To Everone Older Than 26.

#1

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!
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First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes and tanned in the sun with baby oil.

Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick-up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda/pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!

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. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride 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 did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 140 channels on cable, no video tape movies, DVDs, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no IPODs, no Internet or Internet chat rooms or blogs, no Instant messages. WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

#2

and we had Chemistry sets given to us on our 12th birthday that could actually blow things up.
we played hard and rough and no one thought about suing the other because of injuries received while playing.
grandfathers gave us our first knife when we were 6 and taught us how to whittle.
and the list goes on...

#3

...you could go to school wearing the enemies jersey fully expecting to take a load of shit from everyone...........and you dealt with it....YOURSELF.

#4

day-am... I forgot about the knives...
My grand-pa had me whittling ivory soap to practice with the knife when I was 6 or 7.

#5

you had to wait until you were six to get a knife?

...and hell, by ten I was holding a .410... cause that's what it is:

For Ten.

Back then, survival skills were our playthings. Crucial skills like fishing, gardening, construction, tracking, not wearing the other team's school colors before the big game...

#6

I used knives and guns from early on. But when I turned 6, I OWNED a knife; it wasn't one I had to go to my Dad and ask for. When I was 12, I OWNED a rifle. I've used these tools (and that's what they are) for a LONG LONG time. My son knows how to shoot, is on the HS Rifle Team. He OWNS his own rifle (of course for purposes of the BATF, it's in my name, but it's his). I was wilderness camping by myself before I was 10. We lived on the edge of a Nat'l Forest, so it was fairly easy to hike 2-3 hours in and set up camp (sleeping bag, lean-to, campfire). Of course, I knew how to read a compass and track game so I wouldn't get lost or go hungry.

I also learned the value of camoflage and blending in with your environment. Wearing the wrong "colors" makes you easy to spot and a target instead of a hunter.

#7

I got a knife of my own when I was four. a little pen knife that was used for fishing. It was dull as shit, but you could learn to whittle soap with it, and use the clippers to cut a piece of fishing gut.

I got my first buck when I was five. I was almost six before I could open it. By time i was eight, it was nice and trice.

As it is, I have a japanese handmade executive folder (G.H.) with abalone shell and a laser cut "diamond" edge that just turned 1 in October. My girl got it for me *and that's how you know they love ya, cause I didn't have to ask.. and she never knew i looked at it, and immediately wanted it*, and that woman panics every time I put in the pocket I have my keys in.

old before her time, that one...

Ch

#8

I spent my childhood ridin' 3 wheelers across ponds, shooting, and cooking in playhouses we build on our own...Man, that shit was FUN...All the kids wanted to come to our playhouse and eat...And since we had 3 wheelers, getting on them was like being grown, our playhouse was away from the house a bit...We'd get sausages and stuff from the fridge, ride out to the playhouse, build our own fire, and cook lunch...Shit, we even slept out there...Kids these days...Man, they missing out sitting in the house...

#9

I had a tree house that was built about 15 -20 feet up a big oak across the creek from our house. Dad put in a zip-line from the roof, across the creek to the base of a tree on the other side. He had ordered a handle with pulley that would fit over the line, but until it came in, we just used a piece of cast iron pipe over the cable. Man, that sucker would get HOT after about 5 -6 trips across! Had one kid let go over the creek bed (dry) and he landed flat on his back. The pipe was gone within the hour, but the pulley system came in the next week. We'd sleep and cook out there in that treehouse. It was totally cool.

And raum, speaking of true love... my wife just bought me a .45 online. It was supposed to be a surprise, but I was contacted by the seller to provide a copy of the FFL's license (wife didn't know about all that hassle shit). It should get here around the 1st.

#10

deep, my mom has a 45 with a laser scope.

I love the .45, specially the desert eagle, but I can mod a 9mike round to do as much damage as GI.45 with a corkscrew and a few matches, and the 9 mic it is the standard issue for the fUN, so it is more field versatile. but I don't aim for the torso so penetration isn't an issue, I aim for the ALLAH. with a 8.263:3 accuracy overall on the 9mike class sidearm.

For the combat inexperienced: ALLAH = Arm-Leg-Leg-Arm-Head,

a circular pattern counterclockwise from the right arm that increases accuracy due to the force of the shell ejecting and the overcompensate. It is known as a "god-kill" or "crucifying tactic." It evolved from a shotgun sweep tactic. The reasoning for adapting it to handgun use is simple, if most side arm rounds miss their intending target, you can anticipate your own inaccuracy, and adjust. It works suprisingly well, after some practice.