REMEMBER 'Go outside and play'?

[SunChild]

Don't look dear, she's crazy! (Like a fox)

Yep, those signs were crazy fast and you had no control over steering.

Well, pretty soon I'll be of an age not to care what some pipsqueak little kid and his mom think... but it sounds like an orthopedic surgeon would have to be on stand-by.

Yep, I turned 58 on April 18th. I never saw Zep there or anywhere. We had tickets for their '75 tour but that's when they got in the car wreck. It seemed after the mid 70's passed I had no interest in going to concerts and got heavily into black powder target shooting and then motorcycles.

I used to go with my Mother to Kezar Pavilion to watch Roller Derby.

I missed that same tour, so there you have it.

Bay City Bombers Rule!!

Most of the concerts I did go to in the 70's were at Winterland. I've got some great shots of Robin Trower and The Doobie Brothers. That was when you could take a camera in and they didn't threaten to kick your ass like nowadays.

I see lots of kids on their bikes around here and a lot of the 'spandex' crowd too.

That's where my friends and I mostly went, too! Definitely saw Robin Trower there, so, maybe we were together that night. (We should probably take this nostalgia fest to PM... )

My biggest complaint about shows now (besides people spending more time with their phones and digital cameras than listening) is how there are bars at the venues now. What's wrong with smuggling in some tequlia in a boda bag, and lighting up a doobie and passing it around?

[SunChild]

I don't know. I know that I seem to be in the middle, when it comes to her friend's parents. These girls are in high school, and one friend's mom calls her REPEATEDLY on her cell if she can't see them out the window!!! They hang out at the park across from her house and she has to SEE them!!!!! She drives her daughter 5 blocks to school every day. Unfrickinbelievable. That lady needs to get a job. These girls do well in school and are invloved in a lot of activities; they're not troublemakers.

But she has another friend whose mom acts like her personal assistant and takes her anywhere, anytime, for any reason at any cost, because if she does'nt the kid will go off on her and she can't handle it. One time I told her if my daughter talked to me the way her daughter talks to her, her ass would be on the other side of the room in a heartbeat.

Wow, that's strange, about calling someone because they are out of view. How does that girl's mother expect her daughter to ever stand on her own two feet?

That's the other thing, the way kids are treated like little members of royalty by their own parents. Maybe that's to compensate for denying them their independence?

Very good points. I guess I have to admit that being a single mom of an only child makes me paranoid and overprotective sometimes. But you know what? My best friend when I was a kid was an only child of a single mom, and she went on all those bike rides with me, and was unsupervised all summer. She was very responsible, and did chores and stuff before she went out. My 16 year old practically has to be threatened with death to do chores.

That would be very hard, to be a single Mom with one kid. There were four kids in our house growing up, probably by that time parents are more than ready to go "get out of the house... please..."

I remember riding my bike around the neighborhood, playing in the park, swimming in the pool, roller skating (blading later on), family trips to the beach, ice skating, playing basket ball in the driveway. Those were the good old days.

Sure we had video games like NES, SNES SEGA, Nintendo 64, etc but they didn't completely rule our lives. It was a nice balance.

When I have kids I'm going to teach them to be independent.

As far as cell phones go, they will get a chaperone type one. No way I'm I going shell out $200 so my nine/ten year old can have a blackberry or iPhone.

A bit off topic: Does anyone remember tether-ball? Elementary PE isn't the same without it.

Yes, I loved tether ball! Seriously, they don't still have it?

Does sipping a Corona in board shorts, smoking a fatty and jamming to First Rays of the New Rising Sun on my back deck count?

Works for me...

Edited May 26, 2008 by SunChild

[Virginia]

My biggest complaint about shows now (besides people spending more time with their phones and digital cameras than listening) is how there are bars at the venues now. What's wrong with smuggling in some tequlia in a boda bag, and lighting up a doobie and passing it around?

I took my 14 y.o. daughter to her first concert this fall and was shocked to see people holding up their lit cell phones when the lights dimmed. Then I got the blank stare from her when I explained about cigarette lighters. They were still using lighters when I saw the Eagles in '02

My first concert was Boston/Sammy Hagar in '78 or '79; I was 13, got dropped off and picked up afterwards. The entire arena was in a fog so everyone was stoned.

[Spalove]

Yes, I loved tether ball! Seriously, they don't still have it?

Not in the one where I work.

I'm sure they have it in other schools.

That and dodge ball are the best PE games ever

also four square

[rosiegirl]

Does anyone remember kickball, tag, hide and seek, hop scotch, ? I could go on and on naming the games we used to play outside. And that was in the summer, but in the winter it became a magical time. My house was in a court, some call it a cul de sac, but anyway, I can remember in the winter, the pure joy and excitement of waking up and looking out the window to see the ground covered with beautiful, glistening snow. I could already hear the big trucks pushing all the snow to middle of the court, creating what seemed to me a huge snow covered mountain. I could not get my snow suite and boots on fast enough! Remember the movie Christmas Story? The little kid all bundled up, so he could not even put his arms down, kind of like that. Boy this was going to be a great day! I already knew their would be no school! So I went into the garage, to grab my sleigh, and I was off. Most of the time my parents would be still sleeping, did'nt even think about asking them if I could go out. This was real early in the morning, but a whole bunch of kids were already there having the time of their lives! I just couldn't think about breakfast, or lunch, who had time for that? All day long we would all climb that mountain and stand in line to take our turn sleighing, it was wonderful. I didn't get home till dark. I usually had to run my hands and feet under warm water, they where most likely close to getting frostbite, but I didn't care it was all so worth it. And I knew I would do it all over again the next day. I dare anyone to get that much fun and excitement out of a video game. That was 35 years ago, where I live now it does'nt even snow. Those memories are wonderful. I hope the kids that are living there now have just as much fun as I did, and not wasting a day like that sitting in front of the computer.

[Misty]

i'm a mom of an almost 6 yr old and a 2 yr old, and i agree that life for kids in general today is way too structured and overscheduled from a very young age. i made the decision not to follow the crowd, and allow them as much free time to play as possible. i believe free play fosters creativity, and that is the best excersice for their brains. for the past year, i have been allowing my son (now almost 6) the freedom to go and play around the property of our house and with the kids around our block without me. i believe he needs to learn to to be independent in small increments, and i hope he will be a more saavy, street smart kid eventually. i want to allow him room to grow without me influencing his every move. as for my 2 yr old daughter, i have decided that she won't see the inside of a classroom until she is 4 (that may sound weird to some as 4 is so young anyway, but most parents nowadays start pre-school at 2!). when the neighborhood moms hear that i am not sending her to pre-school, they look at me like i'm nuts!

allowing my young son to go out and play may not sound so risky, but in this day and age it actually is. a terrible tradegy happened a few towns over from where we live, where the parents of a 5 yr old were working on their computers and did not realize their son had wandered to the neighbors pool. the little boy drowned, and if the parents weren't devastated enough, child services took their 2 yr old away claiming they were unfit parents, and the enviroment was unsafe for children. its a very sad story, i know. still, i believe in educating your kids about being safe, teach them the things they need to know to be safe in the enviroment they are in (like swimming, for example, should be high on every parents list, i think). i feel that the whole point of raising your kids is to raise them to be independent and confident people. this over-bearing parenting style that everyone seems to be doing is not for me.

[jimmie ray]

That and dodge ball are the best PE games ever

The gym teachers we had were like drill seargents, there wasn't much tolerance for wimpyness. Everyone had to participate, no matter how undersized or outmatched. Dodge was played with three balls at a time, and the largest ball was bigger than some of the kids in grade school. Put that in the hands of some of the kids who were a foot taller than the others, along with a three step rule, and you had a massacre in the making. It's funny though, how there was lots of screaming during the game, but no crying or parents storming to the school with threats after.

[redrum]

(We should probably take this nostalgia fest to PM... )

Nah, this whole thread is about nostalgia.

What's wrong with smuggling in some tequlia in a boda bag, and lighting up a doobie and passing it around?

When me and my brother went to the Carousel Ballroom we'd always wait til the crowd left and we'd scan the floor for any dropped doobies. The security guards would always ask: 'Wutchu lookin' fo?'

My Mother loved Roller Derby.

[Jahfin]

I took my 14 y.o. daughter to her first concert this fall and was shocked to see people holding up their lit cell phones when the lights dimmed. Then I got the blank stare from her when I explained about cigarette lighters.

When I attended a Duran Duran concert (not my doings) last week at one point in the concert Simon Le Bon asked everyone to hold up their cellphones for one song in particular. I flatout refused. I don't normally even have my cellphone with me at shows but I did at this one.

They were still using lighters when I saw the Eagles in '02

Funny, one of the first times I saw a photo of fans holding up cellphones instead of lighters, it was from an Eagles concert. I figured it was fitting since they're the kind of band that appeals to Yuppies (the type that would bring cellphones into a concert anyway).

[jimmie ray]

And after everyone held up their cellphones, they could then call all their friends in unison to tell them about it. I might need a gun after all - to shoot myself in the head if I encounter this type of behaviour.

[DRUNK]

their son had wandered to the neighbors pool. the little boy drowned,

Survival of the fittest.

[MadScreamingGallery]

I bet you were hoping for that emergency call so you'd have a great excuse to leave the show!

I can't believe I survived childhood, I was so unhinged. I was scurrying around like a rugrat everywhere I lived, started hitchiking at age 13 and went to concerts unattended at age 12.

It hurts to think of the pain I inflicted on my parents, rest their souls.

:'( Your statement brought tears to my eyes. In my head, I hear CSN's "Teach Your Children." :'(

For what it's worth, I think that many children of the '70s were "unhinged" in one way or another. It doesn't mean that we were "bad" people - it was a turbulent decade and some of us pushed back (or destroyed) the boundaries of what was acceptable behavior in earlier decades. My husband and I were two such spirits. My mother-in-law told me years later of the many sleepless nights she and my father-in-law had while their kids were out "experiencing" the world.

[MadScreamingGallery]

Just let me say I know who the inspiration for the song "Bad Reputation" was.

Which one?

[rosiegirl]

Yes we did have some great times, did'nt we? Even when I broke my collar bone, during a game of hide and seek. There must have been about 20 of us kids playing, and we did'nt realize it had turned dark or we just did'nt care, and I tripped over a log, I was onely about 5. Or the time I fell out of a tree and got the air knocked out of me, I climbed right back up that tree. There were countless other bumps and bruises on my endless journey to explore everything, including crawling through the drainage pipes with flashlites in hand, I have to admit that was scary, but oh so exciting. I must not forget, going into the woods and catching frogs! In defense of parents these days, becouse I am one I totally understand where everyone is coming from as far as being paranoid and scared to let our children run free as we did. My first child was born in 1983, and thats when all these things started to come out on the news. Chidren being kidnapped, abuse at child care facilities, sexual molestation while sleeping over freinds homes, and the list went on. So I made it my mission as a parent that none of these things would ever happen to any of my children, my motto became, better safe than sorry. I became the mother lion protecting her young. I am sure I went over board, but I thought I would just die if anything ever happened to any of my kids. Yes I did feel sad that they could'nt experience all the freedom that I did, but with more and more terrible stories of things happening to children, thats the way it had to be. Yes there were many arguments as to why there friends could go to a sleep over party and they could'nt, and so on. Now that my first born is 25, we sometimes discuss it, and her take on all is, yes you were too overprotective with us, but I know now that is was becouse you loved us so. Before anyone judges other parents choices on how they raise there children, they should realize that it was not easy to raise your kids like this. It is very easy to let your kids do as they please. So now that my kids are all grown up I can honestly say I dont regret a thing, they know the danger thats out there, and I can onely hope they will be careful with their children as well. Maybe not as paranoid as I was, but my generation of parents were the first to have to deal with all this and it was scary.

[Evermore]

I grew up in the East Bay, where we'd slide down hillsides on flattened card board. Got the nastiest case of poison oak all over once, doing that. Never occurred to us to steal real estate signs, much less wax them, LOL! Brilliant. (I wonder, is it too late? "Mommy, why is that lady sliding down a hill on a real estate sign?")

I got my wisdom teeth out at the dental school at USF, went to several concerts at Kezar, know the area pretty well. No offense intended, but if you saw the Niners at Kezar, you are an old timer. Did you see Zep there?

I wonder what the odds are that you and I attended concerts together in the 70s?

Back on topic, it strikes me that lots of these stories begin with "We got on our bikes in the morning..." Do kids still go exploring on their bicycles like that? (I hope so.)

Ahh the East Bay, I grew up there too. I imagine you spent entire afternoons crawling through acres of thorny blackberry bushes like I did.

But one thing I'd like to say is that its not only the kids who forgot "Go outside and play"I think many grownups have forgotten this as well. I constantly find myself chatting emailing or posting on forums and it seems I often find my friends are online too. It takes some discipline to actually get out and go surfing or biking or even to the gym. Usually I would just as soon spend time on the PC.

Edited May 28, 2008 by Evermore

[Evermore]

When I attended a Duran Duran concert (not my doings) last week at one point in the concert Simon Le Bon asked everyone to hold up their cellphones for one song in particular. I flatout refused. I don't normally even have my cellphone with me at shows but I did at this one.

Funny, one of the first times I saw a photo of fans holding up cellphones instead of lighters, it was from an Eagles concert. I figured it was fitting since they're the kind of band that appeals to Yuppies (the type that would bring cellphones into a concert anyway).

Maybe its cause I'm in Southern California I'd have to ask "Who DOESN'T own a cell phone". You know sometimes you just have to let go and have fun with whatever crap is thrown at you at the moment. I'd have no qualms in holding up my phone, even if I happened to find myself at a Duran Duran concert.

BTW I have a Samsung phone and a Verizon contract. I dont know who is responsible but somebody saw fit to add an animated cigarette lighter flame as a background image on my cell phone.

[jimmie ray]

But one thing I'd like to say is that its not only the kids who forgot "Go outside and play"I think many grownups have forgotten this as well. I constantly find myself chatting emailing or posting on forums and it seems I often find my friends are online too. It takes some discipline to actually get out and go surfing or biking or even to the gym. Usually I would just as soon spend time on the PC.

You won't find me sitting at a computer on my time. The Boss man wants me in sight at all times - well here I am, like a good dog...

[redrum]

The gym teachers we had were like drill seargents, there wasn't much tolerance for wimpyness.

Yep, our gym teachers at James Lick in SF (Santana went there) were total asses. Mr. Nevus had that piercing voice that would echo in the gym. One time in the yard a seagull crapped on one of the gym teachers' nice red jacket. It was hard for us to keep a straight face but I know he would have made us run a million laps if we'd have laughed. But it went down in jr. high lore.

[Now and Zen]

[

Funny, one of the first times I saw a photo of fans holding up cellphones instead of lighters, it was from an Eagles concert. I figured it was fitting since they're the kind of band that appeals to Yuppies (the type that would bring cellphones into a concert anyway).

[jimmie ray]

Yep, our gym teachers at James Lick in SF (Santana went there) were total asses. Mr. Nevus had that piercing voice that would echo in the gym. One time in the yard a seagull crapped on one of the gym teachers' nice red jacket. It was hard for us to keep a straight face but I know he would have made us run a million laps if we'd have laughed. But it went down in jr. high lore.

The girls' gym teacher was Mrs. Jones. She looked and acted very much like a man, and always barked orders through a megaphone. At the age when the boys first took group showers after activities, there was a lot of giggling and unmanly prancing around in the shower - which the boys' gym teacher took immediate note of. He corrected it by announcing "Stop that nonsense or Mrs. Jones is coming in there!" That was a pretty scary thought for us, believe me...

[SunChild]

Ahh the East Bay, I grew up there too. I imagine you spent entire afternoons crawling through acres of thorny blackberry bushes like I did.

But one thing I'd like to say is that its not only the kids who forgot "Go outside and play"I think many grownups have forgotten this as well. I constantly find myself chatting emailing or posting on forums and it seems I often find my friends are online too. It takes some discipline to actually get out and go surfing or biking or even to the gym. Usually I would just as soon spend time on the PC.

Ah, yes, blackberry bushes! Good stuff. Still the highlight of our fall vacations, out on the coast, to pick and eat wild berries.

And you are so right about sitting at the computer as an adult instead of going out... I have to tear myself away sometimes. The internet is addictive! All this fun talking with people we share stuff with, who we'd otherwise never "meet."

Maybe its cause I'm in Southern California I'd have to ask "Who DOESN'T own a cell phone". You know sometimes you just have to let go and have fun with whatever crap is thrown at you at the moment. I'd have no qualms in holding up my phone, even if I happened to find myself at a Duran Duran concert.

BTW I have a Samsung phone and a Verizon contract. I dont know who is responsible but somebody saw fit to add an animated cigarette lighter flame as a background image on my cell phone.

That's like the Yule Log on the TV at Xmas...

[Nathan]

I remember when I was little (though not that little). All the kids in my neighborhood had these new "laser tag" guns and they would play war and such with them. Unfortunately, we were so poor at the time we didn't have the money to get them, so I was always left out. Then, one day, my uncle got me the same guns. And I got to go outside and play with the kids. And oh boy was it fun!

Remember those wood-burning kits? You know, the ones that had the metal part that would heat up to a thousand degrees and had a chord so short you were always guaranteed to be right next to the drapes while playing with it? Oh yeah, I had one. And I had so much fun with it! Didn't matter that I almost burned my lip off once. Turned out really not to be a bad burn at all. In one day the pain was gone, in two days the fear was gone, and in three days I was back to burning more wood, right next to the drapes.

I always went outside to play, and had no supervision. Behind our neighborhood was a huge crystal field (not the nice crystals, mind you, but those cheap ones that you can now grow in those crystal-growing kits they sell for kids now), and we used to go out there and play. There was never adult supervision. If you got hurt, you ran crying back home, where Mom was making lunch or dinner and Dad was either out working, home helping Mom (that's what my Dad would do, actually... but he loves to cook), or watching TV.

Another uncle of mine owned a pick-up truck. I used to ride in it all that time, but no, I have never, to this day, been inside the truck itself. I always road in the cab. Always.

I only became anal about wearing my seatbelt recently, too.

And I'm determined to give my future kids the same freedom (well, to an extent... they won't be riding in the cab of a pick-up truck and they will be wearing their seatbelts from day one). We have gotten to a point in society where we coddle our kids, and they grow up as "mama's boys" or "daddy's girls". The best way to teach a kid is through experience. And the only way they are going to be prepared for the real world is to let them experience some of it. Obviously, they need to be protected, but there's no harm in letting them go out and play.

I commend Lenore Skenazy. She is a great mother and thanks to her, that boy is going to be a great person. And New York is really not all that bad. I should know. It's my favorite city in the US. I may have lived in and gone to school in Connecticut for the first part of my life (before we moved to Georgia), but we spent so much time in New York we might as well have lived there. And we still visit constantly to this day.

Edited May 29, 2008 by Nathan

[MadScreamingGallery]

Does anyone remember kickball, tag, hide and seek, hop scotch, ? I could go on and on naming the games we used to play outside. And that was in the summer, but in the winter it became a magical time.

[...]

I loved reading your descriptions of winter. My husband and I both grew up in snowy, northern places and we loved doing many of the things that you described. We lived outside of the U.S. when our children were growing up - in places where it never snowed - so when we came back to the U.S. for extended visits, we always chose a place near where we grew up so our kids could experience and enjoy the snow.

You mentioned "court" - that's what we used to call "cul de sacs" too.

Joan Jett. We were runaways together.

[Dzldoc]

I loved reading your descriptions of winter. My husband and I both grew up in snowy, northern places and we loved doing many of the things that you described. We lived outside of the U.S. when our children were growing up - in places where it never snowed - so when we came back to the U.S. for extended visits, we always chose a place near where we grew up so our kids could experience and enjoy the snow.

You mentioned "court" - that's what we used to call "cul de sacs" too.

I was givin the oportunity to enjoy the snowy places when I was a child, great fun!

One Christmas Eve in 2004 I asked my son "What do you want the most for Christmas?" He replied "I want it to snow daddy"

Well I had to give him a little geography lesson. Son we live in New Orleans it doesn't snow down here.

Well about 9:00am Christmas morning for about half hour he got his wish

[marolyn]

Well about 9:00am Christmas morning for about half hour he got his wish

i bet the look on his face was priceless...

here in southeastern norway we are lucky to get a snowstorm... much like seattle weather...at least we can drive a few hours to the mountains...still not like the magic of looking out your window and seeing a winter wonderland