Heeeey Joe- don't feel bad about 25 years ago.  I graduated from North High 26 years ago!  Back then it was more Copenhagen and 4 wheel drives.  Some of the yahoos would even spend their lunch break trying to rope each others' trucks.  Ugh...

LOL!  Hahahaha!

Yeah, but all his work after 5 was crap.

Now now, Random.  I know perfectly well that Mozart lived past 5.  ; )

Borrowing from Tom Lehrer, I'm so old that when Mozart was my age he'd already been dead for 35 years.

MrsE...That was (Uuugh) 25 years ago and 2,990 miles to the right of Bako.

I must say, of all the times I've gotten a "Hey Joe" that is about the most...or only one that would be appropriate!

Heeeey Joe, where you going with that gun in your hand?  Sorry, couldn't pass up the Hendrix reference.  Guns in high school?  I didn't see you while attending North High!  Ha!  Another one I couldn't resist!

In Jr high, my friends and I would ride the bus with fishing rods, tackle boxes (worms too) and knives ranging from an "old timer" to a boning knife. After school, walk to where ever we were going. Later in High School, depending on the season, rifles or shotguns stowed in the lockers with books and ammo.

We were NOT allowed however to have any "centerfolds" or women in a state of undress.

What would that be today? Knives, sure expultion. Guns?...HA!

I'm with AD on the dangers facing today's children being exagerated by the media. Just the other day I caught a TV show were the premise was that a 5 yr old was snatched because his parents dared let him walk alone down the street to his friend's house. Just one more example of the media perpetuating the fear. And we, the citizens, let them. We eat it up like candy and let the culture of fear grow into gargantuan proportions.

We used to trample around the countryside with air pistols and rifles, which were indiscernible from "real" guns. I say "real", but a fully charged pellet gun can do serious damage. We also had knives, big ones, too. We even dressed up in military looking uniforms and did mock attacks on unsuspecting trees. I never accidentally shot any of my friends. Today, if my kids were seen with the stuff I had back then, someone would call 911, police would be massed, helicopters circling, swat teams deployed, streets closed, neighborhoods evacuated and schools put in lock down. CPS would get involved, if the police didn't shoot my kids to death, that is. Yes, media or not, the world has changed.

I grew up surrounded by lucky children such as you describe. I was 11 years old before I was allowed to cross the street unsupervised~ no joke. Before Beach Park existed it was a hobo campground~ completely off limits because those hobos were well know grabbers of children(?) not.... I think there is much merit in what AD is saying. I grew up scared of all most everything and it took me a long time to overcome that.

I believe that much of the perception of how much more dangerous the world is for children has been exaggerated by the media.

Remember way back (we old ones, anyway) when kids could go off for miles playing on their own?  How many life-threatening situations did you safely avoid only out of sheer luck?  How many times did you put yourself in real danger of getting killed, without thinking of the possibility at that time?  I would bet that each of us can think of 30 or more.

Now if there is the slightest danger to children, we order something closed, fenced off, or taken down.  We come closer and closer to a completely child-proof world, and we are still raising them to be more frightened of the world than we ever were as children?

I do not mean or wish to sound critical of anyone's opinion, but sometimes I think of the possible long-term consequences of raising such a fearful generation of kids.

Me and my sister would ride our bikes to the mall on Saturdays, walk to school by ourselves.  I wont even let my daughter who is 12 walk to school with her friends.  the school is on the same street we live on.   She can't even walk to the mailbox...So I know what your saying.  I'm just not going to take any chances with her safety.   Even in a small town you really don't know everyone, so id be the same there too.

"we were never in the house during the day" Yeah, I was out riding my bike by myself at 9 or 10. We used to walk to movie theaters, alone. Today, I would never, ever ever let my kids ride out of my sight, or walk alone anywhere. Too damn scary. That is the saddest thing of all to me. Perhaps if we lived in some tiny town in the mid west somewhere, when you know everybody, but not here. Too many sickos and sex offenders roaming the streets today.

in a way its sad that the kids of today  will never experience whats its like to have real fun.  all they do is play mind numbing video games and  sit on computers all day.   my grandson is 5yrs old at 3 he could play Halo3 like a pro!  I have since convinced his parents to get rid of the Xbox360 and send him outside to play.  He is no longer a blob on the couch!   Its really not the kids fault, the parents  buy this stuff for them as a babysitting device.    I remember being able to make the ultimate mud pie in our back yard.  We  had tons of little cars and dirt roads all over the place.  we were never in the house during the day. 

I didn't bother to take the test~ I remember dirt birth announcement in the paper... I knew my significant other was the "one" when he gave me a skate key. He was 58 & I was 51."Going steady". LOL

We were on a camping trip last week. I needed a part for the RV. I got on my CELL PHONE and went to the BROWSER function, searched GOOGLE for the part, then found a nearby store that had it, transferred that to the CELLPHONE GPS navigator, which took us right to it. Whole thing took 20 minutes. When I was a kid, that would have taken at least 2 days. But, MY kids will remember that whole experience and probably look back on it in 30 years thinking how quaint and slow the technology was back THEN.

Catpaw -- and Saturday afternoon was a movie matinee with a double feature, cartoons, and the RKO newsreel.  That was at a time when it was safe for kids to go the movies alone.

siouxcityranch.....I'd  give anything for the chance to tell my mom I love her  just one more time.

Recall when little shopping and errands were done on a sunday because all stores were closed?

ED kick the can is still a good game..we teach it to the foster kids and its just as much fun now as it was then..

S&H ..I remember sitting at my moms dining room table with a wet rag sticking those freakin things in the book for her.. I used to hate it..but I'd do it all over if I could be sitting there talking to her again.. thanks for  the flash back Lana

Im not that old and I remember 22 things from the list.  I have a 1/2 filled book of S&H  green stamps.  They were my Moms.

Thanks for making it clear, mrsearnhardt88; I am dinosaur!

I remember all of that. 

I remember sock stretchers.  Top that.  ;)

I remember when middle class people rode the bus.

I remember the middle class.

I remember real coal furnaces.

I remember charge plates, not to be confused with credit cards.

I still have real carbon paper, and the seamstresses' colored twin, tracing paper.

And I'm still a lusty tramp.   I'm going to live forever.  ;)

I didn't even take the test, I know I'd ace it.  My Mom used pant stretcher (creasers) for my Dad's very starched khakis.  I was at a thrift store one day and found a bunch.  I bought 3 sets for $3.00 and sold them on ebay for 60 bucks.  Before I even listed them I went right back to get the rest but someone beat me to them. 

Yeah...I remember them all.

We had play clothes, school clothes, and good clothes -- 2 pairs of shoes, one pair for school and one pair to go with our good clothes.  In summer we went barefoot, so there was no need for play shoes!

Observer, I remember rationing, too.  I still have some of the old books of rationing stamps from WWII.  

Ed1936, I remember kick-the-can -- best time to play was at dusk!

Kids today just don't know what it was like to have to make your own entertainment and fun.  What a loss!

Does anyone remember kick-the-can?

I still have the metal ice cube trays with the levers.  I used to watch my mom iron my dad's shirts every week. She had her sprinkle top on a 7Up bottle.  Our family only had one car.  It was a 1959 Chevy station wagon.  My dad along with four other dads was in a car pool to get to work.  On his day to drive my mom was carless.  She made sure she had all her errands run on the other four days.  We walked or rode our bikes to school.  It was right at a mile.  We were never tardy.  It would not have been right. We had school clothes, play clothes and Sunday School clothes.  We only wore our SS clothes on Sundays or special occations. No one ever dreamed of wearing flip flops to Church like they do now. Moms always wore hats and gloves when they went to Church. Dads always wore suits with a tie when they were at the office or at Church.  We changed into our play clothes as soon as we got home from Church or school. We saved our "good" clothes for when we were not outside playing in the yard, barn, treehouse, creek,  tumbleweed fort, etc.  We were not allowed in the "front room" unless company was coming.  Then we had to treat every thing with respect and we were never allowed to eat in there.  Only grown ups were allowed to do that. 

When my oldest son (now 22) was in his very early elementary school years, he had an assignment to ask his parents and/or his grandparents what kinds of things they didn't have when they were children that he did have at that time.  One thing I told him is that we didn't have VCRs.  He looked at me, shocked!  "Then what did you watch your videos on!?" he asked me. 

BTW:  I scored older than dirt on this, too.

donmason:  don't you wish you had those PF Flyers now?

OMG!     I'm older than dirt too.

I had a pair of PF Flyers. They came with the exclusive Magic Wedge, so you could leap higher and run farther!   Much better than Keds!

My families first new car was a 1959 Studebaker Lark with overdrive, and 4-60 air conditioning!   Dad paid $ 2,150 for it.

Guess I'll head back to my tomb now.  Bye!

mrsearnhardt88:  Memories:  starching clothing:  wash, rinse, starch, dry (on line), sprinkle with that bottle with holes in the cap,* roll up, put in a pillowcase, put in refrigerator until you HAVE to iron, then get the ironing board out, plug the iron in (there was one setting:  HOT), and iron till all the clothes in the refrigerator were ironed.  Try not to scorch anything.  Nothing takes scorch marks out.  I did a lot of that stuff after my mother passed away.  My sister and I fought over who'd "get" to do the ironing.  Yeah, I'm older'n dirt. 

*Growl loudly when it accidentally fell off.

I'm wwwaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy older then dirt!!! I remember every bit of this stuff!!!  Oh, we NEVER owned a car! Until I was 18 and bought one with my own money for $700.00