Pepsi Generation

[Cat]

Are the DEPs victims of what Rgr Plavney calls the 'Pepsi Generation'?
I thought this old email I received might shed some light on this.


I Can't Believe We Made It! If you lived as a child in the 40's, 50's, 60's or even 70's. Looking back, it's hard to believe that we have lived as long as we have.. As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat. Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors, or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets. (Not to mention hitchhiking to town as a young kid!) We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Horrors. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times we learned to solve the problem. We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. No cell phones. Unthinkable. We played dodgeball and sometimes the ball would really hurt. We got cut and broke bones and broke teeth, and there were no law suits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to blame, but us. Remember accidents? We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it. We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank sugar soda but we were never overweight...we were always outside playing. We shared one grape soda with four friends, from one bottle and no one died from this. We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64,X-Boxes, video games at all, 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, personal cell phones, Personal Computers, Internet chat rooms ... we had friends. We went outside and found them. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rung the bell or just walked in and talked to them. Imagine such a thing. Without asking a parent! By ourselves! Out there in the cold cruel world! Without a guardian. How did we do it? We made up games with sticks and rocks and ate worms and watermelon seeds and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out any eyes, nor did the worms live inside us forever. We ate berries to see if they were edible. We climbed trees until we reached the top, shot BB guns and slingshots and .22s and did not kill anybody or turn into mass murderers. Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't, had to learn to deal with disappointment....Some students weren't as smart as others so they failed a grade and were held back to repeat the same grade.....Horrors. Tests were not adjusted for any reason. Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected. No one to hide behind. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law, imagine that! This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years has been an explosion of innovation and new ideas and great leaders. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. And you're one of them. Congratulations! Please pass this on to others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before government regulated our lives, for our own good.

[Spartan]

Are the DEPs victims of what Rgr Plavney calls the 'Pepsi Generation'?
I thought this old email I received might shed some light on this.


I Can't Believe We Made It! If you lived as a child in the 40's, 50's, 60's or even 70's. Looking back, it's hard to believe that we have lived as long as we have.. As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat. Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors, or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets. (Not to mention hitchhiking to town as a young kid!) We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Horrors. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times we learned to solve the problem. We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. No cell phones. Unthinkable. We played dodgeball and sometimes the ball would really hurt. We got cut and broke bones and broke teeth, and there were no law suits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to blame, but us. Remember accidents? We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it. We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank sugar soda but we were never overweight...we were always outside playing. We shared one grape soda with four friends, from one bottle and no one died from this. We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64,X-Boxes, video games at all, 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, personal cell phones, Personal Computers, Internet chat rooms ... we had friends. We went outside and found them. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rung the bell or just walked in and talked to them. Imagine such a thing. Without asking a parent! By ourselves! Out there in the cold cruel world! Without a guardian. How did we do it? We made up games with sticks and rocks and ate worms and watermelon seeds and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out any eyes, nor did the worms live inside us forever. We ate berries to see if they were edible. We climbed trees until we reached the top, shot BB guns and slingshots and .22s and did not kill anybody or turn into mass murderers. Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't, had to learn to deal with disappointment....Some students weren't as smart as others so they failed a grade and were held back to repeat the same grade.....Horrors. Tests were not adjusted for any reason. Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected. No one to hide behind. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law, imagine that! This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years has been an explosion of innovation and new ideas and great leaders. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. And you're one of them. Congratulations! Please pass this on to others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before government regulated our lives, for our own good.

Damn, that's great. What site did you cut and paste it from? They have any more good stuff like that on there?

Oh, you forgot to add - back when girls were not offended when people told them - 'you throw like a girl'.

Thanks Cat.

[Cat]

I received this as an email over a year ago. I couldn't help but think of it when reading some of the posts on the site.

I remember consequences when I grew up, which I think is missing from younger generations. I didn't have to look to a teacher, friends parent, or Cop to find consequences. My father was my consequence. And he didn't deal with BS well .

[BadMuther]

Good post...

They actually sided with the law, imagine that!

I remember that!!!

[Steadfast]

Well My brother (2 years younger than I) punched a Nun in 2nd grade after he was struck by her. My mother was summoned to school by Mother Superior. My mother informed Mother Superior that none of her Nuns should ever hit any of her boys. Us boys were instructed by our father that if anyone ever hits us then we must strike back or suffer the wrath of our father. She also informed Mother Superior that the Nun was lucky not to have both of us together when my brother was struck because we both would have punched the Nun. Our father ordered us boys to fight together no matter who was initially in the fight. Our Father grew up in a tough neighborhood in NYC and learned to box Golden Gloves. My mother merely explained this to Mother Superior and it was agreed that none of the Nuns would ever strike us again. End of Story!

Note: In our neighborhood it was well known that if you fought one of us, then you fought all of us. Above incident happened in 1958.

[Flesh Thorn]

Yes Cat, it really was like that. It is to bad that you are too young to remember. :D

[Bell]

hmmmm. My parents told the teachers to give us the paddle if we were outta line and then to let them know about it. We got the belt at home too.

Punch a Nun? Shiiiit. If I'd have ever made a fist at any grown up my old man would have killed me. My brother pushed a teacher that wanted to whop him once and Dad pounded my brother severely. Respect was a great big word in our house.

In our house the only rights kids had was the rights my parents allowed us. Period. They were fair and not unreasonable, but if we didn't like it, tough. Dad always said that his rules stood as long as we lived in his house. If we didn't like it we could get our own place and make our own rules. That rule of Dad's about his rules applied to everyone and he showed them the same courtesy at their house.

We didn't do a lot of shit when I was a kid because we knew the men in the neighborhood would beat the shit out of us if they caught us doing something. If we ran they'd just call the house and Dad would get the belt out. We toed the line because there was a line. Kids don't know where the fence or the line is anymore and they wander around like they can do things. Not right, in my book.

RLTW
Bell

[502in62]

Bell, ya took my post. I was going to add to it but ya said it all. Respect to any adult, especially the nuns (grammer school) or the Christian Brothers (high school). My parents always said they were paying to much money for my education for me to be screwing around.

[Spartan]

I was CBHS also.

[Steadfast]

We didn't grow up disrespecting others, we just stuck together as a team. I grew up in a project in brooklyn NY and if u didn't fight you got picked on. Not everybody grew up in nice neighbor USA. Many of my friends died before 16, from drugs, robberies and gang wars. None of us ever got arrested in my family except for dad whose hands were licensed weapons.


P.S. I played every sport there was by us. I grewup running and playing sports from dawn to dusk. When I was drafted, I could run forever.

[Cat]

Yes Cat, it really was like that. It is to bad that you are too young to remember. :D

Yeah I guess I am not really included in the generational time frame here but I can relate because of how my father raised me.

Oh, you forgot to add - back when girls were not offended when people told them - 'you throw like a girl'.

I don't think it was the girls that didn't like that comment - maybe you're projecting here