I've come to a determination....
What I have determined is that we had it easy as kids. You heard me right, we had it easy. Sure, there were no computers when I was a kid except that huge warehouse-sized IBM one somewhere in corporate America. We didn't have more than three channels to choose from instead of the hundreds that are available now. Like the commercial says for U-Verse...we couldn't just move the t.v. from one room to another without losing our picture. If you didn't have an aeriel antenna then you had some sort of rabbit ears. Even then, sometimes you had to put aluminum foil on them to get a better picture. We had Saturday morning cartoons, Bugs Bunny and Roadrunner; Johnny Quest; Speed Racer ( I hated that one...couldn't keep up with the lips there); Looney Tunes which was separate from Bugs Bunny/Roadrunner. Sundays we had an abbreviated version of Saturday cartoons, they were only on for a couple of hours before Church. Sunday night it was Wild Kingdom and The Wonderful World of Disney. Bonanza; Have Gun will Travel; Gunsmoke; Lassie; Flipper, well, they all rounded out the viewing for the night during the week. We didn't have movie channels, Netflix, Hulu or pay-per-view...if we wanted to see a movie we went to the theater or drive in.
Oh! The Drive In! As kids we would pile into the station wagon and bring our own snacks and watch the movie on the hood or the roof of the car. If it was cold, then we all huddled under blankets and watched, sometimes outside but more likely inside the car. When I was older, of course we smuggled friends in via the trunk or under blankets and usually, but not always it was make-out time for most of them. I really have to admit, if I went to the drive in it was to watch the movie...I was a movie nut, the rest of the other stuff I wasn't interested in, at least there...I went to watch the movie not pay and not watch it.
If we wanted to play games we went outside or to the soda shop down the road to play pinball. When we got Pong we thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread, until we finally beat it, then we were back to pinball, Foosball and air hockey. We made our own fun, we didn't have someone make it for us and take away our imaginations. Today, even though I do indulge in video games from time to time and we do own a Wii, I would still rather participate in a group function like cards or croquet or softball. Well, at least I used to. Fibro kind of limits that for me. Baseball or Football games usually were on the radio unless you were in an area that broadcast the games or were lucky enough to be able to go to a game in person.
Reading, well, I do have a Nook so that I have access to more reading material, but that's because I read so much that if I continued to purchase books that I would be considered a hoarder. I've tried the library thing, but sometimes they don't have a book that I really want to read because its so popular and checked out for so long that the sequel is usually out by the time it comes back. Besides, sometimes I actually go back and reread the books or I take an enormous amount of time to read it...its just inconvenient.
And the music? Well, we listened to AM until FM came into its own. In Reno, KKBC was the "harder" rock station. In other words, it played things like Led Zepplin, Black Sabbath (Ozzie Osbourne!), Black Oak Arkansas, Grand Funk, Rush, Ted Nugent...stuff that wasn't The Eagles, Golden Earring, Bobby Sherman, The Beatles (before they went psychedelic on us), The Rolling Stones, Bay City Rollers, The Osmonds, The Monkees and The Jackson Five. If we wanted to have the recording of a song we either bought the vinyl of it, whether it was 45s or LPs or we recorded it off of the radio, and sometimes the radio version was different than the studio version. It was a crap shoot and sometimes the music was interrupted by commercials or the DJ commenting over the song. We couldn't download the music and carry it around with us, we had a transistor radio, but the music was awesome then with talented artists that actually carried a tune (somewhat), and songs that told stories. Music was music then...and talking through a song was occasional, usually when a country ballad was done, like when Johnny Cash sang "A Boy named Sue". If someone put out a rap song then, they would be looked at like they had a third eye. The music industry was for the most part respected.
Did we have it easy? Sure! Less decision making time about what you want to listen to, watch, record or even read. Did we have everything at our fingertips? No and it made us want to make it "easier" for our kids and sadly, I think that we have given them a handicap in that area. We wanted them to be able to have access to the things that were only dreams for us, we wanted them to go further, dream bigger and do the things that would have been impossible in the fifties, sixties and seventies. We have had so many advances that have benefited mankind, this is true, but we've bred now two generations of couch potatoes and children who are more adept at video games than actual hands-on professions. We have the highest number of over-weight and obese children than we ever have. We have, in essence, made life for our future generations easier, sure, but more difficult at the same time. We have enabled them to become basic hermits, telecommuting and not having to leave the comfort of their own homes. Even groceries can be ordered online and delivered to the home of one who wishes not to leave. Did we have it easy? Yes, we were generations of doers...farmers, laborers, artisans, workers with our hands as well as our minds...scientists, teachers, leaders who had pride in what they did and what they produced...now, well, some will just say that what they do is just to provide for their families, that they're just jobs.
Yes, we had it easy, much more than we want to admit.
Oh! The Drive In! As kids we would pile into the station wagon and bring our own snacks and watch the movie on the hood or the roof of the car. If it was cold, then we all huddled under blankets and watched, sometimes outside but more likely inside the car. When I was older, of course we smuggled friends in via the trunk or under blankets and usually, but not always it was make-out time for most of them. I really have to admit, if I went to the drive in it was to watch the movie...I was a movie nut, the rest of the other stuff I wasn't interested in, at least there...I went to watch the movie not pay and not watch it.
If we wanted to play games we went outside or to the soda shop down the road to play pinball. When we got Pong we thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread, until we finally beat it, then we were back to pinball, Foosball and air hockey. We made our own fun, we didn't have someone make it for us and take away our imaginations. Today, even though I do indulge in video games from time to time and we do own a Wii, I would still rather participate in a group function like cards or croquet or softball. Well, at least I used to. Fibro kind of limits that for me. Baseball or Football games usually were on the radio unless you were in an area that broadcast the games or were lucky enough to be able to go to a game in person.
Reading, well, I do have a Nook so that I have access to more reading material, but that's because I read so much that if I continued to purchase books that I would be considered a hoarder. I've tried the library thing, but sometimes they don't have a book that I really want to read because its so popular and checked out for so long that the sequel is usually out by the time it comes back. Besides, sometimes I actually go back and reread the books or I take an enormous amount of time to read it...its just inconvenient.
And the music? Well, we listened to AM until FM came into its own. In Reno, KKBC was the "harder" rock station. In other words, it played things like Led Zepplin, Black Sabbath (Ozzie Osbourne!), Black Oak Arkansas, Grand Funk, Rush, Ted Nugent...stuff that wasn't The Eagles, Golden Earring, Bobby Sherman, The Beatles (before they went psychedelic on us), The Rolling Stones, Bay City Rollers, The Osmonds, The Monkees and The Jackson Five. If we wanted to have the recording of a song we either bought the vinyl of it, whether it was 45s or LPs or we recorded it off of the radio, and sometimes the radio version was different than the studio version. It was a crap shoot and sometimes the music was interrupted by commercials or the DJ commenting over the song. We couldn't download the music and carry it around with us, we had a transistor radio, but the music was awesome then with talented artists that actually carried a tune (somewhat), and songs that told stories. Music was music then...and talking through a song was occasional, usually when a country ballad was done, like when Johnny Cash sang "A Boy named Sue". If someone put out a rap song then, they would be looked at like they had a third eye. The music industry was for the most part respected.
Did we have it easy? Sure! Less decision making time about what you want to listen to, watch, record or even read. Did we have everything at our fingertips? No and it made us want to make it "easier" for our kids and sadly, I think that we have given them a handicap in that area. We wanted them to be able to have access to the things that were only dreams for us, we wanted them to go further, dream bigger and do the things that would have been impossible in the fifties, sixties and seventies. We have had so many advances that have benefited mankind, this is true, but we've bred now two generations of couch potatoes and children who are more adept at video games than actual hands-on professions. We have the highest number of over-weight and obese children than we ever have. We have, in essence, made life for our future generations easier, sure, but more difficult at the same time. We have enabled them to become basic hermits, telecommuting and not having to leave the comfort of their own homes. Even groceries can be ordered online and delivered to the home of one who wishes not to leave. Did we have it easy? Yes, we were generations of doers...farmers, laborers, artisans, workers with our hands as well as our minds...scientists, teachers, leaders who had pride in what they did and what they produced...now, well, some will just say that what they do is just to provide for their families, that they're just jobs.
Yes, we had it easy, much more than we want to admit.
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