Serious question

I appreciate the trip back in time this thread has provided. I also appreciate the perspectives of those born after this period of time and in different circumstances. Many of us had it easier than our parents and grandparents. It was a mantra to provide a better environment for our kids to grow up in than what we experienced. I think there are pros and cons to this. You can still instill values such as work ethic, the importance of family/faith, and love for the outdoors today. The "silver spoon" of prosperity is not a curse for kids as long as the parents do their part.
 
Len beat me. We used to bring our shotgun and ammo to school on the bus,then go to a friend's place (on a bus) to hunt after school. Then back home via school the next day. Shotgun was kept in locker at school.

When I was 7 I could back a hay wagon behind a tractor. At 12 drove a tandem truck to the grain elevator 10 miles to town,through town and back. Now days people can't drive anything with a clutch pedal, semi drivers included.

At 14 rode my bike to the gun store to buy a .22 with paper route money. Bought ammo without a parent.

As a kid I put more miles on a bike then I could even imagine. Used to replace tires at least every year and sometimes between.
 
Len beat me. We used to bring our shotgun and ammo to school on the bus,then go to a friend's place (on a bus) to hunt after school. Then back home via school the next day. Shotgun was kept in locker at school.

When I was 7 I could back a hay wagon behind a tractor. At 12 drove a tandem truck to the grain elevator 10 miles to town,through town and back. Now days people can't drive anything with a clutch pedal, semi drivers included.

At 14 rode my bike to the gun store to buy a .22 with paper route money. Bought ammo without a parent.

As a kid I put more miles on a bike then I could even imagine. Used to replace tires at least every year and sometimes between.
Yep now the kids discuss how their therapy sessions went or living between two or more households with their step parents or their status on social networks, physical appearance…..and the list goes on and on. Nothing like when I was a kid growing up.
 
I'm half the age most of you are, and was in that transitional period after the golden era. I was born in 91, thankfully in a remote area. Isolated on a hilltop, we had 8 acres that we rode laps upon laps through on our bikes and dirt bikes. Had a rifle range in the back yard (a shaky bench and a soft stump).

Cells phones were just becoming a thing. I remember my dad hated the idea of them, but when he started his own business he had to get one. It rankled him something fierce. Now he can't put his cell phone down, or if he does it's just to turn on his laptop or table. Bit of irony there.

We had dial up internet until I was 12 or so, 3 channels on tv until I was 16. All cell phones were flip phones or Nokia brick phones, nothing "smart" yet.

I'm thankful I was fortunate enough to grow up remote, with woods around us. There's a lot of lessons to be learned (nobody else in my 6th grade class had to put down the occasional deer shredded by a cougar in the back yard!) that most kids I knew never had the chance to experience.

I have an adopted brother who's 16 right now and I feel for his generation. I can't imagine how hard it is to grow up in an era of digital everything, ubiquitous smart phones, regular school shootings, increasing teenage hard drug use… the list goes on. Makes me dubious about having kids of my own, and wondering what their world will look like in 15-20 years
Not to mention that every time you "Moon" someone it gets put on the internet now. On a good note, we could not go down memory lane with each other from different areas of the country if not for the internet. Do we owe a thanks to Al Gore for inventing the internet? LOL
 
That was a long time ago, and things were slower paced for sure. I caught my first fish, trapped my first muskrat and shot my first rabbit for the stew pot in the sixties. We lived out in the country, and our lifestyle was what "preppers" try to learn today. It was daily life to us. I used to sit up in the evenings with my grandpa and talk while having coffee with him to show how grown up I was. He was born in 1893, during the horse and buggy days. He fought in WW1, delivered mail with a horse and buggy. I really enjoyed the stories of his era and into what was then modern times. Today when we have a family gathering, my grandkids usually don't get off of their phones. I just slip off into my reloading room.
Yes it was a great time to grow up.
Don't you just love all the "Homesteaders" on YT?
 
Why is this even a topic of discussion in the LR hunting and shooting sub section of a long range hunting forum?
More importantly, why did you allow this to offend you to the point of feeling the need to comment?
It's a good thing to remind our younger viewers that there are healthier alternatives to the modern worldly lifestyle and that there are still folks around who can mentor them in those healthier alternatives.

Just my $0.02

Ed
 
Len beat me. We used to bring our shotgun and ammo to school on the bus,then go to a friend's place (on a bus) to hunt after school. Then back home via school the next day. Shotgun was kept in locker at school.

When I was 7 I could back a hay wagon behind a tractor. At 12 drove a tandem truck to the grain elevator 10 miles to town,through town and back. Now days people can't drive anything with a clutch pedal, semi drivers included.

At 14 rode my bike to the gun store to buy a .22 with paper route money. Bought ammo without a parent.

As a kid I put more miles on a bike then I could even imagine. Used to replace tires at least every year and sometimes between.
In those days no one would ever think about shooting someone at school!
Behind the gym was the place to settle differences.
Every boy I knew had a pocket knife and a few girls too.Different times,I miss that time.Things are so different now as parents send their children to school and some don't get to go home!
Thinking about the old days makes me reflect on how far we have advanced in some ways and how far we have gone backwards in other ways.
Thanks for this thread!I needed it
 
I remember bringing my Ruger 22 to school for sound effects for a couple plays, Used 22 blanks, not issue, In Shop class I made a 12" black powder cannon and bored it to shoot 50 round balls, again no issue. In college in NY, Westchester county I was allowed to bring my rifle and shotgun, just had to keep them in the Dean of Men's locked office,

The School, and others trusted us at the time. Now at 75 I do miss the old times and the trust people had in us.

(While we are working on Artificial Intelligence, how about some Common Intelligence)
 

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