From the 40's and 50's crowd

[Cherokee_Mountaincat]

In another group they were talking about things they Didnt have "Back then" in the days before DVD's and I-pods, Wii's and all of the modern things we have today....this is my take on that subject. :}


Boy, did and do you guys have it easy! We of the slightly older set are the ones that had it rough, but yet for some of us it was the most wondrous time of life a kid could ever have:

We didnt have Mr. Coffee that would make all by itsself and be ready and waiting for you when you woke up. Many of us had to grind coffee beans in a small hand crank grinder to make coffee to put on a perculator and wait for it to perk. And forget the coffee creamers, you wanted cream in your coffee, you milked the cow the day before!

There was none of this namby-pamby deadener stuff when you got a cut or a scrape, your Mom used Mercucrom(SP)or Mathylate, and it stung like hell!!!! Your Mom blew on it to make the sting hurt less...lol
And we didnt have Ouchless bandaids either.

If you wanted music, you put up with your Mom and Dad's music until good old Rock and Roll came around and you mowed laws and babysat to get LP (Long Play) vinyl record albums, and 45 rpm records. LP's played like 10 to 15 songs and 45's played one per side, and if your needle on your record player broke, you were SOL. (Shit out of luck):eek:
We didnt exactly have I-Pods back then that stored 100's of songs at a fingertip.

In many cases if you wanted freesh eggs for your family's breakfast, you went out in the hen house and gently Gathered eggs,(whilst keeping on eye on the rooster and avoiding being pecked by pissed off hens) and freshly churned butter on homemade flapjacks on a saturday morning was a glorious event! Now There was a drugery chore..sitting there and pumping that churn handle for what seemed like hours churning butter, but man was it Worth it. Fresh creamy butter just Oooozing off of hot tasty biscuits was Pure heaven, Ya'll......:tong:

There was no freedom of choice when it came to school clothes. You wore stuff from the thrift store of from Woolworth's or some department store if your family was well-to-do enough. And if the Principal or Teachers thought you werent dressed decently, they phoned your folks and they came and Got you.

There were no Latte's, no Starbucks, no convienance stores. If you wanted a soda, you went to the corner drug store for a soda or a root beer float..mmmmm.
No CD players or DVD's. Going to the movies or picture shows was a big deal to some of us. There was no fast food, unless you went to a malt shoppe, or a small cafe. Just think: No pizza delivery, no sushi, no Thai resturants or Happy Panda's Teriyaki on the corner. No Ben and Jerry's, altho you Could make your own Ice cream at home and know Exactly what all was in it, because You added it yourself.

Hell we kids had it made, Ya'll. We drank "Hose water" and was perfectly fine. We ate stuff right out of the garden and not Once got Salmonella. We swam in rivers and lakes, could leave the house at daybreak after chores, and Had to be in before the sun got three inches over the top of the mountains. (Imagine your index and thumb poised at the three inch mark, about 4 o'clock in the winter time, 6 in the summer time.)
We hung clothes on a clothes line in the back yard, rode horses to the store or to church. Riding on the side step on a car was one of the greatest thrills a kid could do, outside of being taught to drive an old truck or tractor.

Sitting around at night and watching Red Skelton was the high point of people's lives if they were fortunate enough to Have a TV back then. We didnt have the Internet to talk to a myriad of folks with. We had to write letters to communicate with Pen Pals. And once we got type writers, we though we had hit the big time!

We got dirty, we got scrapes and bruises and got chigger bites and Skeeter bit in the summer time, sometime bee stings from going and stealing honeycombs from an old tree. We lived thru it without benefit of councilors or weekly therapy sessions, or even Prozak!

But one thing we DID do: We respected our Parents and Grandparents, and we all looked out for one another, friends and family alike. We repected elderly folks and helped out our neighbors. If we were asked to do something for someone, it was usually done to Help someone, not for monitary gain like the kids nowdays do.
And I can tell you for a Fact that I'd much rather face an angry bull than to piss off that little Cherokee Mother of Mine! Five foot, 130 lbs soaking wet, but I'd have rathered cut off my right arm that to have disrespected her, or caused hurt to show in her eyes.

Times were different back then, my loves. Some were bad, others were glorious. Life now is simpler, easier, in many respects, and are more stressful, dangerous times, but we have more advantages than we Ever had back in My Days. Better technology in medical terms, better advances in that respect. :}

Just sit and take stock in what you've got right now, and be thankful that you have it. ;) Happy Thanksgiving my Loves.
A feeling Very old Cat...lol

[okie5558]

Youi explain it very well,from start to finsih . lol Cherokee Ty

[Cherokee_Mountaincat]

Your very welcome . And the name is Cat, Hon ;}
Cat in chat

[grayhound]

I love the way you explained my childhood. You did forget the part about catching fireflies. But thats ok. Life is beautiful, always has been, always will be. God Bless

[texasman6172003]

Hey Cat honey you forgot one thing i used too love. You could ride your bike ALL OVER TOWN, and NOT be afraid too do it. Thanks honey for the memories,:bigrin:

[not_ur_typical_girl]

Okay so heres the younger generations take on this...OR at least a poor girls take...I grew up very very poor....Wore cloths from a thrift store (till I could get a job) had chores to do before school...make my bed, help my mom with breakfast (i was the oldest) I used to ride my bike all over town, and catch fireflies. I used to go swimming in the pond outside of town. When i got my first walk-man at 13 I was so excited!!!! it was a huge deal for me...I used to help the lady across the way take in her groceries and clean (never got paid, i just did it cuz i was a nice young girl {as she called me}) I respected my parents did what they asked me to...drank from a hose...built my own little tree house...i had a decent childhood if you look at it from that veiw...but then it was bad at the same time....
My dad broke my arm, my leg, my nose, left countless cuts and bruises on me that still haunt me to this very day. After my parents got divorced when i was 16 I took on the responsiblity of "Mom" I did all the cooking and cleaning, made sure my brothers and sister had their homework done. Worked 2 jobs...I would work from 530 am till 8 am go to school then cheerleading practice then back to work at 5 and worked till 10 or 11 pm. and I never had anything to show for it expect a roof over our head. My mom till this day has never worked a day in her life. She refused to get a job! My dad did not pay child support so everything that Me or my brothers (2 of them) and my sister I had i got for us.
But you know what, even with all that I am thankful I had the life I had. It helped make me the person that I am today!!

[chulainn2]

We didn't have obese children and childhood diabetes was very rare. Mainly because only a deathbed could keep us in the house after school or in the summer. We would never sit and watch TV and ask our parents to drive us somewhere. Outdoors is where we played and a bicycle was our favorite mode of transportation. I had a Schwinn Typhoon and I could ride that bike on a wheelie for several blocks straight ( we were spared the stupid lil helmet). I doubt kids today would know what is a wheelie.
PE was a mandatory class in school and recess was a time to play ball.
Speaking of school, when you were out of line,(for the boys) you got your butt paddled, not time out, not talk to the therapist, it was a simple reach down and grab em for three if you cried your a sissy.
A school report card held your life inside of it's simple paper fold.
Mom cooked dinners and McDonald's was a treat not a diet. When your parents said to do something, you did it or else dad was going to give you two more than the school teachers handed out. Most of my friends had pellet guns and 22 rifles and NO ONE ever shot a person.
Capt. Kirk was my hero, I was in love with Samantha Stevens and those black and white horror movies of radiated giant ants, octopuses, scorpions, spiders, humans, etc. all scared the beegevers out of me.
I'm glad I grew up in a time when children had a childhood.

[okie5558]

Sorry cat

[darkeyes]

God.. like listenin 2 me mum and dad u lot recollectin ya babbahood... gentler kindlier world.. long hot summas..lotsa snow.. white crimbos... sighhhhhhh...:rolleyes:

An ther wos still lil or no style.... :bigrin:

[SJ37AndSteph]

Cat i thought after reading that it made me think of always what my parents told me it was an awesome thing to read thanks

Hugs

Sweet Juices

Have a Great Thanksgiving Cat Hope U Get To Feeling Better Hon !!!!!

[Randy from Pa]

HEY CAT........you might likr to listen in a newer Country song called "Different time " by Bucky Covington ( American Idol) says exactly what you did
Randy

[Randy from Pa]

CAT..........Listen to Bucky Coventington's "Different World " a country song......He wa son American Idol............Randy

[mannysg]

Dang,
Kinda makes me feel old!! LOL
I can rememebr when we got our first TV. What a special treat!!! We only got 3 channels, and none of them were very clear. Saturday mornings was the only time cartoons were on, and they ended at about noon.

Ahh.... the memories....
Kick the can, "Red-Rover-Red-Rover", and many other games (including Hide and go Seek of course) were enjoyed by every kid in the neighborhood.
My fondest memories was the 4th of July parties in the neighborhood. About 15 families got together and had a HUGE party that started around noon and lasted well past dark. Food galore, and we were even allowed to drink SODAS ALL DAY LONG!!!! There was always a "mush-ball" game (Like softball, but the ball was bigger and softer.) Those of us over 8 years old were given firecrackers and bottle rockets to have fun with, the teenagers were even given a few M-80s and chery bombs (most fireworks that go BANG are illegal in most states now.)
The worst accident was a mild burn on the hands from the "punk" or a match. We were taught how to use the fireworks and to respect the power they had.
Yes, there was some alcohol, but none of the adults got very drunk until after the fireworks were over and us kids were headed to bed.

[csrakate]

Somehow I don't look upon my childhood as having it any less easy than what is afforded our kids today. It's just how it was. You left home each day to spend time with your friends and with a simple loud command heard over the neighborhood, you came home for dinner. Dinner was home cooked, television was entertainment and not a babysitter and bedtime was non-negotiable. BUT, my childhood was one that wasn't necessarily the norm for many and I truly feel blessed to have had what I did, although I still cringe to this day that most of my clothes were made by hand and not bought from the local department store! LOL! Maybe that explains my penchant for shopping to this very day! While I sometimes miss the simplicity of those days, I can't help but marvel at the strides we have taken and the things that have been made easier as a result. The real test is not what we have available to us but the level to which we rely upon it. I know I am one of many who has been guilty of using a DVD in the machine to get some peace while I cooked dinner....or was that a VHS tape at that time? ( LOL )....to have ordered "take out" when I could have very easily made dinner and to have scheduled my kids in activities that would possibly free up some personal time for myself. But the real test is knowing when too much is enough and when we need to return to some basic life affirming family time...That time goes by so quickly and before you know it, you're no longer needed to supply that time.

:2cents:Kate

[radioguy]

My first McDonald's hamburger cost a dime. I also remember Black Draught cough syrup - EWWW - and Vick's vap-o-rub all over my chest. And playing outside way after dark and my mom not worrying i would be kidnapped or murdered.

[boca.openminded]

excellent post...

being born in the mid 60's but I do agree about the respecting parents / grandparents. In todays society you definitely see how they do NOT respect their elders.

Music was music back then. The artists had talent. None of this computerized help.

Even my first tv was a black & white one. When you wanted to change the channel you got your ass up off the couch and changed it. The first thing that would go on those tv's was the knob to change the channels. The tv still worked perfectly so you'd change the channels with plyers....lol

Another thing was family room was a family room. Thats where the family were together watching tv. Today every room (even some bathrooms) have tv's and the only time the family is together is maybe at dinner time.

Ice cream? We always had the Good Humor man that drove around on his bicycle with a cart on the back.

Everyone on the block knew each other and we were all friends. We were never inside (then again there were no computers or video games). Nobody was overweight. Our parents always knew where we were. If we weren't at the park (or school grounds) then we were on the street playing. Anytime we'd play baseball all we had to do was go a few blocks and challenge the next neighborhood. After dinner we'd be right back outside playing whatever game we felt like (kick the can, tag, hide & seek, etc).

The funny thing was you were never too far from a family member whether they were in the same building or a few houses away. Our parents always knew where we were because there was always someone keeping an eye on us. I remember one day playing at the park and we heard my friends mother calling his name. Another time we heard a neighbor's mom relaying what his mom said.

Good times!!!

[Doggie_Wood]

Ahhhh - those were the days. Our parents put us on the train (by our selves) every summer, in Fort Worth and we rode it to Houston where our Great Aunt & Uncle picked us upand we (my brother and I) stayed with them for the summer. When we disobeyed Auntie, we had to go into the back yard and get her a switch - damn those stung accross our bare legs. But we stayed out till way after dark with the other kids in the neighborhood playing tag or whatever we wanted.
Life was so much fun back then - no threats of kidnapping or molestations and things that happen now.
We would go down to the drainage ditches and catch tadpoles and horny-toads (horned lizzards), and bush lizzards.
Thanks for bringing my childhood memories back, Cat, and putting a smile on my face.
Love ya hon.

:doggie:

[12voltman59]

I remember lots of those things too----the one thing I hated in those days though--my one set of grandparents---my god they loved Lawerence Welk and when I would stay with them---they made me sit with them and watch that show in the room we now might call the den, living or family room--it was "in the parlor" for them---I sorta laughed the other day about that show---the local PBS station here plays those shows on Saturday evenings and I just happened to catch it the other night----I do wonder--what universe did LW and his people live in?? It was like, being in the 60s with everyone being kinda scruffy and all that---they were these hyper well scrubbed people--especially the younger ones. Their style of music--for the most part pretty much ignored the fact that there was music like the blues, rock and roll and such--until very much later-and when they did play such music towards the end of LW's life--it was a pretty much sanitized, Welkized style of contemporary music.

I was not allowed to listen to rock and roll in their house, I can tell ya---I won't say what they called it though---

I also remember having the milk man come and you got your milk each day or at least every few days or so. The milk was contained in thick, glass bottles that were delivered ice cold and I guess they must have put dry ice in the little metal box you set by the door because the milk was so nice and cold---you put out your old bottles--then that seemed to just disappear one day when milk started coming in those square, waxy cartons that you got at the supermarket.

At night--there was no curfew for kids---and the kids in the neighborhood I lived then--on just about every warm summer night that it was not storming--or most of us were not off to summer camp---we played "kick the can" till almost midnight.

When I got old enough---I had a paper route because we had not only the morning paper in our town---but the afternoon one as well. Now--all most towns have is the morning paper and the paper carriers are adults, not kids since you have to have a car not a bike to deliver them.

While my mom did buy most of our chicken and other meat from Kroger, The A&P or a local mom and pop market not far from the house, we did have some mennonite folks that came by that we bought fresh chickens, eggs and other farm products from.

The one grandma I talked about--she was of German stock and had come from the coal mining area of Pennsylvania, so she was to me -"my old mountain granny"---she looked a lot like "Granny" from the "Beverly Hillbillies" and come to think of it--my grandpa and "Uncle Jed" sorta looked alike too--I guess that is why I always did have a soft spot for that show!!

My Grandma---did have --until the town they lived in no longer allowed them -- a chicken coop in the back yard and she would dispatch a chicken or two for either fried chicken she made in a great big cast iron skillet or would roast in the oven (later always making chicken noodle soup from whatever was leftover)--- I would have to help her pluck the chickens. Later when the city no longer allowed people to have "livestock animals" in their yards---I would go with her to the city market on Saturday mornings to get a live chicken or two that they would kill there for ya, then we'd take em home and pluck 'em. She never did much care for "store bought" chicken--at least until much later when she came to live with us, had given up her house and was too old to kill, clean and cook fresh chickens.

Coming out of the depression times---they didn't throw away an item of clothing just because it got a hole in it---ya patched it--or with socks--she "darned" em----and filled the hole somehow---she made some great quilts--I still have a few of them left, but they are thin, mothball eaten and threadbare---we had no idea to keep them in a pristine state---we used them--I wished I had known--I go to the Amish part of Ohio now and see the Amish want thousands of dollars for quilts just like my grandma used to make.

She also knitted blankets in quilt pattern style, with the one remaining of those--is in great shape.

As far as alcohol was concerned--they did drink some beer--and my grandpa made "elderberry wine" each year--I would get to sip that ---it tasted pretty good, but I can't find anyone who makes that now. He made his own beer too--and I got a few sips of that too--not much--just some tastes of both. I think that they did have some "shine" too--because the old men would go off by themselves, kind of hiding that they had it since ya could get in trouble for that. You knew something was going on that was a bit different when they were doing that. That only happened on one uncle's farm out of town that we would have family get togethers during the summer--usually on the fourth of July---I think they had it too on New Years as well. We'd go out there and they would shoot off fireworks over the snowy fields and shoot guns in the air too.

Thanks for the post Cat and everyone else---thinking back to those times--I am glad I am just old enough to have experienced all of that---then it seemed that at some point---everything changed and we all got citified, and modern!! Life was in a number of ways, very much like the way things were portrayed in "The Andy Griffith Show."

It's like that whole way of life died off when all the older members of the family passed on--and the world changed and so did we---"modern progress" and all of that!!! It really did seem to go away pretty quickly!!

Sorry I rambled on and on! LOL

It's all Cat's fault for opening up the gates and taking us on a trip down memory lane!! :bigrin::bigrin::bigrin:

[Cherokee_Mountaincat]

LOL Yep yep! It's my fault and I loved it! lol
Your Cat.
PS Yes! My "Monster Movies" were an all time favorite, and I scared hell out of my kids with those too when they were younger. My oldest son bought the boxed set of the classic Dracula, Frankenstien, the Wolfman, and Creature from the Black lagoon movies, and he and my oldest Grandson sat one afternoon and watched them all! Now my Grandson (15) is hooked on old "Monster Movies" lol He told me he watched "Them" (The one about the giant red ants) the other night and loved it..
Cat..the bad old fashioned influance. :cool::tongue::bigrin:

[Randypan]

Yeah :bounce: Creature Features :bounce:. You almost make me want to go back and do it again. Thanks Cat!

[Realist]

I remember how difficult it was to get condoms, in the '50s. The only place in my home town to get 'em was at the drug store.

I was dating a girl who was younger, but much more knowledgeable about the art of seduction. She had been teasing me unmercifully for weeks and finally she relented to have sex with me. I was 16, shy and very easily embarrassed, but would have had sex with a fence post at this stage. Intelligently, she refused to do anything unless I used a condom.

I went to the drugstore and hung around the magazines, looked at tooth paste and wondered aimlessly around the store, until the pharmacist had no customers, before I'd go ask him for the protection. My GF waited in the car all this time.

Finally, the counter was clear and I slipped up to there, cautiously.

The Pharmacist, asked, what I needed................. I mumbled something about needing some "rubbers".

With little consideration for my privacy and much to my chagrin, he replied loudly, "Well, son, how many RUBBERS do you want and what size?"

Hell, I didn't even know they came in SIZES!

Through my teeth, I whispered, "Just give me a popular brand."

"Well, do you want ONE, or a DOZEN?....they're 4 for a dollar!"

Shit, I wanted to strangle that old sombitch.........I was shaking like a leaf!

"Er...ah", I stammered, "Oh, give me four".

He smiled, "Oh, you're expecting a big night, are you?"

If I'd had a gun I would have shot that bastard, right then!

I gave him some change...he fooled around, making a big deal of counting it and said I needed another dime. I didn't have it...had to go to the car and borrow a dime from my GF...she thought it was funny!

I went back in, gave the pharmacist the dime and left.

Just before I got to the front door, he yelled across the store, "Hey, son, you forgot your rubbers!"

When I turned around, there stood an old bat from my mother's church, staring straight at me! I wondered for years if she knew what I was up to and if she told my mother.............but I never heard a word from either of them.

When I finally got back to the car and told my GF what had happened, she laughed all the way to the orange grove, where our favorite parking place was.

I didn't think it was a damned bit funny.

Finally, we began making out and she said we should get into the back seat. We fumbled around and finally got our clothes off. I had an awful time opening the first condom, so she helped me and rolled it onto my erection. I was so horny and just putting it on nearly make me have an orgasm.

She assumed the position and I was about to enter her, when she busted out laughing! She was laughing so hard, about my trouble in the drug store, that she nearly went into convulsions!

It embarrassed me so badly, that even my rock-hard, 16 year old penis could not sustain that kind of abuse and died on me!

It was some time before I was able to use the remaining 3 condoms on her, because each time we'd get naked, she'd break out laughing!