I recently came across a video on Safety on one of the Social Media Sites, and while the antic was quite entertaining to watch and no doubt fun to do,( Why wouldn't being strapped into a harness connected to the end of a huge back hoe and swung around like a limp rag back and forth NOT look like the fun it no doubt truly was?) it struck a bit of a chord in my memories of a more innocent age, where 'fun was fun', 'if you could do it you should'; all under the umbrella of the motto, "Might as well give it a try."
I'm talking about putting your five year old child into a bucket of a D2 Caterpillar Tractor and lifting the bucket up to its full extension while giving her a ride around the yard for 5 minutes. A thrilling experience as I recall and one which made any little ride at the local fair in the future pale in comparison.
I'm talking about such times as allowing your children to ride in the expansive back WINDOW of the 1966 Ford Meteor as you drove across gravel roads to the nearest town five miles away, in the sun and in the heat; mainly because they slept so well there.
I'm talking about getting your child to 'test' the electric fence to see if it was working, be a marker in the field for the fly over crop sprayer, and to sit on the top a 15' stack of bales piled on a wagon as it lumbered across the field towards the farmyard....along with getting her to help 'wash' tools in a pail old diesel fuel.
I'm talking about expecting your child to skate on the frozen dugout 'around the water hole''; to only spray the DDT on the back legs of the cow as you are milking; and to please wash their feet in the cow trough before coming into the house after playing in the barnyard barefoot.
I'm talking about bringing home pink candied popcorn covered in Red Dye #4 for a treat and wondering 'what has gotten into those kids?'
I'm talking about letting your child play with that silver stuff from a broken fever thermometer for hours at time...'kept them busy and quiet.'
Yes, safety wasn't as big a concern as practically in the child rearing days of long ago...there were no fancy child resistant medicine bottles, covers for electric plug ins, or much care given to baby crib safety...I recall my sister sleeping in the drawer of my parent's dresser whenever we would visit my grandparent's house.
Thank goodness society has taken the time to change some of the more dangerous practices that once were commonplace.
I suspect that probably for every male from the age of 13 to 89, the idea of Safe Sex 40 years ago meant a whole different set of ideas than what it brings to mind nowadays. Some of which probably involved the "Where....?", the "When....?" , and the "How.....?". (So that you wouldn't be discovered either by parents, spouse or neighbour --or God Have Mercy-- not by all at once; so you would still get home on time; and so no one would get pregnant).
All these questions would have to be safely answered before one even got as far as the idea of ' With Whom'?
https://www.facebook.com/HooningFTW
I'm talking about putting your five year old child into a bucket of a D2 Caterpillar Tractor and lifting the bucket up to its full extension while giving her a ride around the yard for 5 minutes. A thrilling experience as I recall and one which made any little ride at the local fair in the future pale in comparison.
I'm talking about such times as allowing your children to ride in the expansive back WINDOW of the 1966 Ford Meteor as you drove across gravel roads to the nearest town five miles away, in the sun and in the heat; mainly because they slept so well there.
I'm talking about getting your child to 'test' the electric fence to see if it was working, be a marker in the field for the fly over crop sprayer, and to sit on the top a 15' stack of bales piled on a wagon as it lumbered across the field towards the farmyard....along with getting her to help 'wash' tools in a pail old diesel fuel.
I'm talking about expecting your child to skate on the frozen dugout 'around the water hole''; to only spray the DDT on the back legs of the cow as you are milking; and to please wash their feet in the cow trough before coming into the house after playing in the barnyard barefoot.
I'm talking about bringing home pink candied popcorn covered in Red Dye #4 for a treat and wondering 'what has gotten into those kids?'
I'm talking about letting your child play with that silver stuff from a broken fever thermometer for hours at time...'kept them busy and quiet.'
Yes, safety wasn't as big a concern as practically in the child rearing days of long ago...there were no fancy child resistant medicine bottles, covers for electric plug ins, or much care given to baby crib safety...I recall my sister sleeping in the drawer of my parent's dresser whenever we would visit my grandparent's house.
Thank goodness society has taken the time to change some of the more dangerous practices that once were commonplace.
I suspect that probably for every male from the age of 13 to 89, the idea of Safe Sex 40 years ago meant a whole different set of ideas than what it brings to mind nowadays. Some of which probably involved the "Where....?", the "When....?" , and the "How.....?". (So that you wouldn't be discovered either by parents, spouse or neighbour --or God Have Mercy-- not by all at once; so you would still get home on time; and so no one would get pregnant).
All these questions would have to be safely answered before one even got as far as the idea of ' With Whom'?
https://www.facebook.com/HooningFTW
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