the dad/coach kept his son in the game for a while. He felt horrible once they finally saw the X-rays... lol...

Did almost the exact same thing to my son in hockey. Father of the fuching year award that year!

 

[Altitude Gator]

My ten year old is fascinated by technology from when we were kids. Wants a Walkman and a vcr. Also knows how to use a rotary phone thanks to his grandparents

Makes me think of this commercial:

 

[BMF]

Still remember my home phone from back then, but none since.

On the phone number front, was it just a Michigan thing, or did anyone else here have the holdover phenomena of this: for phone numbers with the prefix of "565-XXXX" or "274-XXXX", people would say "Logan 5" and Crescent 4" whereby "56" is "L" and "O" above the numbers and "C" and "R" are "2" and "7". Detroit area also had a lot of "Belvedere" for the B and E numbers. You didn't make up the Logan, Crescent, Belvedere... they were fixed conventions, but didn't match up to any phonetic/pre-phonetic alphabet letters like "Baker/Bravo" or "Love/Lima"... (Charlie was Charlie both pre and post).

My parents still have the phone number we've always had (in my 52+ years)....

 

[B52G8rAC]

Lil Seedy was writing a paper the other night and his laptop died. He said oh well, I'll submit it after I charge the battery. I told him about when I was your age.... You could write a paper for hours and lose it and never get it back. Any little glitch and the paper is just gone!

So you had a dog?

 

[BMF]

I just spent the last half hour reading through this - hilarious! I'm 52, born 1970...so I can relate to most in here (there are a few geezers on here posting stuff I can't relate to - I'm looking at you Stephen..).

Here's a few:

Gainesville area code 904 - I grew up in Jax, same area code but it was a long distance call!! WTF?!? (my roommate would chap my ass and tell whoever was calling me from Jax that I'd call them back when he was just bs'ing on the phone, then I'd have to pay the long distance charge to call them back! - I think for a while the phone company would charge the caller and the callee/receiver a long distance charge).

The NFL pencils that they sold at school - had the team colors and team name (getting a Cowboys pencil was like finding gold).

Buying baseball and football cards at the convenience store - the gum in those packs sucked!

Putting a playing card (or Topps card) in your bike spokes to make the 'motorcycle' sound.

Schools had the early year/fall sale where they would sell pin-up posters of Farah Facett, Marie Osmond (Donnie for the girls), Dukes of Hazard, A-Team, NFL teams/QBs, etc.

All the sit-coms, watching Leave it to Beaver after school. I still yell "Schneider!" if I see someone with a huge key chain (with lots of keys on it), Sanford and Son, the Jeffersons, Archie Bunker, What's Happening, Kid Dyn-o-mite!, Gilligan's Island, Three's Company, Bosom Buddies, Brady Bunch, etc.

Listening to UF football and basketball on a transistor radio (Eugene "the Dunking Machine" McDowell).

Artificial turf on Florida Field (saw my first UF game vs. UK in 1979 and remember running around on the field after the game) - and the old Alligator Alley (I saw Kentucky kill us 102-48 in the 1978/79 season there).

The candy - chewing tobacco (shredded gun), the dip stick things (that you licked and dipped into flavored/colored powder sugar), now-and-laters, candy cigarettes, etc (I think they still make now-and-laters).

Cinnamon toothpicks.

Trying to wear as many MTV buttons as possible.

Several students who dressed (everyday) as either Prince or Pat Benatar.

Getting swats by the dean of boys.

 

[Back Alley Gator]

Same age...52...born in 70. I remember every one of the things you posted @BMF. Here are a few more UF centered things they won't ever know....

Gator Growl. Honest to god Gator fuching Growl. In the stadium. Laser lights. Headline comedians (Smothers Brothers notwithstanding).

Halloween Parties/Concerts at the Bandshell. I guarantee they wouldn't allow some of the crazy assed chit we saw.

Not having to 'badge in' everywhere....a simple key would get you into multiple dorms. (ex. Sledd/Fletcher)

Fuch you Scooter, for your 'folly', ushering in a damned badge that could only be used for stealing pizza from some unlucky undergrad's meal plan.

Oh...and the Rathskeller...and the Orange and Brew.

Dubs.

Central City and their Thursday night contests....

 

[Durty South Swamp]

Old fuchers

 

[NOLAGATOR]

Funny comedies

 

[NOLAGATOR]

The Halloween Ball
Pass her up
Gator Bait
Mr 2 Bits
The Banana
Alligator Alley
Cars without Seatbelts
Roll up windows

 

[NOLAGATOR]

Respect for elders
Respect for LEO
Politeness
Real Journalism