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Posted on 06/01/2014 6:40:44 PM PDT by windcliff
PHILADELPHIA — DINNER with your children in 19th-century America often required some self-control. Berry stains in your daughter’s hair? Good for her. Raccoon bites running up your boy’s arms? Bet he had an interesting day.
As this year’s summer vacation begins, many parents contemplate how to rein in their kids. But there was a time when Americans pushed in the opposite direction, preserved in Mark Twain’s cat-swinging scamps. Parents back then encouraged kids to get some wildness out of their system, to express the republic’s revolutionary values.
American children of the 19th century had a reputation. Returning British visitors reported on American kids who showed no respect, who swore and fought, who appeared — at age 10 — “calling for liquor at the bar, or puffing a cigar in the streets,” as one wrote. There were really no children in 19th-century America, travelers often claimed, only “small stuck-up caricatures of men and women.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Uhh, Dude.
If you’re in a bicycle/car accident, it is possible a helmet may be of some value, but it’s not likely.
A helmet is mostly of value when you crash solo and bounce your skull off the pavement, and not always then. I speak as someone who crashed that way 10 years ago, broke his pelvis in five places, and didn’t put a scratch on the helmet. Still use it, in fact. LOL
What’s half ball? My dad showed me stick ball. Mom didn’t care so much since we took the handle from a broom. We both went all over trying to find a pink Spalding. No luck so we used a tennis ball.
We’d cut a pimple ball in 1/2 and play baseball in the street. It was tough to hit and didn’t break many windows either probably because it was so hard to hit.
Then of course there was the wiffle ball you couldn't smack twenty feet. But my g'pa showed what happens when you hit a golf ball with a stick. Whoo hoo!
>>> Backyard tackle football, too.<<<
Which sometimes devolved into smear the queer.
Good times.
There are no girls in those pictures!!!! LOL! We played with the boys.
I don’t know if it still is being played the way we did, I left Brooklyn in ‘82. I do remember seeing a bunch of kids with a football in the street one weekend I was visiting back home in ‘85 or ‘86.
I was back there last September and took my almost 16yo daughter through my old neighborhood - didn’t see a single kid playing in any of the streets where we always played. I was sad to see the basketball courts/outside gym of my Catholic elementary school was a parking lot.
dude hitting a golf ball in the neighborhood would be big trouble.
Yep.
In Catholic school we played free the pit, always got our uniform pants tore up. Mom was a good patcher She usually made towels and such for the Christmas bizarre.
Can vaguely remember waiting for the school bus to take me to swim lessons. Maybe first grade?
Must have been the same age that my mom would drop me off for snow skiing lessons and then I would ski for a couple of hours afterwards by myself to be picked up. The place had four rope-tows and a poma-lift. I remember it was big-time when I rode the poma-lift by myself. Hard to believe my mom would just leave me there by myself for the morning! I remember being disappointed that there was nobody I knew to see my big accomplishment.
Fourth grade is when my memories really kick in. Riding our bikes to the creek a couple miles away and fishing, spearing fish with sticks, building forts, etc.
Was the same creek my old man went skinny-dipping when he was a kid! And he told the story of taking his Dad's 10-guage double-barreled shotgun to the creek to hunt pheasant without permission. He figured he would be all ready for the second shot by putting his second finger on the second trigger. Of course when he pulled with the first finger - the other finger set off the second barrel. He ended up on his butt!
When we would catch carp we would but them in a bag and ride our bikes home - but leave the carp on the front stoop of whatever kid we wanted to play a joke on that day.
We went swimming in the pond at the end of our street. Built a raft that survived 5 winters. Nearly drowned when an older kid dunked me. My best friend almost killed him over it when he dunked him in return.
Thought the BB gun wars were stupid. But did hunt chipmunks - I guess that was third or fourth grade the first time. Song birds were a no-no.
Built a go-card in 5th grade out of an old Briggs and Stratton engine, some wheels off an old wagon and some 2x4’s. My best friend and I went “halvsies” on the clutch. The thing was so high-centered (the wagon wheels with those short axles!) we were the only two that could ride it. Several years later learned the lesson to never go “halvsies” on anything as when he moved away he somehow ended up with the clutch!
After school would make bike jumps in the city sand and gravel/ road maintenance lot. We didn't make a mess, and the guys would drive by and never say anything.
Saturday mornings would get up early and go under the bleachers after the H.S. football game and collect the loose chain that had fallen. Sometimes a bill, and once a buddy found a wallet - got the reward money.
At night we would climb the light towers and see who had the guts to climb all the way. After getting caught, had to make sure to wipe my hands of the silvery -paint stuff or my mom would see.
Spending nights in our fort in the backyard and playing “night games”. Hide and go seek, evade the cars, which often turned into throwing dirt clods or small crab apples at cars. Looking back, I'm REALLY glad we never got shot or beat up; running through people's backyards and tossing stuff at cars and all of that.
Buying smoke bombs a the 5&10, then hiding behind the embankment and tossing a bunch of them onto the busy road and watch the traffic get snarled up!
Never did end up with any broken bones.
A concussion after a kid I pushed off the merry-go-round (playing “king of the hill” type came) came up behind me at the end of recess and pushed me from behind on the ice.
“Are they all inside with their smartphones?”
Probably. But that is because they can’t go outside and experience the same things we did...because of predators.
I find it to be very sad and a huge source of social dysfunction.
A summer for me was this: riding my bike (without a helmet), tackle football (without a helmet), sandlot baseball, motorcycling (again no helmet), swimming, fishing, mowing lawns (with a riding lawnmower at 10), boating and shooting my BB gun in my backyard.
I grew up in the city of Detroit, when it was possible
to grow up in the city of Detroit. We played in the streets and alleys, and never were hurt seriously, and, loved every minute of it. I would say that there was no better place to
grow up than Detroit, in the 1960’s.
“But that is because they can’t go outside and experience the same things we did...because of predators.”
I think it was about 6th grade and we had an assembly about some guy in a red car that had picked up some kids and molested them or something. It wasn’t just a few days later that a guy in a red car slowed down as I was walking to school and said something like “Hey - come over here, I need help finding ____”. I stopped, gave him the finger and yelled “F*** you!” and ran off through the lawns to get to school. Then told a teacher at the school.
I always figured it was that guy. Although posting it now - I bet some guy might have a funny story of the time he was trying to find Mr. Anderson’s house!
First smoke at 12 for me (went to a private school and we had a smoking lounge). Drove at 11 (took my sister’s Opel GT to see my gf at 12. She was at her parents’ summer home in MA.). The late 60s/early 70’s were fun.
Poor man's Corvette :)
Skinny dipping? Did that at a pond called BAP...
Yes... but it was my car when my parents bought a new car for my sis..
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