Yesterday

[Hatin Since 87]

I didn’t get to grow up in the world you guys did, but it was still a lot simpler in comparison to today. I miss the riding in the back of dads pickup with a buddy. I miss actually going to a friends house to talk to them instead of just messaging them, I miss sitting around playing monopoly and hanging out without anybody staring at their phone the entire time, I miss eating cereal while watching Saturday morning cartoons and getting dressed jumping on my bike and having to be home when the street lights came on.

 

[Hoosierdood]

We would collect walnuts in burlap bags and spread them across the gravel driveway. Dad would drive his truck back and forth over them to crush the green outer shell. We would spend hours on the back porch cracking and picking walnuts after that.

I would leave the house in the morning on my bicycle, parents only having a rough idea where I was going. Would usually end up at a friend's house playing catch, exploring the woods, catching crawdads, or shooting bullfrogs with our air rifles. As long as I was back by supper, all was good.

 

[jwamplerusa]

In my pre-teen and early teens lived in a neighborhood, with farm fields and woods all around. I wanted to fish the creek and shoot back on the farmers land.

Dad took me to the farmer's house (probably pre-arranged) and made me ask permission. The only stipulation was, don't burn anything down, and don't shoot anything you shouldn't especially my cows.

Spent many a day in those woods. Would grab my Winchester 190 and four or five boxes of ammo, grab a friend and go shoot in the woods. Other times we would grab our poles , a skillet, and hike over to the creek. Catch blue gill and clean and cook them on the bank.

I don't remember anyone who cared that there was this kid walking down the neighborhood street with a 22 semi-automatic in hand. Doing something wrong with it just never crossed my mind. One, I knew the potential consequences of improper gun handling. More importantly I ABSOLUTELY KNEW THE CONSEQUENCES I WOULD SUFFER IF MY FATHER FOUND OUT I had done anything wrong with that little 22.

That Winchester has had A LOT of ammo through it. I never cleaned it, just dumped some more 3in1 on it. When we went to my Grandparents near Coal City I would shoot a brick through it in an afternoon, and that happened many times over five or six years.

I still have that 190. Funny thing is, it hasn't been the same since I cleaned it. Not in accuracy or reliability.

 

[phylodog]

I miss Lionel Ritchie and hearing the popular music of the day having brass in it (think Stevie Wonder, Genesis, etc.)

Oh, and not being assumed a racist. That was cool.

 

[Brad69]

Summertime 1977 I was 8.

”boy you are not going lay around all afternoon go get on your bike don’t come back till dark”

Different times!

 

[kickbacked]

trucks that working people could afford that didnt cost 70 grand.

 

[jerrob]

My Dad taking me bluegill fishing in a strip pit just north of Shelbyville, and stopping on SR 9 to fill the bed of his truck up with Poke..................The feast my mother could prepare with a bucket of gills and a truckfull of poisonous weeds.

 

[spencer rifle]

Halter tops.

 

[Snapdragon]

Halter tops.

I miss them too. I wore my share.

 

[2A_Tom]

Working with my father, mother and sisters re building our house. When I got out of the Army and started in construction my boss loved how much I already knew how to do.

When I was a toddler I was tied to the vent pipe on the flat roof while they shingles the pitched roof part.

 

[AdventureTeamJoe]

Great thread. My grandparents lived in a small (pop 1200) southern Illinois town. Grandpa owned a DX service station where I spent many days learning to clean windshields and pump gas at $.359/gal. Probably the highlight of any day was being allowed to raise and lower customer vehicles on the shop's hydraulic lift. Always remember the snub nose .38 he kept in the glove box of the wrecker.

 

[red_zr24x4]

The smell of wood smoke on a cold winter morning takes me back to my youth every time.

 

[2A_Tom]

Great thread. My grandparents lived in a small (pop 1200) southern Illinois town. Grandpa owned a DX service station where I spent many days learning to clean windshields and pump gas at $.359/gal. Probably the highlight of any day was being allowed to raise and lower customer vehicles on the shop's hydraulic lift. Always remember the snub nose .38 he kept in the glove box of the wrecker.

I use to pomp Amaco Ultimate Gold in my car for .359 a gallon.

 

[smokingman]

trucks that working people could afford that didnt cost 70 grand

trucks that working people could afford that didnt cost 70 grand.

What idiot thought every truck needed a crew cab and a short bed?
Trucks used to be able to haul something that was 4x8 lol.

 

[2A_Tom]

I want a crew cab and an 8.6 bed on a Dakota.

 

[BigRed]

In my pre-teen and early teens lived in a neighborhood, with farm fields and woods all around. I wanted to fish the creek and shoot back on the farmers land.

Dad took me to the farmer's house (probably pre-arranged) and made me ask permission. The only stipulation was, don't burn anything down, and don't shoot anything you shouldn't especially my cows.

Spent many a day in those woods. Would grab my Winchester 190 and four or five boxes of ammo, grab a friend and go shoot in the woods. Other times we would grab our poles , a skillet, and hike over to the creek. Catch blue gill and clean and cook them on the bank.

I don't remember anyone who cared that there was this kid walking down the neighborhood street with a 22 semi-automatic in hand. Doing something wrong with it just never crossed my mind. One, I knew the potential consequences of improper gun handling. More importantly I ABSOLUTELY KNEW THE CONSEQUENCES I WOULD SUFFER IF MY FATHER FOUND OUT I had done anything wrong with that little 22.

That Winchester has had A LOT of ammo through it. I never cleaned it, just dumped some more 3in1 on it. When we went to my Grandparents near Coal City I would shoot a brick through it in an afternoon, and that happened many times over five or six years.

I still have that 190. Funny thing is, it hasn't been the same since I cleaned it. Not in accuracy or reliability.

Good stuff!

Nothing is more important to a child than good parents.

 

[BigRed]

trucks that working people could afford that didnt cost 70 grand.

Yep.

I often wonder how many of those 70k trucks ever see any work or anything other than paved roads.

 

[BigRed]

Strike anywhere matches.....The real ones....Ohio Blue Tip.



There is another company that makes "strike anywhere". On the rare occasion I can find them, I get them by the case. They work, but not nearly as well as the old Ohio Blue Tip.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Strike anywhere matches.....The real ones....Ohio Blue Tip.



There is another company that makes "strike anywhere". On the rare occasion I can find them, I get them by the case. They work, but not nearly as well as the old Ohio Blue Tip.

I remember shooting Ohio Blue Tips out of my pellet gun. They make a really loud crack when they hit a stone wall.

 

[BigRed]

I remember shooting Ohio Blue Tips out of my pellet gun. They make a really loud crack when they hit a stone wall.

Yep. The tip material was MUCH better than whatever is used now.

We used to cut the tips off and put them in a nut between bolts screwed into both sides of the nut. When tossed on a hard surface the would give a decent "crack" like a firecracker. Used them when we played "army".