Times are a changin'

[Skyrunner]

Hey Ya'll,

I have a 3 year old and have recently got back in to the business of shopping and consuming kid's cereal. Wow, have things changed.

First, Trix no longer look like little colored rabbits nuggets. When I opened the box I noticed the cereal looked like the fruit that it was supposed to represent. D@mn!!! I had to look at the box again to see if it was Trix. When did they do this?

Last, there are no more prizes or surprises in the boxes. At best, you can collect proof of purchases to send in for stuff. That is definitely no fun. I had the art of the prize pick out of the new box down to a science.

Sorry, but I had to vent. If you believe that things can never go on forever, how do you explain the Grateful Dead, Rolling Stones and Herpes.

Adios,

SR

 

[flipflyr]

Along the same lines...

A recent email I got. So true... So true...

-------------------------

When I was a kid adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious


diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up;


what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning


uphill both ways through year 'round blizards carrying their


younger siblings on their backs to their one-room schoolhouse


where they maintained a straight-A average despite their full-time


after-school job at the local textile mill where they worked for 35 cents


an hour just to help keep their family from starving to death!





And I remember promising myself that when I grew up there was no


way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how


hard I had it and how easy they've got it!


But....


Now that I've reached the ripe old age of twenty-nine, I can't help but look


aroud and notice the youth of today. You've got it so f-----n' easy!





I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a g-dda--ed Utopia!


And I hate to say it but you kids today you don't know how good you've got it!


I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have "The Internet"--we wanted to know


something, we had to go to the g-dda--ed library and look it up ourselves!


And there was no email! We had to actually write somebody a letter—with a


pen!--and then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in


the f--n' mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!


And there were no MP3s or Napsters! You wanted to steal music, you had to


go to the g-dda--ed record store and shoplift it yourself! Or we had to wait


around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ'd usually talk over the


begining and f--k it all up!


You want to hear about hardship?





You couldn't just download porn! You had to bribe some homeless dude to buy


you a copy of "Hustler" at the 7-11! It was either that or j--koff to the lingere


section of the JC Penney catalog! Those were your options!


We didn't have fancy s--t like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and


somebody else called they got a busy signal!


And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes either!


When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was it could be your boss,


your mom, a collections agent, your drug dealer, you didn't know!!! You just


had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!


And we didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation videogames with high-resolution 3-D graphics!


We had the Atari 2600! With games like "Space Invaders" and "Asteroids" and the graphics sucked


ass! Your guy was a little square! You had to use your imagination! And there were no multiple levels


or screens, it was just one screen forever! And you could never win, the game just kept getting


harder and faster until you died!





Just like LIFE!


When you went to the movie theater there no such thing as stadium seating!


All the seats were the same height! A tall guy sat in front of you, you were screwed!


And sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only like 20 channels and there


was no onscreen menu! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on!


And there was no Cartoon Network! You could only get cartoons on Saturday morning


........D'ya hear what the f--k I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK, you spoiled little bastards!


That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy.


You're spoiled, I swear to God! You guys wouldn't last five minutes back in 1984!

 

[Typhoon1244]

I realized I was getting old when they celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the release of E.T. Good god, has it really been that long?

Do you know you can't pop on down to Blockbuster and rent things like Firefox and Blue Thunder anymore? They're too old!

You can now see Playboy centerfolds born in 1984! Do you have any idea how sick that sounds? It's almost as bad as the student pilot I met in my AME's office a while back who was born in '86!

The 150 I soloed in was built in 1965. My son will be able to get his Private in 2020. Do you think an airplane like the Cessna 150 will even be relevant to flight training then?

 

[banned username 2]

Re: Along the same lines...

A recent email I got. So true... So true...

-------------------------

When I was a kid adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up;

what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning uphill both ways through year 'round blizards carrying their younger siblings on their backs to their one-room schoolhouse where they maintained a straight-A average despite their full-time after-school job at the local textile mill where they worked for 35 cents an hour just to help keep their family from starving to death!

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!

But....

Now that I've reached the ripe old age of twenty-nine, I can't help but look aroud and notice the youth of today. You've got it so f-----n' easy!

I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a g-dda--ed Utopia! And I hate to say it but you kids today you don't know how good you've got it! I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have "The Internet"--we wanted to know something, we had to go to the g-dda--ed library and look it up ourselves!

And there was no email! We had to actually write somebody a letter—with a pen!--and then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the f--n' mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!

And there were no MP3s or Napsters! You wanted to steal music, you had to go to the g-dda--ed record store and shoplift it yourself! Or we had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ'd usually talk over the begining and f--k it all up!

You want to hear about hardship?

You couldn't just download porn! You had to bribe some homeless dude to buy you a copy of "Hustler" at the 7-11! It was either that or j--koff to the lingere section of the JC Penney catalog! Those were your options!

We didn't have fancy s--t like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal! And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was it could be your boss, your mom, a collections agent, your drug dealer, you didn't know!!! You just had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

And we didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation videogames with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like "Space Invaders" and "Asteroids" and the graphics sucked ass! Your guy was a little square! You had to use your imagination! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever! And you could never win, the game just kept getting harder and faster until you died!

Just like LIFE!

When you went to the movie theater there no such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! A tall guy sat in front of you, you were screwed!

And sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only like 20 channels and there was no onscreen menu! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! And there was no Cartoon Network! You could only get cartoons on Saturday morning!

........D'ya hear what the f--k I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK, you spoiled little bastards!

That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled, I swear to God! You guys wouldn't last five minutes back in 1984!

Now THAT is the funniest (and most true) thing I have read in a LONG time!

But...

I am the ripe old age of 35.. I started with PONG, yes the game that started it all... two lines and a dot...! I upgraded a couple years later to Atari 2600! And Cable TV? Yeah I got that... when I was 16... before that... snowy pictures from the rooftop antenna... And an on-screen menu??? We didn't even have remote controls, you had to get your lazy ass off the plastic covered couch and change the channel yourself!

And DVD's? CD's? Try Beta tapes and 8-Tracks, Cassettes and Records made of vinyl! Even Reel to Reel tapes! How about.... AM RADIO!!!!! No Stereo!

How about these Game-Boys? We didn't have anything like that... you know what our Game Boy was? It was called an Etch-A-Sketch! We didn't have a reset button, you had to shake the living sh!t out of the thing until your arm fell off to erase the picture! Of course you never had to worry about the batteries going dead!

And the Internet? I didn't even have that in college! Image college days where you had to decide on between Turkey Disks at the cafeteria and the latest issue of Hustler... You couldn't have both because you were BROKE! We didn't have streaming video like you kids do these days! Hell I didn't even have a computer until after college! Imagine using a Typewriter for all your papers! Do you even know what a typewriter is???

And the phone... don't get me started on the phone... You kids all have your fancy cell phones and pagers... The only people who carried pagers back then were doctors (and maybe a few drug dealers)... And they didn't receive fancy text messages, hell they didn't even tell you who was calling, the d@mn thing just beeped! All this text messaging slang now... back then if you typed LOL or ROFLMAO on your TYPEWRITER it was because you had a few too many Budwisers while working on your report paper... it meant nothing!

That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled, I swear to God! You guys wouldn't last five minutes back in 1978!

 

[Timebuilder]

Three chanels on a 12" Admiral B&W tv.

No dial on the phone (finally got "direct dialing" as it was called, in 1959). The operator would say "Number, puleeze".

Regular was $0.11/ gal.

A "game" was baseball.

Food was good for you.

Steel was EXported.

Sam Snead was a great golfer.

The Phillies played at Connie Mack Stadium.

Kareem was Lou Al Cindor.

Cassius Clay was turning pro in boxing.

Boeing made the 707.

Democrats were conservatives too.

Girls were pretty and smart.

Boys were strong and smart.

The Lord's prayer came before the Pledge of Allegiance.

Adults were Sir and Ma'am.

Killers were executed, along with traitors.

France was a grateful ally.

Japan was building transistor radios, with the help of RCA.

Mothers said "wait 'till your father gets home", and it meant something.

 

[TXCAP4228]

Flipflyr, that's FUNNY. I turn 30 this year....... I catch myself saying things like "back in the day...".

France was a grateful ally.

You mean the French used to be grateful?

D@mn. I wish I'd been around for that.

 

[Timebuilder]

Trust me, it didn't last long.

 

[aviatrix]

Too funny, Timebuilder!
Ahhhh..........the 707! What an amazing airplane!
Not to mention the music of the 70's and 80's! So much better than Eminem and Nelly!
Think I'll go put on a little Steve Miller Band "Big 'Ol Jet Airliner" right now!

 

[RFtech]

good stuff!

 

[temcgrew]

I met christina aguilera(I knew her family) in 1992 in pittsburgh right before she got the micky mouse club gig. She was a cute 7 year old innocent girl with piggy tails!!! my my how times change!!

every time I see her now I look at my kids and wonder (and pray)

 

[Typhoon1244]

Ahhhh...the 707! What an amazing airplane!

I can't get all that excited about the 707. I mean, it's been touted as the most amazing airliner ever produced by this country, and yet they're all gone...

...and DC-8's are everywhere!

(Remember, I'm talking about airliners. KC-135's--the true 717's--don't count.)

 

[Timebuilder]

She was a cute 7 year old innocent girl with piggy tails!!! my my how times change!!

Not only was Christina a cute kid, but she had a teriffic singing voice. Now, along with her "look at how much of a slut I can be" videos, she has left singing behind for trendy noise making, much like other females appealing to the hip hop audience.

This trend is marked by trying to fit a large number of notes into a musical phrase, as if trying to find the notes that would be a part of a melody. The result is more of a mating call than a song.

 

[TXCAP4228]

Just thinking about changes. I volunteer a lot of time working with young people. I am not THAT old but old enough to be reminded every once in a while that I'm not all that YOUNG either.

Interesting perspectives.

I was in college before I actually had email. I was in college before I ever owned a PC. I actually wrote my high school term papers with a TYPEWRITER and a DICTIONARY (since there was no such thing as a spell check). I remember what it was like not having an answering machine. I remember not having call waiting. I remember when my family got our first VCR.

I remember having a kodak camera with 110 film.

I remember watching the first space shuttle landing on tv. My dad told me how historic it was and made me watch it.

I am old enough to FEEL old when talking to people with driver's licenses who were born in Reagan's SECOND term.

 

[Huck]

Typhoon - all the 707's are in Africa. There's plenty of them still hauling fish and cows over there.

My pop made me come in from kick-ball and watch Tricky Dick resign in 1974. And the first video game I remember was not pong - it was some weird space flying game. Your job was to shoot these alien ships that looked exactly like a horn o'plenty. The screen was tinted to provide the color.

 

[fredflyer]

Our remote control was me. Dad would say "get up and change the channel". That was on a TV that took 10 minutes to warm up.

Anyone remember the Oddesey (not oddesey II) video game system. It was higher tech than a regular pong game. There was a slider that gave you a choice of 8 different kinds of pong games (oddesey II had cartridges).

Then we had ON TV, remember that pre-cursor to HBO.

 

[banned username 2]

Our remote control was me. Dad would say "get up and change the channel". That was on a TV that took 10 minutes to warm up.

Anyone remember the Oddesey (not oddesey II) video game system. It was higher tech than a regular pong game. There was a slider that gave you a choice of 8 different kinds of pong games (oddesey II had cartridges).

Then we had ON TV, remember that pre-cursor to HBO.

I remember Oddysey... and ON Tv... We didn't have either!

 

[bobbysamd]

Changing Times

I remember watching Sky King and Steve Canyon on B & W TV during the '50s. I don't think that color TV was on the market yet; if so, it was a novelty, if you had a television at all. I watched American Bandstand and Mickey Mouse on B&W TV. Don't laugh about Mickey; his show featured a short series about two youngsters involved in airline flying on Connies. Connies were to the '50s what glass is today.

I remember Viet Nam. I was on radio during Watergate. Watergate was the prime topic on our talk station. I remember Nixon resigning and President Ford pardoning Nixon shortly thereafter.

I remember pinball machines - and not the kind with digital readouts. No video games in those days.

I, too, typed papers on a (electric) typewriter in college. I used an adding machine for my college accounting problems, and that was high-tech.

Funny thing, though. I took my first two light airplane flights in 1971 in a 150 and a Cherokee 140. Maybe things haven't changed so much after all.

 

[furloboy]

Color TV!?! My God it was heaven to bundle up on a cold night and go to Aunt Sylvie's and Uncle Buzz's to watch the Ice Capades on their color television set during 1964. If we were really good we could have a glass of coca-cola in a Welch's jelly glass with a picture of a Flintstones character embossed on the bottom ("That Barney Rubble--what an actor!"). ANNNNDDDD, if we were really, really good, we could have miracle whip to dip our potato chips in.

I remember telling Aunt Sylvie that I was going to fly airplane's when I grew up.

 

[banned username 2]

ANNNNDDDD, if we were really, really good, we could have miracle whip to dip our potato chips in.

You had me up until this point....

Thats disgusting!

 

[Typhoon1244]

I remember when it was okay for Granny to hit Sylvester the Cat on the head with her umbrella. (The "big 3" networks censor that now.)

I remember when people tuned in and sat breathlessly in front of their T.V.'s when the Enterprise was undergoing glide-testing at Edwards A.F.B. (I wish people still got excited about such things...)

I remember when there weren't any female flight attendants over twenty-six. (They were all pretty, too...there're some pretty ones over twenty-six now, but they're rare!)

Good lord, I even remember doing Picture Pages wiht Bill Cosby!

 

[ozpilot]

A couple of years ago I was dancing with a young lady to a solo song by Paul McCartney and she remarked how much she liked his music.

I agreed but added "I really like his former band". She responded with "Yea, I really like Wings!".

Oh well - Times are a changin'.

 

[flywithastick]

Typhoon - all the 707's are in Africa. There's plenty of them still hauling fish and cows over there.

NASA still has a few in Houston.



Remember when as a 7 or 8 yr old kid, you could...

walk or ride your bike to school

leave the house at 5pm Friday, go to your buddies house for the night, roam the woods or neighborhood all day Saturday and head back home that night when your mom yelled your name or dad whistled from the front porch

build tree houses (platforms) 20 feet in the air in an old tree with wood scraps

you and your buddies come tearing into the house planning to camp at the treehouse out in the woods, grabing a sleeping bag, blankets, tent, flashlights, etc. Tell your folks where your going and they wouldn't even look up from the TV or newspaper and say "OK - be careful"

go swimming or fishing in a creek or lake a couple of miles away from home, getting there by bike or walking

carry a pellet gun around with you everywhere you went

Putting playing cards on your bike forks with a cloths pin. Two and you were really cutting loose!

Coonskin caps were cool

baseball was the sport and all guys played

get in trouble and your mom might spank you, but if things were really serious... "well, just wait until your dad gets home"!

if we got out of line on a trip in the car, my dad's arm came winding back over the seat looking to smack someone. and we deserved it

with the family all in the car, dad always drove - no exceptions

first time I wore a seatbelt I was probably 12 or 14. kids could ride anywhere in the car or stationwagen they could climb or crawl

we'd really cut loose and make goofy faces at the other drivers on the road

when waiting for or driving past a train, we'd have to wave at the guy in the caboose

People had accidents, and it wasn't the fault of a some corporation - things just happened

Ding Dongs were desert, not deadly junk food

Steak and potatoes was a first-class, healthy meal

teachers were respected (and women) and principals were Gods (and men)

Kids had fights in school and they fought with fists

Every kid had a metal lunchbox, a book satchel (sp?), big fat pencils, Big Chief pad and kept all their school things in a cigar box!

Nice thread!

 

[TXCAP4228]

My family had an Oddesy 2 (with cartridges). It looked cooler than the Atari because it had a sort of a keyboard. Later we had a Commodore 64 - with (get this) 64 WHOLE K OF RAM!!! WAHOO!! I had never heard of a "hard drive".

Somebody mentioned lunchboxes. When I was in 2nd grade or so, I got a Superman lunchbox with a thermos inside it. The thermos has a little spout that folded up and down. The outside of that lunchbox had Superman cartoons on it and the faces and figures were sort of raised up. I was COOL.

We had a color TV in the living room, but we also had a black and white tv. Neither of them had a remote.

 

[fredflyer]

Speaking of lunchboxes, my mom bought me a Bee-Gees one. Man I got my a$$ kicked alot for carrying that stupid thing

 

[HAZ-MAT]

I had the Transformers lunchbox, my brother had He-Man...
had the first hand held game... space invaders...
We had to wait for them to install cable in our town before we could have it hooked up. ('85)
Now i see 3d trasformers on tv, and He-Man the new generation... with digital cable being pretty much standard everywhere

 

[TXCAP4228]

Oh man!! Transformers!

"Transformers, more than meets the eye....!"

 

[Timebuilder]

"Transformers.......robots in disguise!!!"

 

[flywithastick]

"Transformers.......robots in disguise!!!"

GI JOE! With Kung Fu grip!!
...ever blow off his fingers with firecrackers?! "Joe - throw the grenade quick - powww!!" Didn't seem to hurt him too much.

 

[TXCAP4228]

"Transformers.......robots in disguise!!!"

Alright, Timebuilder, if you know the words then you are NOT as old as you have suggested you are! Busted!

 

[Timebuilder]

Actually, I have two nieces and a nephew, and in the 80's I shared a house with a couple who had an eight year old. Ever try to get a kid to change a channel????

It was a catchy ad, and the tune stuck in my head. As I watched the kids in the commercial manipulate the transformers, I was struck by the sheer ingenuity of the design. Pretty creative!

Confession: I'm still a kid at heart!