You know, it is a wonder any of us "oldies" are alive today!

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
sbwertz

sbwertz

Member
Joined
May 11, 2010
Messages
3,678
Location
Phoenix, AZ
My husband and I were just talking about how when we were in grade school (about third grade or so) the teacher went around and put about a teaspoon of liquid mercury (quicksilver) in each of our hands. We played with it for a while, then she gave each of us a penny and we rubbed the mercury onto the copper penny and it turned silver! Magic.

Now if a fluorescent bulb breaks in a classroom, they evacuate the school.

We didn't have seat belts, rode bikes with no helmets, rode horses without hard hats, roller skated down the sidewalks without knee pads or other protection, etc. Yet here we all are today. Amazing, isn't it.
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
OR perhaps because they are all playing video games instead of riding bikes.

Of course this gives great finger co-ordination, but ask them about plumbing, electric, heating, any household need and watch the blank stare. Life can be VERY safe, if you never move off the couch.

I am GUESSING obesity is up, so as they grow older, and more sedentary, health care costs will also increase. I can tell you for certain, mechanical aptitude is WAY down from our parents' generation until now.
 
Last edited:
Good post, Ed! I'm amazed at the number of the younger generation who don't even know how to change a tire or check a battery. Let's not even get started with how many of them don't own a screwdriver, much less a basic household tool set. (Note: I gave my stepson and his wife a basic tool kit for Christmas last year. It was their first, and he just turned 40 years old.) SHEESH!!
 
You know, it is a wonder any of us "oldies" are alive today!

One more reason you should spend time in the shop with your kids turning pens.
 
Good thoughts, Ed !

I gave my pair of grandsons a brand new Meccano set each a while back, through a third party (my wife). . Never heard from the kids. . A few weeks went by before I saw them. . I asked them how they liked the Meccano. . They told me that their mom took the sets away and wouldn't let them play with them ... they are only allowed Lego. . These boys are 7 and 10 .... time they were learning about screwdrivers and wrenches.

So much for the development of their mechanical aptitudes !
 
A stick, the string from the Sunday Paper, a sturdy scout knife and I was set for the summer.

I was 13 when my stepfather saved enough Blue Chip and Green Stamps for a color TV.

Now 6 and 7 year olds are running around with Apple Watches....
 
Mr Vic said:
A stick, the string from the Sunday Paper, a sturdy scout knife and I was set for the summer.

I was 13 when my stepfather saved enough Blue Chip and Green Stamps for a color TV.

Now 6 and 7 year olds are running around with Apple Watches....
Click to expand...

Oh my goodness, I had forgot about Green Stamps. Mom used to get them and the books from the grocery store and we had a dedicated Green Stamp Store down in Ardmore that we got to go to a couple times a year and she would pick out some really nice things for the house that she wanted. Oil was $3.00 per barrel and we was so po, that we couldn't afford the other "o" and "r" to spell poor. Thanks for bringing those up Vic that's a good trip down memory lane.
 
Last edited:
If our offspring are all fat lazy slobs it could be because they learnt it from us.
If YOUR kids are what you describe then it is YOU that has failed as a parent and role model.
My kids have achieved more so far in their young lives and are many times more active than I am or ever was.
It's real rich to see some folks here that sit in front of keyboards and have post counts that look like international phone numbers whining that the kids spend so much time using the tech that their parents bought them.



Cut them some slack, or turn back the clock and fix your own damned mistakes.

Jeesh...!!!!
 
Not to mention the younger generation will be prepared for the current trend of the world. Computers control everything now and it's no harm at all to know how they work.

Sent from my SM-S975L using Tapatalk
 
The only thing I can remember from a bike wreck was skinned elbows or knees. I even had a motorcycle and never owned a helmet. I only knew of one guy who had a helmet. I'm 70, BTW.
Edit: Now i have an outside faucet that wastes water unless you turn it on full force. We had enough smarts to let the water run until the water was cold.
 
Last edited:
Wagner11 said:
Not to mention the younger generation will be prepared for the current trend of the world. Computers control everything now and it's no harm at all to know how they work.

Sent from my SM-S975L using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more, I think computers are great and wonderful. As a person that owned one of the oldest and longest running tech firms in the state, I certainly concur. My daughter could work one better than I could by the time she was 12. However, if you can find one that will change a flat in the middle of the night or fix that hokey light switch in the hall, then show me that bad boy. Because as far as I know, that one just hasn't been invented yet. My daughter was taught to use tools at a very early age and so was my granddaughter. In fact my granddaughter took to them more naturally than my daughter.
 
I think this sums it up nicely: "The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise."

Of course that was said by Socrates or Plato or someone back there. (the reference depends on who you are reading).
 
MTViper said:
I think this sums it up nicely: "The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise."

Of course that was said by Socrates or Plato or someone back there. (the reference depends on who you are reading).
Click to expand...

It's good to know that ever since then, that we've continued to progress so much, that not only what they said was true then, but that they continue to be true today. I love that fact and would love to be around a thousand years from now, when they are saying the same thing.
 
sbwertz said:
My husband and I were just talking about how when we were in grade school (about third grade or so) the teacher went around and put about a teaspoon of liquid mercury (quicksilver) in each of our hands. We played with it for a while, then she gave each of us a penny and we rubbed the mercury onto the copper penny and it turned silver! Magic.

Now if a fluorescent bulb breaks in a classroom, they evacuate the school.

We didn't have seat belts, rode bikes with no helmets, rode horses without hard hats, roller skated down the sidewalks without knee pads or other protection, etc. Yet here we all are today. Amazing, isn't it.
Click to expand...

How about the x-ray device in the shoe store. That counts.
And smoking wasn't dangerous nor fried foods.
 
Last edited:
MTViper said:
I think this sums it up nicely: "The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise."

Of course that was said by Socrates or Plato or someone back there. (the reference depends on who you are reading).
Click to expand...
This calls to mind a story I once heard. I don't know if it ever really happened but I like the message:

An woman who had lived to be over one hundred years old was sitting on a bench. A few seats over was a teenager on his phone.
The old woman looked over and said to the kid " I bet your parents always tell you how lucky you are to have grown up in a world with technology." Expecting a lecture from the old woman the kid simply nodded his head awkwardly.
The old woman looked at the kid and said "my parents said the same thing to me about electricity."

The story may not even be true but the point certainly is. It's the same old song and dance. Only the name changes.

Sent from my SM-S975L using Tapatalk
 
Wagner11 said:
MTViper said:
I think this sums it up nicely: "The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise."

Of course that was said by Socrates or Plato or someone back there. (the reference depends on who you are reading).
Click to expand...
This calls to mind a story I once heard. I don't know if it ever really happened but I like the message:

An woman who had lived to be over one hundred years old was sitting on a bench. A few seats over was a teenager on his phone.
The old woman looked over and said to the kid " I bet your parents always tell you how lucky you are to have grown up in a world with technology." Expecting a lecture from the old woman the kid simply nodded his head awkwardly.
The old woman looked at the kid and said "my parents said the same thing to me about electricity."

The story may not even be true but the point certainly is. It's the same old song and dance. Only the name changes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yep, that darn indoor plumbing will be the death of us all. The sentiment isn't a bad thing. I agree and also gripe about how hard my parents had it. I think that's one of the things that drives us. You give a lazy person the hardest job in the world and they'll find the easiest way to do it.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Mr Vic said:
A stick, the string from the Sunday Paper, a sturdy scout knife and I was set for the summer.

I was 13 when my stepfather saved enough Blue Chip and Green Stamps for a color TV.

Now 6 and 7 year olds are running around with Apple Watches....
Click to expand...

I got my first pocket knife when I was 5 or 6 years old... it was my grandfather's that he used to cut his chewing tobacco with...(I put the blade in my mouth once and got a taste of it)... I carried it to school and everywhere I went until I was about 14 when it fell out of my pocket... my mom's friend gave me a new knife that I traded to my dad for his Case... dad kept it sharp enough you could almost shave with it.
 
I didn't read all the posts and that may have been a big mistake, however, and without being sure on what has been said pass the first page, I have had a discussion about this very issue some months ago also online and I will repeat here what I said then.

I would have liked to be born at the turn of the 19th century, my parents weren't even born then so I was born on 57 and I recall often the freedom and mischief I got into as a young kid, very adventurous and strong.

Yes, I'm also one of those people that miss the old days and their simplicity, growing up I could notice the younger generations struggling to adapt by the time I reached adulthood I started also to struggle with the new society requirements and I didn't like it.

All these years later and 2 countries where my life was lived 30 years on each one, I could see and acknowledge how lost younger generations were, they are having it a lot worse than what I did, I'm not talking about education and personal goods/property but of the lack of principals and beliefs, they are simply bombarded with brainwashing add and apps, society is creating these type of people that are a lot more suitable for what they intend them to become, however, most of these younger generations, are not aware or understand all this and I have to say that, I feel sorry for the younger generations that have never had the opportunity to experince the freedom I'm talking about, the type of think that anyone at my age and even older would cheriss and respect, at the end of the day, is not their fault really, is not easy to be younger in our days and feel sorry for what they are missing, in my view.

Given the choice to relive my younger life as I did or have it as the younger generations now have, there would be absolutely no hesitation and do it all again as I once did and my childhood was not "perfect" but I would do it again if I could.

Cheers
George
 
sbwertz said:
My husband and I were just talking about how when we were in grade school (about third grade or so) the teacher went around and put about a teaspoon of liquid mercury (quicksilver) in each of our hands. We played with it for a while, then she gave each of us a penny and we rubbed the mercury onto the copper penny and it turned silver! Magic.

Now if a fluorescent bulb breaks in a classroom, they evacuate the school.

We didn't have seat belts, rode bikes with no helmets, rode horses without hard hats, roller skated down the sidewalks without knee pads or other protection, etc. Yet here we all are today. Amazing, isn't it.
Click to expand...

It's a wonder I am alive today! I grew up playing with mercury as you did. We lived on a farm with about 50 acres of woodland that dad wanted turned into farm land. Guess who was put in charge of cleaning the last 10 acres of old growth stumps at age 12? Me! How? With dynamite! That was FUN! This was about '59 or '60, when dynamite was not regulated. I knew how to respect dynamite even at that age!

We had saws and shop machinery without any safety features or guards except for fearful and healthy respect for the tools we were using.
 
I have to say that I'm must be in the minority here. In every generation there have been kids who have been mechanically inclined and some who have not. Some who have been active and some who have been idle. People complain about this generation spending too much time zoning out in front of screens, but previously we spent our time reading from books instead of screens. We just zoned out in different ways.

I've got six kids under the age of 35. My oldest son has a computer engineering degree from Colorado School of Mines, makes his own action figures, can beat his dad at raquetball, never hires anyone to repair anything in his home because either he or his wife do them and he plays video games with his siblings.

My daughter has remodeled three houses, reflooring, rewiring, painting, drywalling and just about anything around the house. What I didn't teach her she learned from watching videos on the computer.

My third built his own house - while working as a computer programmer, raising two kids and finishing his education.

My fourth has a mechanical engineering degree, works as a programmer and while recovering from cancer treatment was playing ultimate frisbee.

My next got married this summer. She and her husband are muscians. She surprised him by recharging the a/c on her car this summer. They run 5K races for fun.

My youngest, 17 years old, helped me replace a broken toilet just this evening. He plays computer games with his friends on a nightly basis. He also plays bass in the the local symphony orchestra, has been all-state on the upright bass for the last three years, plays electric bass in a jazz band and on our church worship team, and plays ultimate frisbee every week.

When I hear people complain about the next generation I want to come to their defense because my kids are part of that generation. A friend of mine named Paul once said that we should focus on the things which are good and upright and worthy of good report. That's the way I choose to see this generation.
 
SteveJ said:
A friend of mine named Paul once said that we should focus on the things which are good and upright and worthy of good report. That's the way I choose to see this generation.
Click to expand...


Interesting I have a friend named Paul that said the same thing. He passed away a number of years ago and I was just reading his letters the other day.
 
SteveJ said:
I have to say that I'm must be in the minority here. In every generation there have been kids who have been mechanically inclined and some who have not. Some who have been active and some who have been idle. People complain about this generation spending too much time zoning out in front of screens, but previously we spent our time reading from books instead of screens. We just zoned out in different ways.

I've got six kids under the age of 35. My oldest son has a computer engineering degree from Colorado School of Mines, makes his own action figures, can beat his dad at raquetball, never hires anyone to repair anything in his home because either he or his wife do them and he plays video games with his siblings.

My daughter has remodeled three houses, reflooring, rewiring, painting, drywalling and just about anything around the house. What I didn't teach her she learned from watching videos on the computer.

My third built his own house - while working as a computer programmer, raising two kids and finishing his education.

My fourth has a mechanical engineering degree, works as a programmer and while recovering from cancer treatment was playing ultimate frisbee.

My next got married this summer. She and her husband are muscians. She surprised him by recharging the a/c on her car this summer. They run 5K races for fun.

My youngest, 17 years old, helped me replace a broken toilet just this evening. He plays computer games with his friends on a nightly basis. He also plays bass in the the local symphony orchestra, has been all-state on the upright bass for the last three years, plays electric bass in a jazz band and on our church worship team, and plays ultimate frisbee every week.

When I hear people complain about the next generation I want to come to their defense because my kids are part of that generation. A friend of mine named Paul once said that we should focus on the things which are good and upright and worthy of good report. That's the way I choose to see this generation.
Click to expand...

I just realised that I may have been a little off topic with my post and if that is the case I apologise.

Reading your post I see someone that got it right and was blessed with the "kids" you have and your interpretation of the younger generation could never be the same as mine, why..?? because I never had any children and I know, that has affected my views today because I don't particularly like what I see and what the media/news tell me, and everybody knows that they focus on the bad stuff and off-course, I have nothing to compare to, that is unfortunate but I learnt to accept it.

In younger generations there are exceptions, I don't see many but I get very excited when I see a young person showing manners and a good attitude, particularly those (male or female) that show interest in the 2 things that are very special to me, woodwork and shooting, I go to any extent to help/assist these young people, I see them as a rare type and at the same time, I have great respect for them and efforts they have to make to follow their "inclination" that possibly go through great adversities from parents and friends because they are not behaving as the society expects.

Lucky for those kids that do have full support and understanding from their parents, family and friends, we have a few examples on IAP and I couldn't be happier, I support them 110%:biggrin:

In the end, I'm glad for you...!

Cheers
George
 
I would not trade my lifetime. Glad for the years I grew up in. (born1947).

Dangerous materials were one thing.....but people where not as reckless as they are today. Driving habits and road rage are out of control.
Let's talk about sanitation today. I have been to various restaurants in S. Florida where people bring their little fuzz ball dog. The dog sits on a chair or the booth bench...puts it paws on the table...the owner hand feeds it. The restaurant will not do anything about it as they are service dogs. Service dogs my you know what.
 
Last edited:
Part of this discussion centered on the next generation... my son is 45, only went to college one semester and decided he could do as well without the expense of the degree... I taught him to be self sufficient at an early age. He's played with computers since he was about 11 and he has taught me a lot about computers over the years. He has also taken an interest in wood working and is actually better at it than I am... good on him.... in his lifetime, after high school he enlisted in the army (I think his step brother influenced him there as my step son was on his way to being a career army guy -- didn't in the end though), while in the army, he was taught Korean to be a linguist, but used his computer skills instead as an intelligence analyst, after the army my son joined a firm that was preparing for the Y2K scare, wrote a program to search for music, sold it for 6 figures, worked for IBM as a department manager until he left to start his own computer company, was bought out of that company and is now working as a deputy sheriff.... he was burned out on computers for a while, but wants to keep busy and he likes the police work.
I think that instead of being lazy or unproductive, the new generations just need to find themselves and their niche in lift.... we as a people are in a constant state of evolution and growth... the next generation will just fine.
 
Last edited:
There are just as many good people in every generation as there were in ours. The naysayers tend to be the loudest and their negativity tends to paint a bad picture of today's youth. Question them about their children, you will hear how perfect they are. While the naysayers are badmouthing an entire generation as being "off", they forget that their children are part of that.
 
Talltim said:
SteveJ said:
A friend of mine named Paul once said that we should focus on the things which are good and upright and worthy of good report. That's the way I choose to see this generation.
Click to expand...


Interesting I have a friend named Paul that said the same thing. He passed away a number of years ago and I was just reading his letters the other day.
Click to expand...

That is true! And his friend, (also my friend) said concerning worldly situations - to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Much of this discussion is about learning to be wise and what happens to those that don't. As to our friend Paul, he was quick to jump on those that did not hold up to certain standards. Focusing on the good and upright does not mean ignoring the pitfalls and sweeping it under a rug. - Both And.

Safety comes down to attitude, caution, observation (a lost art) and taking responsibility for one's own decisions; some families/parents impart those qualities and characteristics,but some take it for granted that their kids just will get it, and they don't. These latter ones have the kids that don't learn for the most part.

When we lived overseas, my oldest daughter often asked to attend high school functions. We let her go to some, and some we didn't. One day as a senior, she asked why we (mostly I) let her go to some and not to others. ME: "When you tell me that everyone else is going or doing such and such, I say no." If something happens, you have the tendency to blame "everyone else did it". BUT when you answer: "Because I want to go to go, or be with everyone." I say yes. This answer denotes you taking your own personal responsibility if anything happens!"

My youngest (10 years younger than the oldest) was pretty wise. She watched and learned from her older sisters! We went to Japan when she was 2 and she learned Japanese ways as well as language and dialects. We let her (when she was 10 years old) travel by train alone across from West Tokyo to east Tokyo (Chiba - distance of 70 miles or 100K) to visit a friend who lived near very Tokyo Disney Land, and together they would go to TDL. By the time she was 15, she was traveling the country by herself and even flying by herself to Hawaii to visit friends when 16.

Some people learn naturally, some have to be taught. Some parents teach naturally by actions; some parents "think" their kids are OK as they are.
 
Last edited:
Just several years ago, our daughter taught her then boyfriend how to put air in his car tire!
When she had a flat tire there, she had the van jacked up and spare at the ready just needed more muscle to crack the lug nuts loose.
Another time, I was tech support as she took a bathroom sink trap off to help a roommate find a ring. She also was the person who cleaned the lint from dryer hose there.

Now.......to get her to put her dishes in the dishwasher .......
 
WriteON said:
Let's talk about sanitation today. I have been to various restaurants in S. Florida where people bring their little fuzz ball dog. The dog sits on a chair or the booth bench...puts it paws on the table...the owner hand feeds it. The restaurant will not do anything about it as they are service dogs. Service dogs my you know what.
Click to expand...

I'm not grossed out by dogs in the least. Little sick snot nosed kids running amok in the supermarket touching everything they can reach with their grimy nose picking digits on the other hand bugs me. And wash your hands after you go to the bathroom! ;)

I miss running around with an axe and 6" sheath knife making forts in the bush at home or my friends places.
 
I started working for my dad at his gas station over summer break when I was 13. I got a whopping $1.00 a week. The next year I got $2.00 a week.

I went to work with him at 6:00 A.M. and came home at 6:00 P.M. 7 days a week.

Now days, a kid wants to make at least $10.00 and hour or they will not work.
 
eharri446 said:
I started working for my dad at his gas station over summer break when I was 13. I got a whopping $1.00 a week. The next year I got $2.00 a week.

I went to work with him at 6:00 A.M. and came home at 6:00 P.M. 7 days a week.

Now days, a kid wants to make at least $10.00 and hour or they will not work.
Click to expand...

$10 an hour is not unreasonable by today's standards. I am an accountant, when I turn on my calculator, the client is paying $3 a minute, or $180 an hour with an hour minimum. You can't compare years ago with today.
 
Not quite. One dollar in 1960 would buy as much as approximately 9 dollars today. I babysat for 35 cents an hour. When was the last time you got a babysitter for three dollars an hour?
 
sbwertz said:
When was the last time you got a babysitter for three dollars an hour?
Click to expand...
Or a gallon of gas for $.23 or a pack of smokes for $.23 or pretzel stick for a penny ...... I miss my 66 Dodge Coronet 500...fully loaded at $2800....Today the bumper cost over $3000
 
Last edited:
WriteON said:
sbwertz said:
When was the last time you got a babysitter for three dollars an hour?
Click to expand...
Or a gallon of gas for $.23 or a pack of smokes for $.23 or pretzel stick for a penny ...... I miss my 66 Dodge Coronet 500...fully loaded at $2800....Today the bumper cost over $3000
Click to expand...



When ever this would come up, my father would say " yes, a gallon of milk was .25........ but we couldn't afford milk." His way of saying the good old days weren't always good.
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Curly said:
WriteON said:
Let's talk about sanitation today. I have been to various restaurants in S. Florida where people bring their little fuzz ball dog. The dog sits on a chair or the booth bench...puts it paws on the table...the owner hand feeds it. The restaurant will not do anything about it as they are service dogs. Service dogs my you know what.
Click to expand...

I'm not grossed out by dogs in the least..
Click to expand...

It's not the dog that bother me. It's the owner.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom