Wednesday, April 26, 2006

When I was a kid!!

If you are 30 or older you will think this is hilarious!!!!

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning . . . uphill BOTH ways . . . through year 'round blizzards. Carrying their younger siblings on their backs . . . to their one-room schoolhouse, where they maintained a Straight-A average, despite their full- time, after-school job at the local textile mill . . . where they worked for 35 cents an hour just to help keep their family from starving to death!

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!But now that I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia! And I hate to say it but you kids today you don't know how good you've got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!There was no email! We had to actually write somebody a letter . . . with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!There were no MP3's or Napsters! You wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the damn record store and shoplift it yourself! Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ'd usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! And talk of about hardships? You couldn't just download xxx! You had to steal it from your brother or bribe some homeless dude to buy you a copy of "Hustler" at the 7-11! Those were your options!

We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it! And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your bookie, a collections agent - you just didn't know!!!You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like "Space Invaders" and "Asteroids" and the graphics sucked ass! Your guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died!! Just like LIFE!

When you went to the movie theater there no such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! If a tall guy or some old broad with a hat sat in front of you and you couldn't see, you were just screwed! Sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only like 15 channels and there was no onscreen menu and no remote control! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel and there was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little brats!

And we didn't have microwaves, if we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove or go build a frigging fire. Imagine that! If we wanted popcorn, we had to use that stupid Jiffy Pop thing and shake it over the stove forever like an idiot. That's exactly what I'm talking about!You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled. You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980!!!!!

I had to post this, I thought it was funny & very true!! Take care everyone!! Love always, MM XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

22 Comments:

Blogger Zen Wizard said...

1st Comment!

Uh her, uh her....

4/26/2006 10:58 AM  
Blogger Zen Wizard said...

Speaking of porn; the "thrill of that victory" on the first comment "achievement" was rather short lived--sort of like watching Debbie Does Dallas for the fifteenth time.

Anyway, you are correct: Technology is a mixed blessing.

I can't even IMAGINE if I would have had access to the things teenagers have today when I was in high school! I won't say BETTER or WORSE, but it would have been way different...nowadays, I have heard of high school guys breaking up with their girlfriend because they won't "do anal." When I was in high school, you were lucky to feel her boob at the drive-in...

The cell phone thing is TRULY a mixed blessing: Think about it: Your boss can call you...ANY TIME HE WANTS!!! YAY!!! Whoopie ding dongs! You can talk to your boss at 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning, when you were dreaming about Cindy Margolis! (Whom I'm not sure would have had a "career" when I was in high school...)

You can spend $100 dollars to wine and dine someone you are interested in...only to have their cell phone go off in the middle of it, and it's their ex-boyfriend, who makes an impassioned plea that they should get back together for a "make-up session," and talks her into it, and guess what? You still have to pay the check and tip!

Yes, some technological things are a mixed blessing...I would say today's technology JUST BARELY comes out on the positive side of the balance sheet.

Anyway, GOOD TOPIC!!

4/26/2006 11:15 AM  
Blogger Rhymes With Snitch said...

And mirowaves!!!
If we wanted to heat up leftovers it took 30 minutes!
And I-pods!
Can you imagine trying carrying around your record collection?
NO Frigging Way!

You just took me back MM
Great Post!

4/26/2006 12:11 PM  
Blogger alan said...

Thank you, both for the grin and for a new post! You are such a bright spot in my life...

alan

4/26/2006 1:06 PM  
Blogger Tim said...

Very true post mm. Very true. But the cool part is that we get to enjoy all of the neat techno-toys right along with the kiddies!! I CAN"T IMAGINE LIFE WITHIUT THE INTERNET!!!

4/26/2006 2:26 PM  
Blogger Silver Eagle said...

1980's ... lol

Let's go back to being a kid of the 1960's ...

Cable TV? What was that? If you lived in a metropolitan city you might have ABC, CBS, NBC and maybe an independent station not affiliated with any network. Also growing up in Detroit, we had access to CKLW out of Windsor, Ontario, Canadian Broadcasting System. We had a whopping five tv channels, AND they all went off the air between 12 midnight and 2 am.

I-pods, MP3 players ... yeah right you wanted to listen to music while at the park or riding your bike, most likely a Schwinn, you had a battery-powered transistor radio that you used an ear plug with. FM Radio? WTF ... no you searched the AM radio dial for the station of choice. The cool thing about AM radio, depending on the weather, you might get to listen to a station a couple thousand miles away due to sky-waves or skip-waves.

Oh yeah ... definately between 8:00am and 12:00 noon Saturday was the only time you saw cartoons on television. No ESPN or Fox Sports Network, totally dependent upon the networks ... ABC, CBS and NBC or in my case add Canadian TV. Then there was also no CNN ... you had to wait for the news at 6pm and 11pm. Thank goodness we didn't have Wolfe Blitzer covering the Viet Nam war live from Saigon, Da Nang with live images from Tansonhut Air Base, or Bein Hoa, or Geraldo Rivera giving us live broadcast from the Ho Chi Minh Trial somewhere along the Vietnam and Cambodian border.

At the same time gas was less than 50 cents a gallon, the speed limit on most interstate freeways was 75mph, and in 1975 the minimum wage was $2.00 per hour, top major league baseball players were making $250,000.00 per year. You were charged admission to go to an autograph signing session, in fact you could go to a baseball game, get there an hour or two before game time, go down to the box seat area near the dugouts and get autographs from your favorite players and coaches.

You wanted to play with someone, you didn't call them on the phone you got off your ass and walked or rode your bike to their house and took your chances. You played football, sometimes tackle in the streets, and if you were lucky to live up north when it was a big snow storm you played hockey with your skates in the ice over streets. (if you didn't get caught you might even add a little water to the snow on the street for some really good ice). mmm...winter .. reminds me of a group getting together when the streets are snow covered, one person distracts the driver at a stop sign while the others slip behind the car, crouch down, grab the bumper, and hang on for a ride of your life.

LMAO ... "lucky to feel her boob at the drive-in" ... shades of first base, second base, third base and the big home run.

Oh records ... having to have the little adapter for your turn-table to play 45's with, and your turn-table had adjustable speeds ... of course before my time there were even 78's that were records cut on glass discs.

Ooohh ... that sweet Dodge Roadrunner with the 8-track player with four speakers ... then came quadrophonic stereo ... lol

4/26/2006 5:19 PM  
Blogger Silver Eagle said...

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!


First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't gettested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitch hiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And wewere O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride downthe hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cellphones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chatrooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no law suits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in usforever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn'thad to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, 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 are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good and while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

4/26/2006 5:26 PM  
Blogger Polyman2 said...

If I only knew then what I know now...

4/26/2006 6:00 PM  
Blogger Fleur de Bee said...

hahahahaha This is hysterical! I remember back in grade school that having a library card was the IN thing! Also so true on the movie theatre. I would HATE the 80's when everyone ratted their hair to the roof! Oh I am short and couldn't see much back then.

We have it so nice now. Wonder how my 3 year old will fare when her time comes in high school and such.

I have been a bit busy later but thinking of you today! Hope you are well. My cell is on the fritz and I am waiting on a new one in the mail I ordered to come tomorrow. I will call you on my new service when I get hooked up and transfered over. Wedding this weekend so next week sometime!

:)

xx-M.

4/27/2006 2:15 AM  
Blogger MarkD60 said...

I remember black and white tv, and only two channels that went off at midnight.
I remember when microwave ovens came out: Boil water in a paper cup! Amazing!
As far as downloading music though, I always recorded concerts and albums off the radio. I don't share the opinion that downloading music is illegal. I feel like I've been doing it forever. Since way before the internet.

4/27/2006 6:29 AM  
Blogger Cezi said...

I miss writting letters--the nice scented stationaries and the fun pens and the little hearts and the lipstick kissesLOL! so romantic;)

4/27/2006 2:41 PM  
Blogger Ciavarro said...

I'm actually only 21 so I have no idea what this is all about...

4/27/2006 3:07 PM  
Blogger Lori said...

HA HA MM that is hilarious. i still think no matter how great technology is, it will always be hard to be a kid.

4/27/2006 3:29 PM  
Blogger Silver Eagle said...

Wow ... Cezi ... I had almost forgotten about those letters, ... though I'll admit the ones I thought were special were written on plain notebook paper and the young lady used her perfume atomizer and sprayed the page with it, then drenched her lips in lipstick and planting a set of lips right under or on top of her signature.

You can write me one anytime Cezi ... :-)

4/28/2006 8:01 AM  
Blogger Lori said...

Hey girlie just stopping by to say hello

4/28/2006 10:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You had an Atari 2600?

I only had pong.

And only 3 TV channels. But I had to turn the dial on the converter which made the antenna on the roof turn so we could pick up the station.

And only a 1 number prefix for our phone number. Plus it was a party line. Which had a different meaning then. You shared the phone line with more than one house. If the phone rang two quick rings, it was for us. If it rang one long ring, it was for the neighbour. And if you wanted to use it, you had to pick it up to see if your neighbour was already using it.

Pop came in glass bottles or tin cans. You could buy just one cigarette at the store and smoke it in the theatre. And everybody accepted cheques.

4/29/2006 3:41 AM  
Blogger JLee said...

Hi MMl! yeah, my daughter's friend didn't know how to crank the window down in a car and they also asked me how does a "rotary phone" work? Boy, did I feel old!

4/29/2006 7:06 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I must point out, though, that the cartoons of yore kicked the crapp out of nowadays Saturday morning cartoons.
The Bugs Bunny and Tweety, Road Runner and Speedy Cartoon Show ruled!!!
God forbid you wanted to watch ANYTHING else when the president came on. You were the remote control, but had to remember to call "chair backs" otherwise you lose your seat...

4/29/2006 7:42 PM  
Blogger Mary Alice said...

Hey MM. I’m sorry that I have not responded sooner, but my parents were in Hawaii and I had to take care of my brother’s, the dog, clean the house, study etc. Oh and this ass hit me, which sucks! I’m so pissed that I’m not going to be able to surf this year! Anyways, I have to say that I agree with you. However, I think that it’s inevitable for the previous generations to feel this way. Technology really has revolutionized our lives and technology will keep progressing. I’ll send you that stuff again on Wednesday, since you didn’t get it. I think you will like the pictures. They really are a feat and exhibit the potential of the human body.

Take care

MA

4/29/2006 9:17 PM  
Blogger Mary Alice said...

Hey MM. Check your myspace email thing. It’s really important that you read that email.

4/29/2006 9:51 PM  
Blogger Silver Eagle said...

How about when "HBO" first came out ... you had a small dish that looked like a big mixing bowl that had to be pointed right at the HBO antenna?

Junior and Senior High School dances in the gymnasium .. all the girls stood on one side the gym and all the guys stood on the other talking and no one ventured out into the middle to dance. It generally took the guy and gal who were the geeks to get things rolling by dancing. There was none of this girl-girl dancing together so prevalent today.

Speaking of geeks, in school there were generally three groups, Jocks (sports players and cheerleaders), Freaks (uhm ... how do you describe them ... young radicals?), and the Geeks (or Nerds ... the bookworm types with the pocket protectors in the shirts and the only ones who knew how to work a slide rule.)

Oh .. yeah .. a slide rule ... no calculator or laptop ... and of course there were two types of slide rules ... the long narrow ones like a rule or the circular kind.

And every day of the school year, bright and early at 8:00 am, EVERYONE stood up in class, placed their right hand over their heart, and recited the Pledge of Allegiance. At the beginning of all school sporting events the marching or concert bands were there to play the Star Spangled Banner, everyone stood, took their hats off, and sang along. AND nobody talked or goofed off during either one.

Even though during the school day, Monday through Friday, the Jocks, Freaks and Geeks, rarely spoke or acknowledged each other, when it came to a school sporting event, they put their differences aside and supported their "school" team.

There was no federally mandated testing as required today by the "No Child Gets Left Behind" .. you had a choice ... study, do your work, and get a passing grade, or screw off and get held back a year.

Political "correctness" my ass ... politicians actually stood for something. If the "truth" hurt, gee there must be a reason .. most likely because you were wrong or just couldn't make the grade .. trying out for little league didn't mean you made the team, and even if you made the team, didn't mean you played.

Damn we've become soft in the last 30 years ... lol

4/30/2006 7:48 AM  
Blogger Tim said...

Hey MM: How you doin', kiddo? Hope you're feeling & doing all right.
Take care

4/30/2006 10:53 AM  

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