CHAT WE ARE A GENERATION THAT WILL NEVER COME BACK

[Texican]

Quora
Posted by:
Hemantha Amila

WE ARE A GENERATION THAT WILL NEVER COME BACK.

A generation that walked to school and then walked back.

A generation that did their homework alone to get out asap to play in the street.

A generation that spent all their free time in the streets with their Friends.

A generation that played hide and seek when dark.

A generation that made mud cakes.

A generation that collected sports cards.

A generation that found, collected and washed & Returned empty coke bottles to the local grocery store for 5 cents each , then bought a Mountain Dew and candy bar with the money.

A generation that made paper toys with their bare hands.

A generation who bought vinyl albums to play on record players.

A generation that collected photos and albums of clippings of their life experiences as a Kid.

A generation that played board games and cards on rainy days.

A generation whose TV went off at midnight after playing the National Anthem.

A generation that had parents who were there.

A generation that laughed under the covers in bed so parents didn't know we were still awake.

A generation that is passing and unfortunately it will never return no matter how hard we try.

I loved Growing up when I did. It was the best of times.

Post others that you may have done or seen done.

Long hair, bushy sideburns, short skirts, mini skirts, bikinis and bell bottom pants.

Walking down the center of the high school hallways.

Partying at the lake.

Friday night high school football.

Roller skating.

Texican....

 

[forpetesake]

We used to stay out all day and came home when the street lights came on. No way would I let my kids do that now!

 

[dawgofwar10]

Best time of my life, as I tell new parents, when we were punished we had to stay inside. It was a death sentence for us kids, now you have to force your kid outside with no phone for punishment. Yep, what a great time to be a kid. And the street light rule, that was after dinner at 5:00 p.m., and if you were real lucky you got to stay out for another hour after the street lights came on to play kick the can after begging and pleading with your parents.

 

[West]

For me after recycling a few 16 ounce empty soda bottles and a sack full of cans, it was ASTRO Pops and Pepsi! Then the latest Rock or alike LP.

I recall getting A Queen LP. It was 1980 something.

Another One Bites the Dust - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Told all my friends that some day this song will be a vary popular song. Most said no way.

Also Rush, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, and many more.

Many kegs of beer and bomb fires in the woods in the early and mid 80s!

Also we had dance halls! Yes in the 80s in N.Calif we had a under 21 dance hall. They did sell refreshments but no alcohol. It was BYOB and only drink it outside while smoking herbs. Just like at the local roller skating ring.

I could skate much better than dance! Also the concerts all rocked! Best of times!

And we also still had drive-ins! Another BYOB and herbs attraction

 

[Sage Brushfilly]

Going to the movies every Saturday.

 

[Cohickman]

Night swimming!
BMX bikes
Playing ARMY with WW2 surplus equipment
Boy Scouts, with actual hikes and camping deep in the mountains

 

[oops]

Thx b we live where we do...the boys grew up the same way I did...lumps...bumps n bruises...warts n all...outside til well after dark...up n out the door as soon as breakfast was gulped down...n their imagination in full...chaos mode...n they learned their multiplication tables from my form of holdin my temper...n to do whatever works to deal with kids since every kid is different...lol

 

[Warthog]

A generation who bought vinyl albums to play on record players. (Vinyl has made a huge come back!)

 

[PrairieMoon]

How did you get a hold of my high school annual!!!


Shopping for clothes at Good Will ... which was ok cuz everyone else did too! Or homemade clothes.
Checking the trap line with my older brother.
Playing in the pasture for hours with my dog, Vicki.
Swimming in the lake and river.
Camping by the river in the back of the pickup. (that was vacation)
Yes....Friday night football! I was a cheerleader!
Cruisin' around town, drinking with friends!
Discovering music on the antique radio.
Three TV channels on black and white!

 

[Wildwood]

Quora
Posted by:
Hemantha Amila

WE ARE A GENERATION THAT WILL NEVER COME BACK.

A generation that walked to school and then walked back.

A generation that did their homework alone to get out asap to play in the street.

A generation that spent all their free time in the streets with their Friends.

A generation that played hide and seek when dark.

A generation that made mud cakes.

A generation that collected sports cards.

A generation that found, collected and washed & Returned empty coke bottles to the local grocery store for 5 cents each , then bought a Mountain Dew and candy bar with the money.

A generation that made paper toys with their bare hands.

A generation who bought vinyl albums to play on record players.

A generation that collected photos and albums of clippings of their life experiences as a Kid.

A generation that played board games and cards on rainy days.

A generation whose TV went off at midnight after playing the National Anthem.

A generation that had parents who were there.

A generation that laughed under the covers in bed so parents didn't know we were still awake.

A generation that is passing and unfortunately it will never return no matter how hard we try.

I loved Growing up when I did. It was the best of times.

Post others that you may have done or seen done.

Long hair, bushy sideburns, short skirts, mini skirts, bikinis and bell bottom pants.

Walking down the center of the high school hallways.

Partying at the lake.

Friday night high school football.

Roller skating.

Texican....

It was the very best of times...to be a teenager in the 70's. I turned 15 in 1972, met DH and for the next five years we had more fun than it was legal to have. We went to all the good concerts, congregated with our friends several nights a week and still managed college. It didn't hurt that my parents adored him and would let me go anywhere as long as I was with him.

At about 20 we realized we were actually adults and were more than ready to settle down. 23 saw us living the American dream with our first little house and our first baby. DH had a fantastic job with Xerox and I stayed home and had another baby one year later. I sure wish my kids had those same opportunities.

 

[Papacub]

Schwinn Stingray
Sneaking 4 extra people, in the trunk of a '58 Chevy, into the local drive-in
Spending the weekend at the local lake, with my 3 brothers and friends
Ski-ing in the overflowing ditches being pulled behind a Cushman
Putting nickels on the railroad tracks in front of the house, and having to search for them after the train flattened them
Walking to and from school (3 blocks) in all weather (north Texas)
Sock Hops after the football games
Buying clothes and rations and things at the local Army-Navy Surplus Store

 

[Dennis Olson]

My friends and I used to climb fruit trees and pick and eat fruit while sitting in the branches. Or climbed way up high in trees in general and watched the clouds drift by.

We used to launch our kites, then lay on a grassy embankment watching them drift around in the breeze.

When older, my buds and I would drive to the Oregon coast and rent a crab ring and bait for $5. We’d toss the ring off the dock when the tide was coming in, wait about a half hour, and have a ring full of big Dungeness crabs. There was a big steel pot on shore filled with seawater. We tossed them in, fired up the pot, and in 30 minutes had fresh hot crabs. For a $5 ring rental and the cost of about 8 gallons of gas.

I used to ride my minibike (with a pull start B&S motor) on the back streets up to the library to check out new books to read.

Summers were endless. There was no hatred, no rioting, and you were safe in your neighborhood.

 

[Blacknarwhal]

Gen X had plenty of that too.

A lot of us didn't play in the streets, though. We were country boys and girls. We had the woods, or a big backyard.

Partied out in the old barn. Lot of the kids I knew drank like fish, and every one of us under 18. Had one kid--he was one of the local stoners--invite me to a party. My mom was picking me up that day; she worked in the cafeteria, so it was pretty convenient. Anyway, he invites me over, and my mom is not 30 feet away. She can hear the whole thing. Guy tells me that the party is going to have 15 kegs. I, of course, am baffled by this. How do high school kids--never the richest sort to begin with--get that much clearly illegal substance. His response? "People contribute." Anyway, I'm not dumb enough to agree to go to a keg party with my mother in earshot, so I turn him down.

Anyway. We went out on the weekends. We bowled, we played mini golf. We hit arcades. There were such things back then. We also had video rental stores. Spent most of high school working in one on Tuesday nights and at least one weekend day. We went to malls; malls used to have lots of great stores. Clothes, of course, but we also had bookstores and arcades, and record stores. They got to CDs and DVDs in my day, but still. Now it's pretty much overpriced clothing and a few other things. Maybe you get a candle shop. Maybe there's a store that sells cheap import crap alongside its anime DVDs.

I can't imagine where the kids go any more. The internet closed most of those stores down long ago. Streaming killed the video store. Consoles killed arcades. Amazon killed bookstores. It's little wonder most of them don't want to drive. Where would they go? Work? There's a handful of physical retail stores even left to work in.

 

[desertvet2]

In retrospect...

IT. WAS. GRAND.

I was just musing today as I went about readying myself for the rigors of spring through summer duties and projects...

What. A. Wonderful. Life. I. Have. Lived.

I THANK YOU LORD.

 

[blueinterceptor]

A generation that talked to one person on the phone. Not dozens of people via an app.
A generation that knew their friends by name, and phone number by heart not by a nickname
every boy owned a baseball glove

we even drank from the same container.

 

[Coulter]

Don't forget Hula Hoops - with parents who couldn't do them.

Parents who used their arms as seat belts.

And music late 50's through 70's that was awesome.

Going to the skating rink was a blast.

We had a football - baseball - basketball game with the neighborhood kids just about every night.

Watching Leave it to Beaver and the Rifleman.

Zero diversity was great - and we knew we had a future - if we worked hard.

Paper routes.

It was a cool - right on - heavy - far out - time to be alive - in a great country.

Great schools.

 

[TxGal]

Laying in the grass as kids in the early-mid 1960s, watching the clouds and planes go by (no fire ants in Virginia!).
Roller skating on the sidewalks, we all had our skate keys on a string around our necks. Riding bikes in the street.
Playing in the woods, catching crayfish, frogs, and finding turtles (we left them all where we found them).
Playing softball and badminton in backyards.
Picking wild blackberries in fields near the woods (and getting poison ivy every single summer; I still do).
Being outside doing something every single day, coming in to eat dinner and going right back out until dark.
Shining flashlights in the night sky to attract bats.
Making popsicle stick rafts and letting them float down the street curbs after a rainstorm.
Waiting for the popsicle man every day around 5pm. A popsicle was a nickle, fudgesicle was a dime, and a chocolate eclair bar was 15 cents. The popsicle was a twin pop, so we'd usually snap it in half and share it with a friend....that was a lot of money back then, especially for big families.

Simpler times...and as far as we knew safer times. That began to change in the early '70s when I was in high school, sadly.

 

[Anti-Liberal]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5_rwkCGKN4


Midway hawkers calling, "Try your luck with me"
Merry-go-round wheezing the same old melody
A thousand ten-cent wonders who could ask for more
A pocketful of silver, the key to heaven's door
Lakeside Park, willows in the breeze
Lakeside Park, so many memories
Laughing rides, midway lights
Shining stars on summer nights
Days of barefoot freedom, racing with the waves
Nights of starlit secrets, crackling driftwood flames
Drinking by the lighthouse, smoking on the pier
Still we saw the magic was fading every year
Lakeside Park, willows in the breeze
Lakeside Park, so many memories
Laughing rides, midway lights
Shining stars on summer nights
Everyone would gather on the 24th of May
Sitting in the sand to watch the fireworks display
Dancing fires on the beach, singing songs together
Though it's just a memory, some memories last forever

 

[Sammy55]

The kids in my neighborhood spanned a couple of miles up and down our road. We did different things at each family's house.

At our house, we played baseball in the field, tree tag in the big bombadillion trees, rode on dirt bikes.
At other neighbors' places, we jumped on the trampoline, rode horses, climbed up and played in the tree house, make forts in the woods, played with the farm animals.
We walked through the back fields and woods to the different neighbors' places.
We rode bikes around the block, which was about 4 miles square.
We swam in the river, including swinging out on a rope and dropping in.
We rode bikes to grandma's house and went swimming, even swimming across the lake or to "turtle island."
We went fishing in grandma's rowboats or went exploring the islands around the other corner of the lake.
We took our allowance and spending money and rode to the neighbor stores and bought penny candy and sodas.

We did so much back then.....outside all the time.......and without adult supervision most of the time.
Now I'd be afraid for my grandkids to do some of these things.

When I compare the granduation pictures of me and my classmates, we all look so adult.
When I look at the pictures of graduates now, they look so much younger.
They don't have the depth of experience that I and my classmates had back then. I wonder if that has stunted their all-around growth.

It makes me sad that these kids growing up now live in a world of fear instead of a world of empowerment.

 

[223shootersc]

Rode a bike without a helmet
Used a payphone
Wore metal spikes and cleats for baseball and football
Carried a rifle in my car to school to shoot rabbits after school with friends

 

[2dollarbill]

Quora
Posted by:
Hemantha Amila

WE ARE A GENERATION THAT WILL NEVER COME BACK.

A generation that walked to school and then walked back.

A generation that did their homework alone to get out asap to play in the street.

A generation that spent all their free time in the streets with their Friends.

A generation that played hide and seek when dark.

A generation that made mud cakes.

A generation that collected sports cards.

A generation that found, collected and washed & Returned empty coke bottles to the local grocery store for 5 cents each , then bought a Mountain Dew and candy bar with the money.

A generation that made paper toys with their bare hands.

A generation who bought vinyl albums to play on record players.

A generation that collected photos and albums of clippings of their life experiences as a Kid.

A generation that played board games and cards on rainy days.

A generation whose TV went off at midnight after playing the National Anthem.

A generation that had parents who were there.

A generation that laughed under the covers in bed so parents didn't know we were still awake.

A generation that is passing and unfortunately it will never return no matter how hard we try.

I loved Growing up when I did. It was the best of times.

Post others that you may have done or seen done.

Long hair, bushy sideburns, short skirts, mini skirts, bikinis and bell bottom pants.

Walking down the center of the high school hallways.

Partying at the lake.

Friday night high school football.

Roller skating.

Texican....

Ahh Yes, those were the days. Senior skip day. Thanksgiving break, Christmas break, Easter break, Memorial day and then schools out for summer.

2db

 

[Yogizorch]

Going to the movies every Saturday.

For a quarter with a coupon from the strip mall.
One local grocery store had a tv room for the kids where I remember watching old Robin Hood movies and the Cisco Kid.

 

[Czechsix]

High school rifle teams, and kids that kept rifles on racks in their trucks.
Riding dirt bikes to school, through canyons. I had a Kawasaki 250.
BB gun wars, and you better not put more than one pump on. (everyone ignored that rule)
High School metal shop, and one of the main rules was "no weapons made". So we made pry bars. That looked..uh, kinda like swords. And the teacher looked at them, and just shook his head. (yeah, got an "A" out of that project).
Listening to Dr. Demento on the portable radio while I was supposed to be asleep.
Riding dirt bikes into Mexico, across the border from California, no one cared.

 

[Ractivist]

life was simple, yet full. So many mamories we share, I mean memories... hide n seek, all the ball games based on the seasons, the local kids in the hood..no neighborhood....pre hood days. Mothers home, fathers coming home after work. Model Rockets and all the hobby stuff was in my childhood....then cars and girl friends.... oh those were the days.

 

[Dennis Olson]

Those Were the Days - Mary Hopkins

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3KEhWTnWvE


Class of 57 - The Statler Brothers

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0wph20OQTM

 

[Pinecone]

There was no better time to grow up. Period. And we still have the best music!

 

[sleepyeddie]

I remember sleeping out in the front yard in sleeping bags with my brother and friends in the 70`s.

 

[dash8200]

Quora
Posted by:
Hemantha Amila

WE ARE A GENERATION THAT WILL NEVER COME BACK.

A generation that walked to school and then walked back.

A generation that did their homework alone to get out asap to play in the street.

A generation that spent all their free time in the streets with their Friends.

A generation that played hide and seek when dark.

A generation that made mud cakes.

A generation that collected sports cards.

A generation that found, collected and washed & Returned empty coke bottles to the local grocery store for 5 cents each , then bought a Mountain Dew and candy bar with the money.

A generation that made paper toys with their bare hands.

A generation who bought vinyl albums to play on record players.

A generation that collected photos and albums of clippings of their life experiences as a Kid.

A generation that played board games and cards on rainy days.

A generation whose TV went off at midnight after playing the National Anthem.

A generation that had parents who were there.

A generation that laughed under the covers in bed so parents didn't know we were still awake.

A generation that is passing and unfortunately it will never return no matter how hard we try.

I loved Growing up when I did. It was the best of times.

Post others that you may have done or seen done.

Long hair, bushy sideburns, short skirts, mini skirts, bikinis and bell bottom pants.

Walking down the center of the high school hallways.

Partying at the lake.

Friday night high school football.

Roller skating.

Texican....

Ain’t this the truth!

 

[von Koehler]

We used to stay out all day and came home when the street lights came on. No way would I let my kids do that now!

My mother would feed us breakfast and the rest of the day we had fun. There was a town park with a basketball court with a all day running game. Guys would come in and out.

In this small town crime was basically unheard of.

 

[Double_A]

For me after recycling a few 16 ounce empty soda bottles and a sack full of cans, it was ASTRO Pops and Pepsi! Then the latest Rock or alike LP.

I recall getting A Queen LP. It was 1980 something.

Another One Bites the Dust - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Told all my friends that some day this song will be a vary popular song. Most said no way.

Also Rush, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, and many more.

Many kegs of beer and bomb fires in the woods in the early and mid 80s!

Also we had dance halls! Yes in the 80s in N.Calif we had a under 21 dance hall. They did sell refreshments but no alcohol. It was BYOB and only drink it outside while smoking herbs. Just like at the local roller skating ring.

I could skate much better than dance! Also the concerts all rocked! Best of times!

And we also still had drive-ins! Another BYOB and herbs attraction

When I got married (1st time) I left my parents house to drive to the church. Started the car up, the volume was cranked up and they were play THAT song. Another one bites the dust, I laughed how appropriate

 

[Milkweed Host]

I guess that I'm the only farmer in this group???

I started working for neighboring farmers at the age of twelve.
In the summer, drive the tractor on the baler and everything else connected to
baling hay. Cleaned out many cow/calf/big pens with fork and shovel.
Raking hay with a 8N Ford tractor was the best.

Pedaled my bike to a creek nearby for fishing, that was fun.

There were nine kids in our family so we had enough for lots of games.

We never missed the county fair and connect with classmates.

I brought my .22 Hi-Standard pistol to school and showed it to my shop teacher.
He looked at it and told me to put it back in my locker.

Did my share of drag racing, but never got caught. In town, we'd trade vehicles, motorcycles
mopeds and play cat and mouse around town. Probably drove everyone crazy.

I also had a go cart with a V-8 engine
and drove my JP judge neighbor crazy. I noticed after a while there was routine MN Highway
patrol on the gravel road next to our house. (wonder what that was about?)

In my high school days, after school I'd walk around to the many ponds in the area and shoot ducks.

Back then fighting in school was no big deal. I remember in the 8th grade in a noon recess softball game,
I was up to bat and the pitcher threw two balls that hit me. So, I went out and punched the pitcher
twice in the face. Pissed off the Nun. I could go on with school fights, but no big deal back then.

Never did get a hunting license, ever, purchased a fishing license like when I was 30 or so on a fishing
trip up to Northern MN.

Anyway, most of my childhood will filled with hard work.

 

[Teeja]

Listening to WLS music radio (Chicago) with John Records Landecker and "Animal Stories" with Larry Lujack and Li'l Tommy.

 

[Blacknarwhal]

Listening to WLS music radio (Chicago) with John Records Landecker and "Animal Stories" with Larry Lujack and Li'l Tommy.

WLS? Home of the National Barn Dance? Give me a toot on the tooter, Tommy?

 

[Texican]

When I was a young teenager, the family was in Arkansas camping and fishing on a clear water river for catfish and carp which you could see lazing about in the river.

This truck load of teenage boys came sliding in next to the bluff with hay straw blowing out of the truck and off them. They all jumped out and dove off the cliff into the river and waves of dirt and hay straw washed over the the river.

Talk about messing up fishing for a while.

Texican....

 

[Double_A]

I guess that I'm the only farmer in this group???

I started working for neighboring farmers at the age of twelve.
In the summer, drive the tractor on the baler and everything else connected to
baling hay. Cleaned out many cow/calf/big pens with fork and shovel.
Raking hay with a 8N Ford tractor was the best.

Pedaled my bike to a creek nearby for fishing, that was fun.

There were nine kids in our family so we had enough for lots of games.

We never missed the county fair and connect with classmates.

I brought my .22 Hi-Standard pistol to school and showed it to my shop teacher.
He looked at it and told me to put it back in my locker.

Did my share of drag racing, but never got caught. In town, we'd trade vehicles, motorcycles
mopeds and play cat and mouse around town. Probably drove everyone crazy.

I also had a go cart with a V-8 engine
and drove my JP judge neighbor crazy. I noticed after a while there was routine MN Highway
patrol on the gravel road next to our house. (wonder what that was about?)

In my high school days, after school I'd walk around to the many ponds in the area and shoot ducks.

Back then fighting in school was no big deal. I remember in the 8th grade in a noon recess softball game,
I was up to bat and the pitcher threw two balls that hit me. So, I went out and punched the pitcher
twice in the face. Pissed off the Nun. I could go on with school fights, but no big deal back then.

Never did get a hunting license, ever, purchased a fishing license like when I was 30 or so on a fishing
trip up to Northern MN.

Anyway, most of my childhood will filled with hard work.

When you mentioned Nun's everything became clear.

ETA: Back in my days these Catholic HS Guys had a rep' of the wildest and craziest.

 

[Dozdoats]

We had the best of it.....

 

[L.A.B.]

Age 15. Trips to the beach 10 miles away, in the back of a pick-up. We were dropped off at 06:30 walked around the horseshoe pier at Redondo Beach, braved the cold water by 08:00, no wetsuits, one towel, and a pair of Churchill swim fins for body surfing.

3-bucks would purchase 3-[squares] of: Coke-fries-burger 3x before we left that beach, and we’d have 3-cents change out of those $3.00.

We thought we were Entrepreneurs, when we found out older couples would throw quarters for us to retrieve underwater if we could, and we’d dive for them at the horseshoe pier.

By 18:00 hours, we catch our ride home.

I had two close sets of friends then. Two brothers from each from two different families. All the parents were like our own. You respected their rules under their supervision.

There was a certain carefree bubble in being young even in the early 70’s. I was a paperboy, so the headlines became a early adulthood reality check from 12 - 15.

The 60’s-70’s were so much fun as a young man. Junior high and high school dance, when I was terrified to do so.

Where’s that Dan Fogelberg song? I’m at work ATM, rain pattering on my windshield parked…. Going to go back in. Just recalling all those old memories…

This song by Dan Fogelberg is close to the script of this thread about reminiscing our collective youth. It’s about a couple that would have been a few years older than myself in that era. I can be a sucker for simple ballads, and piano, and remembering well…

Runtime about 5 minutes 28 seconds

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jwtkZ7oTv1o

No matter what happens in the future. Fond memories and reminiscing are just a few thoughts away.

It’s a great way to chill the spirit.

 

[marsh]

We stayed outside until Mom rang the bell for dinner. She had a hand bell, the neighbors had a mounted bell. I rode a bike to school and to the library. Lots of reading up the old maple tree.

 

[Elza]

Sneaking 4 extra people, in the trunk of a '58 Chevy, into the local drive-in

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tohv2XnbV_4

 

[Dennis Olson]

Ballads are my thing.