Why I don't buy READY TO RUN stuff...

shaygetz

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Thought this was a good read...just having fun with the RTR crowd :D

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 get
tested 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
hitchhiking.

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... :eek: ...we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down
the 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 cell
phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat
rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and/or 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.

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

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't
had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.
:cry: They actually sided with the law! :cry:

These generations have 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!


Are YOU one of them? If so, 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, show 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?!
 

tillsbury

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Trouble is, all these well-brought-up kids never learned how to be parents, and seem to have comprehensively screwed up the following generation... Shame really...
 
N

nachoman

I turn 30 in about a month... Sure, I don't rememebr all of that, but I do remember my school had a metal slide on the playground, about 30 feet high. And at the end was GRASS AND SAND. not plastic or rubber. GRASS AND SAND.

kevin
 

zedob

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Wow, flashback, I can relate.

When I was about 10 yrs old I asked my dad what kind of toys he had when he was a young boy. He exclaimed "Toys? We couldn't afford them, we had to make up our own".

Now, when I tell my kids how easy they have it, I think back about the toys I had growing up. Come to think of it, alot of my toys were sticks and rocks. Well, yeah, I had my LEGOs and bike and of course my trains.


The most advanced video game was PONG. And if we were lucky, we could pick up all five of the local(?) TV channels, but that was on a good night, we usually only recieved three clearly.

Funny, there's still only about 5 channels worth anything, today.
 

wortchillergoal

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At 46 years of age, I find the point of this thread interesting.

Yes, we did play outside with our friends. Yes, we were gone from dawn to dusk. Yes, we made do with what we had for a number of things. Why?

It is hard to compare yesterday to today. Computers and video games did not exist. I wonder how many kids would have been inside playing those instead of out. The criminal element must not have been has bold back then either. You can't let your youngsters out of sight these days. I believe that at certain ages and skill levels, all kids should make the team.

Now, with the above in mind I think we should talk parenting. How many parents let the video and computer take care of their kids? I know some who do and some who don't. How many parents go out and support and/or volunteer their time for thier kids? Once again, I know some who do and some who don't. I don't think it is the kids but rather my generation as parents.

It is natural for a parent to want their children to have more than they did and an easier time getting it. If we don't teach the value of working for something, doing nothing becomes too easy.

I feel I am about to ramble so I will just make this last point. Go out and do with with your kids. Play thier games or coach their team. Go watch their concert no matter how well they sing or play. I think this is just as important for older offspring as the little ones. the olders will notice and become better people for it.
 

shaygetz

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zedob said:
Funny, there's still only about 5 channels worth anything, today.

Never thought about that but it's oh, so true. ;)

Hard to say what I would have done if those things were available to me. Every day had/has enough evil of its own, guess it's just a bit scarier now when they're your own kids.
 

eightyeightfan1

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"Go to your room", to get punished, dosen't mean the same thing today as it did when I was a kid.
TV in my room..Yeah Right! Video games...Don't think so! Internet..When I was young, Bill Gates was still in College.
But...I didn't mind "Going to my room". Thats where my very first HO scale layout was.
Hmmm........
 

Ray Marinaccio

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When I was young being sent to my room wasn't much of a punishment. I had my layout in my bedroom.
But I still went out and climbed trees, built go-carts and tree cabins, went sled riding on hills most people wouldn't even think of walking down.
We used to hill climb in the strip mines on our motorcycles, I don't see much of that happening these days.
As far as teaching your children the value of earning what they get is a bit tuffer these days.
But all my friends don't have to work for their allowance, Ever hear that line.
What Tillsbury said about parenting may strike a nerve but I hate to say it, there is some Truth to it.
A lot of children are growing up in day-care and aren't learning about parenting.
As we grew up most of us learned from seeing how our parents managed their families.
Things have changed with the 2 income and single parent households that are more common these days.

I like the statement, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good. Because it is to true.
The live steamers in Phoenix will no longer give rides to the public because of insurance issues.
 

TrainClown

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I don't feel old, but I remember a time when there was no such thing as Attention Deficit Disorder, and if you didn't do your school work........you would get the strap! Some subjects were absolutely taboo and never talked about, like incest and child abuse. Getting beat on by your parents was YOUR fault, and they were justified to do so. You better smarten up! The only pornography around was found in National Geographic. Etch-a-sketch and Spyrograph were high teck toys. Go carts were the ultimate dream. We were glad to have black and white TV with a good picture. Monty Python was the wildest and craziest thing ever seen. Chocolate bars only cost 10 cents. 25 cents would get you a chocolate bar, a bottle of pop and 5 penny candies. You could eat your fill at McDonalds for $2.50. A 5 speed Mustang bike was the coolest, with ape hanger handle bars, a banana seat and sissy bar. G.I. Joe was all the rage and he came with a compleat war chest of weapons and gadgets. And don't forget Creeple People and Creepy Crawlers, made with Gobltygook and a hot plate.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the time of our lives.

TrainClown :sleeping: Dreamin'
 

santafewillie

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Well said shaygetz. At age 53 I can relate to everything you wrote, but life isn't all that bad, at least not where I live. The school district where my children went to school still provides bus drivers with paddles and no parents complain. We can leave windows open day and night without any worries. I did raise my kids with computers because that's the future for education and advancement (two college grads and the third coming up). Most of their friends worked on the farm when not in school and delinquency is unheard of in this neck of the woods. OK, toilet papering and smashing pumpkins does exist...but didn't we all do this? The only gunshots heard around here are hunters. Overall in the USA there are however, too many lawyers and government people who should have gone into nursing or manufacturing instead. Just my 2 cents.
 

zedob

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TrainClown said:
And don't forget Creeple People and Creepy Crawlers, made with Gobltygook and a hot plate.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the time of our lives.

TrainClown :sleeping: Dreamin'

Remember the MRR article about using the plastic fishing worm material as a mold for plaster casting? Early 80's. I bought some. You heat it up and pour it over a pattern. The thing that really hit me was the smell. That Creepy Crawler smell. Strangely pleasing smell.

Do they still sell those things?

I tried finding out where I bought that stuff, but don't remember the company's name. If someone wanted to try it, go down to the local Wally World and buy a bunch of fishing worms. Slowly heat it in preferably a double pot and pour into a flasked mold with pattern. The plastic worm stuff comes in liquid form from the factory, but once heated and congealed it can be remelted and reused. It also has great releaseablitiy.
 

shaygetz

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You are blessed, Willie, I've got 48 registered sex offenders living within 25 miles of my house.

Mattel made those Creepy Crawler machines, Z, I haven't seen them in retail in ages but I did run into one at a yard sale last year, complete with usable goo. Stood long and hard over that one before I said no. Wasn't a kid in my school that didn't have dozens of them things in their school desks. Wonder if the fishing lures woulda worked in it :D

I understand, Tillsberry. I turned into quite a stoner in the late 70s, still don't know how I survived it. My wife is a stay at home mom and we homeschool so I do hope for better things for my little ones. Right now we're washing up a Little Tykes kitchen in the yard with them soze we can at least boot 'em out to the screened porch.
 

screen

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I enjoyed reading all the post above and it brang back memmories and true times have changed and maybe for the better and we may never know untill several generations to come but one thing that has changed and we see it today:

DISCIPLINE-there is vere little today- If I came home from school and complained about being disciplined my father would take me back and after learning the teachers side would take me home for my wippin - not today!
 

yellowlynn

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memories.

I could write pages of memories. Born and raised in Wisconsin. Walked 5-6 blocks to Kindergarten by myself. At 12 walked 2 miles to school, year 'round. Not bragging or complainig, it was just the accepted thing. In 1935 my dad got a WWI bonus and I got a brand new 98 cent pair of overalls. Nobody felt poor 'cause eveybody was poor. But I sure wouldn't swap places with kids and teenagers today. Made our own toys, but freedom to roam all day, just get home for supper.

My 99 cent wind-up train was fun, but I wanted one you could slow down and go backwards. Then 20 years ago I finally got started when my wife gave me an Atlas HO RS---- locomotive. Been having a ball since.

So many memories............so I'll quit

Lynn :sleeping: :sleeping: :sleeping:
 

TrainClown

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Hi zebod. I was at a toy fair a few years back and this fellow was selling Gobiltygoop. He had a sample of the original formula analyzed by a lab and was creating new batches for sale, as Mattel had no interest in re-producing the stuff.

Shaygetz, you will kick yourself wen I tell you that those creepy crawlers and creeple people sets are rare as hens teeth and can fetch as much as $800 to $1000 or more, depending on condition, at toy fairs. I saw a creepy crawler set, missing pieces, no goop, and a damaged hot plate for $500, and this was at least 8 years ago. :eek:

TrainClown :thumb:
 

shaygetz

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TrainClown said:
Shaygetz, you will kick yourself wen I tell you that those creepy crawlers and creeple people sets are rare as hens teeth and can fetch as much as $800 to $1000 or more, depending on condition, at toy fairs. I saw a creepy crawler set, missing pieces, no goop, and a damaged hot plate for $500, and this was at least 8 years ago. :eek:

TrainClown :thumb:

Yer killin' me, TC, jes' killin' me. I coulda had it fer a sawbuck...10 @#%$&*! bucks...and it was COMPLETE...aw, yer killin' me... :cry: :cry: :cry:
 

N Gauger

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I'm coming into this with zebob & Ray M :) :)

We had 3 channels - 6 counting UHF.... We had a humongous Black & White TV - that had 2 knobs. ....... Remote Control, yeah it had one - 2 buttons, one would turn the VHF knob, the other would turn it off & on. :)

We would watch Red Skeleton, Jackie Gleason, Lawrence welk. And God Forbid, if you were 3 seconds late for Sunday Dinner .. after which you did your homework, let Mom look at it & then watch Ed Sullivan..... Yes, I saw the Beatles and Mom "waked me up" :) :) to see Neil A. say "One Small Step........)

Now, Those 3 channels were full of decent stuff, now, 36 years later, I still watch one of them, (Channel 6) but.... Instead of Black & White, it's in High Def, Digital (Cable) on a "Full color" 37" Screen :) :)

But the news is always worse than I remember it all those years ago.....

As far as dicipline, basically, we lost (because of the economy) the "Stay At Home Mom". Beaver Cleaver got into trouble, but I never remember Eddy Haskle ever witnessing a shooting in any way, shape or form :(

Now...... if the news doesn't start with someone being killed by someone (or a follow-up to a day old story) it's a slow news day :( :(

Problems: Lawyers & Liberals that try to- and succeed in- making laws to supposedly protect our kids.... That woman beating her kid in Wal-Mart parking lot would have never been news 30 years ago.. People would be walking by saying hit him harder - don't hurt him too bad..... etc.... Not, Your're going to jail - we have it on tape - you Hit YOUR kid... :( :(

...... Teenagers (and some children) not having 1/2 the stress we had as kids... not because of work, because of fear... My father would walk through the living room and (now that I know what it sounds like) you would hear the Darth Vader theme, when he was upset at someone (hopefully not me) LOL

There was balance........ Crime (broken windows) and punishment (Groundings) but we all knew where everyone else stood..... (Behind President Kennedy & Going to the moon)

We were One Nation Under God (Yeah I'm against taking it out) --- We knew our neighbor's parents and their parents, knew our parents.. and that was face to face - not in a chat room.

Somehow, the lawmakers & the liberals took it all away - in the name of progress :( :( No that's not what's all to blame, The technology has made it easy to learn how to steal cars and shoot things & People, "Grand theft Auto & Tomb Raider" just to pick on a few of the hundreds of shooting games out there.....

The music has even changed.. "Chances Are..." has gone away - replaced by Gangsta rap :( Penny Lane has been replaced by Hip Hop - a lot of them have some form of "Strong Launguage" or something about killing in them :(

The only ratings we had was for movies, we never needed it for music, TV or Games of any type... Hiding behind their Constitutional Right to Freedom of Speech & Expression.....

So - yeah - it's changed - the children growing up in the last 10 - 20 years are the losers too - they will never know what it's like to come home from school & have home made fresh jello....... Because Mom is not there - she's at work, so they can afford the 2 SUV's in the Garage & the $200,000.00 home morgage :( :(

My mom's house cost $12,000.00 in 1959, That was my down payment (1992) on my Row home I live in now :( $74,000.00 3 miles away.......... My mom's house is worth about $127,000.00 now...... Dad saved money for the car :) $4,500.00 Total (62 Buick) ----- The "Money Down" on my 2001 Mustang was $8,200.00 (total $25,500.00)