bexrbetter Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 WE WAS BRUNG UP PROPER ! CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL MY FRIENDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1940's, 50's, 60's and early 70's ! First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us and lived in houses made of asbestos... They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, raw egg products, loads of bacon and processed meat, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes or cervical cancer. Then after that trauma, our baby cots were covered with bright coloured lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets or shoes, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking. As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. Take away food was limited to fish and chips, no pizza shops, McDonalds , KFC, Subway or Nandos... Even though all the shops closed at 6.00pm and didn't open on a Sunday, somehow we didn't starve to death! We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. We could collect old drink bottles and cash them in at the corner store and buy Toffees, Gobstoppers, Bubble Gum and some bangers to blow up frogs with. We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soft drinks 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 we were O..K. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of old prams and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. We built tree houses and dens and played in river beds with matchbox cars. We did not have Playstations, Nintendo Wii , X-boxes, no video games at all, no 999 channels on SKY , no video/dvd films, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........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 Lawsuits from these accidents. Only girls had pierced ears! You could only buy Easter Eggs and Hot Cross Buns at Easter time... We were given air guns and catapults for our 10th birthdays, We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them! Mum didn't go to work to help dad make ends meet because we didn't need to keep up with the Jones's! Not everyone made the rugby/football/cricket/netball team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! Getting into the team was based on MERIT We can string sentences together and spell and have proper conversations because of a good, solid three R's education. Our parents would tell us to ask a stranger to help us cross the road. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! Our parents didn't invent stupid names for their kids like 'Kiora' and 'Blade' and 'Ridge' and 'Vanilla' . 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. 8 1 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Koreelah Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 There is hope, Bex. We recently had our house full of visitors from the city. Little kids had trikes to ride around, but quickly lost interest when they found the old laundry trolley. Folded down, it makes a great vehicle for tearing down the hill into the gully and up the other side. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guernsey Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Well done Bex, I was born in 1939 so I should just scrape in. Not only is your article very true, but I can relate to all of it. I will make multiple copies and include them inside my childrens and grandchildrens birthday cards. Thanks for the post. Alan. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bexrbetter Posted June 20, 2014 Author Share Posted June 20, 2014 I didn't write it but everything there applies to me and I must admit to even getting a little misty eyed remembering - some things really were good in the old days. I'm 53 but grew up in a Country town (Mornington) and travelled to Mooroopna often as kids. Some things I can include are the bank coming to our school each Monday and we deposited money into our bank books. Bottle of milk every morning at school. Coppers grabbing you by the scruff of the neck and telling you to "get home now" (occasional foot up the ass too). 5 cent mix of chips and potato cakes. .. and I think I miss ChooChoo bars the most! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
facthunter Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 Penny frozen oranges. Chuck them at the road to shatter them and eat the smaller pieces. Nev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza 38 Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 I am 44 and nearly all of the above relates to my childhood. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryon Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 At age 14, taking my semi auto 22, borrowing granddads shotty and going hunting for wallaby or underground mutton to have for dinner on Sunday We usually came back with a feed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Koreelah Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 I used to take the rifle and disappear into the rugged State Forest near our farm. Parents must have worried, but maybe had too much on their plate to show it. These days slightly overdue bush walkers rate a helicopter rescue and the full media blitz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thirsty Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 Sunnyboys and redskins paid for with empty bottles - sigh :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_d Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 I'm 42, the chips were 20 cents by the time I was old enough to pedal 5km to the local takeaway. (Must've been about 8). Mind you I couldn't eat them all, you got a fair whack for your coin. Fireworks freely available too... I experimented lots with angling rockets about 45 degrees before setting them off... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryon Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 I used to go to the local hardware store and buy a pound of sulphur and a pound of saltpetre We made our own gunpowder for marble guns that we had made 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmick Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 Corner shop, 8 Licorice Bullets for a penny, latter 2 battleships for a cent, cobbers were 1 cent each and ohh remember the lollie counter changed to crackers one month of the year. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bexrbetter Posted June 23, 2014 Author Share Posted June 23, 2014 I used to go to the local hardware store and buy a pound of sulphur and a pound of saltpetreWe made our own gunpowder for marble guns that we had made Fireworks freely available too... I experimented lots with angling rockets about 45 degrees before setting them off... At least 10 years ago anyway it was still legal to go to a gunshop and buy black powder and fuse for your pre-1900 black powder historic cannon! I used to get some masking tape and make little crackers with a teaspoon of powder (wrap heaps of masking tape around the powder and fuse into a ball). Of course in China you can buy fireworks everywhere - and man do I mean fireworks, plenty of stuff that would kill a group of people and crackers that would blow your hand clean off - I have some in the house somewhere, grab a shot later. when I get home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_d Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 I used to get some masking tape and make little crackers with a teaspoon of powder (wrap heaps of masking tape around the powder and fuse into a ball). For a more interesting experience, leave the teaspoon in... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza 38 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 It was only in the late eighties that I used to store my SKK semi auto rifle and pump action shot gun behind the seats in my Toyota Hilux ute. Try doing that these days . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryc Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 A mate of mine an l were talking the other day and he was telling me he and his three brothers age 6 to 12 would catch the train to the country to go rabbiting with their guns under their arms. This was a weekly trip. Try that today. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_d Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 A mate of mine an l were talking the other day and he was telling me he and his three brothers age 6 to 12 would catch the train to the country to go rabbiting with their guns under their arms. This was a weekly trip. Try that today. And they don't even have the train up to the country any more! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikky Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Sigh... Aah, the way it was. Wait a moment - for some of us on this planet, it's the way it is! I can go to the corner shop, buy some cold beers, eye off the range of fireworks (read artillery shells) and go sit in the local park and watch the world go by. The kids here rocket downhill on their bikes at what seems to be twice the speed limit WITHOUT helmets. They fly kites and stage epic battles trying to bring each other down. Motorcyclists have what look to be two aerials on the handlebars. Closer inspection reveals the aerials actually have hooks fitted on the top. This is related to the kite flying activities. Designed to stop kite lines from inflicting horrible neck injuries. It's common to see folks with a horse/mule and cart removing rubbish and recyclables from around the neighbourhood. Rubbish skips are plonked unceremoniously in the street presenting a traffic hazard to the unwary. I recently saw a motorised skateboard with oversized wheels dodging through the heavy traffic which consists mostly of buses and motorbikes. Every neighbourhood has an abundance of small butecos (bars) with tables and chairs on the footpath, some of which are actually licensed! The footpaths are an adventure - forget smooth and navigable. The streets are the same. Potholes are accepted as a natural part of life. If you happen to come to grief, well ... you should have been more careful! You have no chance of suing anyone fo your own lack of care. I love it! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikky Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 I should add - Belo Horizonte and surrounding "bairros" has a population of 5.15 million inhabitants. No small town! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmccarthy Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 I was in Jaipur for the kite festival this year. Two people died from having their throats cut by kite strings while on the front of motorcycles ( with mum and dad behind). Several others died falling of roofs while launching their kites. I hadn't heard of the handlebar hooks but it is a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikky Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Handlebar hooks are essential! They fold forward on impact so they don't present much risk of injury in a crash. Many kite flyers here use abrasive impregnated lines to cut the lines of other kites. Of course, this is very illegal and if caught, they cop a big fine. The battles are great to watch and I'm amazed at the control hey have over the kites with a single line. The power lines in every street are festooned with lines and broken kites. I love this crazy, chaotic country and the friendly people despite the dangers and disorganization. I can't imagine ever returning to Australia! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bexrbetter Posted June 24, 2014 Author Share Posted June 24, 2014 I should add - Belo Horizonte and surrounding "bairros" has a population of 5.15 million inhabitants.No small town! Phhht, only 5 million? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
planedriver Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 For ninepence I used to buy a pint of hemp seed from the corn merchants which we used as fishing bait. These days you'd get locked up as they'd claim you had a commercial quantity of seeds to cultivate marijuana with it. We used to also make our own bangers for Guy Fawks (firework) night using a Swan Vesta match with Jetex fuse down the side, rolled in paper and fill the back end with flash powder from the chemist or photography shop. Armed with some of these, we'd ride around on our bikes, strike the match head and throw them quickly, because it only took about 4 or 5 seconds for the fuse to burn down the side of the match before they exploded with a blinding white flash. As the son of a police sergeant, I naturally used them responsibly:tongue in cheek: (most of the time). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmccarthy Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 A Sparklets bulb full of flash powder with a Yellow Sump fuse used to make a big hole in the neighbour's lawn. A .303 bullet casing (with the lead melted out) on the end of a dowel bolt would go through a corrugated iron fence when fired from a crossbow which had the leaf of a car spring as a bow. All good clean fun in those days. And what about tobogganing in an old car bonnet towed behind a car. Then at school, in Cadets, we had almost unlimited live ammo for firing Bren guns on range day. I reckon Australian kids today don't know they are alive. You have to go to India or China or PNG or places like that to see life being lived to the full from an early age. What many call poverty now is only the conditions we lived in as kids anyway, because material goods were in short supply. We certainly made fun, but would not be allowed to do it today. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ayavner Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Do you realise it is just as close to 2048 as it is to 1985? the thought makes me run cold... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now