I had the pleasure of growing up in the 70's and 80's. A time dear reader when we rode bicycles without helmets and lived to tell the tale. A time when a there was lead everywhere. Toys that where not made in China had lead in them, We grew up in lead painted cribs and we regularly snacked on peeling flakes of lead paint . Oh the memories..sigh....
The 70's was also a time when kids played outside. Now kids don't leave their homes for fear that a strolling band o' pedophiles snatches them up and uses them as a prop in a bizarre satanic ritual. When we played outside we never thought of using sunscreen - what the hell was that? Now parents are slathering their brood in SPF 600 and reapplying every 15 minutes for fear their children get assaulted by UV rays. And what are UV rays anyway? They sure were not around in the 70's
Children today stay tucked away in doors surfing the internet. Where it is much safer ......
And don't get me started on pesticides - hell we had stuff that would cause birth defects in every creature on the food chain and no one thought anything of it, but by golly it would clean your house and kill the weeds in your garden.
What changed? When did the overly protective parents find the time to get organized, between driving their kids to school,piano practice , soccer practice and organizing a bottle drive for the amazon rain forest.
I'm thinking if we don't come to our collective senses quickly, we'll all be living in hermetically sealed bubbles and living on a diet of processed food - because we all know that man made food is safer then anything nature ever could have come up with.
10 comments:
Awesome post. Brought back so many memories. I remember the bug spray truck that roamed around our neighborhood. We'd chase that thing everywhere, getting sprayed with the most foul smelling chemicals in the world.
And here you are now - the very picture of health I am sure... No parasites or crabgrass here
People are such pansies...Fat ones at that!
I remember myself picking loose paint off the windowsills in my parents house as a kid. I didn't actively consume it, but somehow I think my potential for lead ingestion may say a lot about my thought processes now.
PS- Kids of the future will be wrapped in designer bubblewrap suits-- not breathable really, but will make them nice and safe... and bouncy :)
fat people in designer bubblewrap suits - that is good for a few lol's
It is all based on the attitude of "I take no responsibility for my actions as they are all someone else's fault"
Eat lead paint? Dad would slap you around and tell you that "because of that, I'll have to repaint!"
Get hit by a car? Dad would slap you around and ask "What the hell were you doing in the street!?"
Slip and fall in the store? Dad would slap you around for not watching what you were doing and "LOOK! You're embarrassing me!"
Child molester in the neighborhood? No problem. Dad would beat the crap out of him,kick him in the balls, and the neighbors would be waiting for their turn. True justice. And you never needed a psychiatrist.
Yeah, so true. My kids are constantly announcing to me "I'm bored". As if I should jump up and plan a terrific afternoon dedicated just to their happiness and interest. Uggh. My parents rarely knew where I was until dinner time...just that I was out in the neighborhood somewhere. My kids barely even know our neighborhood and you certainly can't explore it much...it's riddled with fences around every property.
I was decorating a new aquarium in the 70's when I got the bright idea of pulling the wheels off of a Hot Wheels® car, knocking out the windows and crushing the hood so that it looked like I had a rusting hulk down there.
Turns out that Hot Wheels® cars back then had lead paint. Killed all my fish!
Absolutely Dave,
And to add to Dana's message:
We used to play in the 'creek' that flowed next to the other homes around the dead end street we lived on. No matter that it was just up the road from a chemical plant, and they hadn't quite perfected the idea of underground 'sewage sytems' yet. We had fun!
But did get in trouble sometimes when we'ld come in all muddy and smelly and the glow would keep them up all night.
But everything worked out-me and my childhood friends are completely normal.
My buds went on to maime and kill people in IRAQ and after 20 years of hard work I might still be getting that assitance manager job at McDonalds.
See-responsibility! It's what it's all about.
So - like - no one's been on this post for over 2 years, but I really enjoyed reading through some of the comments. I was so caught up in this thinking and reminiscing that I ended up writing a book about it.
Feel free to check it out at http://www.my70sbook.com. I'd love to hear any questions/comments/etc.
Thanks!
Darryll Sherman
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