If You're 30 or older, You Might Find This is Hilarious!, page 1
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Topic started on 19-3-2010 @ 12:10 AM by 2manyquestions
I often think about the way life keeps changing. It's never a dull moment. We learn the true meaning of certain words, we come to understand where our parents were coming from, and eventually we find ourselves in the -senior- crowd (I myself am not there yet Still got a looong way to go). Suddenly we understand the fears or the experiences we only read about in our youth.

I remember the first time I heard people complain about taxes or the government. I had no problems with it, I didn't concern myself with that. I didn't understand what everyone was so upset about. My biggest problem was to study for an exam. I didn't have a job, so nobody was taking money from me. Today I finally understand. Now I'm the concerned one, and now I'm the one who looks at the kids and think "my God, I wish I had your problems".

Sometimes I watch commercials on TV and I see something I've never felt applied to me until now. Commercials tend to target certain age groups, and I didn't realize it until a few months ago that slowly I'm approaching a certain target group and moving away from another. Someday maybe I'll learn the meaning of a broken hip. Maybe I'll learn the meaning of a mid-life crisis. Slowly but surely I'm joining new age group "Clubs", and I am beginning to understand the actions and words of my elders a lot better.

One of those actions is telling the kids of today how easy they have it, and suddenly realizing just how much time has passed and how many miles I've already crossed during my ongoing journey.

The following is an e-mail I received from a friend. I guess it's been making it's rounds. I just had to share it with all of you, because it's funny and sounds so true!

---------------------------

If you are 30, or older, you might think this is hilarious!

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning.... Uphill... Barefoot... BOTH ways… yadda, yadda, yadda

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!

But now that I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia!
And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!

There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!

Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our BUTTS! Nowhere was safe!

There were no MP3's or Napsters or iTunes! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!

Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless. Cause, hey, that's how we rolled, Baby! Dig?

We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it!

There weren't any freakin' cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't make a damn call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your "friends". OH MY GOD !!! Think of the horror... not being in touch with someone 24/7!!! And then there's TEXTING. Yeah, right. Please! You kids have no idea how annoying you are.

And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your parents, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, the collection agent... you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

We didn't have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'. Your screen guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen... Forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your BUTT and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!! NO REMOTES!!! Oh, no, what's the world coming to?!?!

There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-finks!

And we didn't have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove! Imagine that!

And our parents told us to stay outside and play... all day long. Oh, no, no electronics to soothe and comfort. And if you came back inside... you were doing chores!
And car seats - oh, please! Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on. If you were luckily, you got the "safety arm" across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that was your fault for calling "shot gun" in the first place!
See! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled rotten! You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980 or any time before!

Regards,
The Over 30 Crowd
(Send this to someone you'd like to make smile


---------------------------------------------------------------

P.S. Apologies for not providing the source or author. The e-mail did not contain any information where this came from, otherwise I would have loved to give credit where it is due. Obviously this is not my material, and I appreciate that the mod edited the text into a quote. Thank you.

Mod Edit: No Quote/Plagiarism – Please Review This Link.

[edit on 3/19/2010 by semperfortis]

[edit on 19-3-2010 by 2manyquestions]


reply posted on 19-3-2010 @ 12:25 AM by Titen-Sxull
reply to post by 2manyquestions


I'm not over 30 but I find it hilarious. Kids today do have it easy. Every generation seems to be as ungrateful as the last. When I was a kid everyone had video games and TV in their rooms except my family, partially due to the fact we didn't have money to waste on a TV for everyone and partially because my father was a religious zealot. But looking back on my years spent without cable TV or video games I realize it was a much better childhood than the pampered 'every kid has a cell phone' generation of today. I spent my hours playing kick ball, or using my imagination.

Its amazing what people can accomplish if they turn off their TV and cell phones once and a while, maybe take a walk or get a creative hobby.

"When does a kid ever get to sit in the yard with a stick anymore?" George Carlin said this, he was talking about today's "professional" parents over-scheduling their kids.

I think another element to it is that some people look back with rose-colored glasses, you see this with a lot of people, who claim their childhoods were in a better different America. Then you've got another group who look back and complain about their childhoods talking about how rough it is when they were young. In reality its somewhere in between. Its all about perception, experience is subjective and memory is tainted with emotion.


reply posted on 19-3-2010 @ 12:41 AM by dthwraith
reply to post by 2manyquestions


lol wow thats so true!!!! i passed this on to my 13 yr old then told her to go to bed lolololol. lucky lil turd!



reply posted on 19-3-2010 @ 12:42 AM by ExPostFacto
reply to post by 2manyquestions


This is the greatest post since Swiss cheese! The whole thing brings back memories. I'll add a few of my own.

*When kids got caught shoplifting the police asked "Where do you live?" Then they proceeded to walk you up to your parents and hand you over.

*You were considered bad if you skipped school.

*On a school day if you were seen in town during school hours people would ask why you weren't in school.

*When we misbehaved in school we were escorted into the hallway and told to "bend over."

*We used to be able to get free newspapers by pulling down on the newspaper stand handle.

*You could use a washer on a string to get free sodas, and credits on the arcade machines.

*We actually had to hide when we smoked.

*Buying cigarettes underage, required a well written note (written by someone with nice handwriting) purporting to be your parent sending you on an errand.

*When we wanted money to do something on the weekend we had to mow our neighbors yard, or feed their animals while they were out of town.

*It wasn't uncommon to see a parent giving a punishment to another parents kid.


I'll think of more lol.

[edit on 19-3-2010 by ExPostFacto]


reply posted on 19-3-2010 @ 12:47 AM by 2manyquestions
reply to post by Titen-Sxull


It's funny how memory works. I too have fond memories of my childhood. I really enjoyed being able to run around town, riding my bicycle, being outside most of the time. Of course I'm an artist, so a lot of my time was also spent inside the house drawing. The TV was a big part of my life, but not to the extent that it is to the youth of today. I had video games, but I wasn't allowed to play them all day.

That George Carlin's quote is hilarious. It's sort of true. Kids aren't allowed to be outside as much, because parents these days are afraid of kidnappers, child molesters, germs, allergies, and who knows what else. Some of these are legitimate concerns, but I just don't remember having those same concerns as a kid. I didn't talk to strangers, and I touched every muddy and "dirty" surface I got my hands on. I didn't have my parents scrubbing me from head to toe with disinfectant every five minutes. I'm still here, and no allergies!

As for those rose-colored glasses, you're right. At first the 60's and 70's seem like a great era to grow up in, but then I realize that this was a time of the Cold War, Vietnam War, the draft, gas rationing, and other not-so-great things. It was a time when divorce was shunned, and some housewives popped pills and alcohol to keep sane. Girls went to College to find husbands, and were considered irrational beings. Each generation has it's own problems to deal with. Is it getting better or worse? I can't tell.


reply posted on 19-3-2010 @ 01:02 AM by 2manyquestions
reply to post by warpcrafter


Good times for sure!

Havoc40k, soon kids won't need to leave their house. It'll be like that movie "Surrogates" with Bruce Willis. We'll have robots to go outside for us!

[edit on 19-3-2010 by 2manyquestions]



reply posted on 19-3-2010 @ 01:04 AM by ExPostFacto
reply to post by warpcrafter


Thats right. A good time back then was running around doing stupid stuff. We used to do stupid things all the time, all part of learning, not afraid to try new things.

When it rained really bad and the creek filled up...we were the first ones in it. Jumping out of trees and roofs was fairly common play fun. I never once went to the doctor unless stitches were needed. I was one of the lucky ones and never broke a bone though.


reply posted on 19-3-2010 @ 01:35 AM by 2manyquestions
Originally posted by Crito
Parents today don't know how good they had it. They didn't have to go through metal detectors and be frisked by cops just to be allowed to enter school. They didn't get stripped searched for bringing an aspirin to class. They didn't get thrown in jail for getting into a fist fight. It's a different world alright, and it hasn't changed for the better.

Oh, and I'm over 40 so don't give me that age bull. You're just like all the other self-centered people who see the world from their own selfish perspective. I'm crying for you and your tax problems.


I guess that really depends on where you live. Not every school has metal detectors. At least these days parents don't have to worry about having their kids drafted into the military. Even back in the day ghettos, bad neighborhoods, racism, sexism and crime existed. Every generation faces their own problems. Some problems of the past disappear only to be replaced by new ones.

No need to get personal on a thread meant to be light-hearted. I don't have tax problems. I was referring to having new things to be upset or worry about, such as having a portion of one's paycheck confiscated by the state. I don't think anyone actually enjoys tax season, but I could be wrong. As a kid you don't think about adult problems until you get there. That's when you finally understand what your parents were talking about.

Everyone has their own experience with life. There's nothing wrong with wanting to share and laugh about it, though judging from your post you seem to think so. I think you have to have a sense of humor to understand this thread.


reply posted on 19-3-2010 @ 01:48 AM by 2manyquestions
reply to post by letthereaderunderstand


I know just what you mean. I'm about to turn 31, but I don't "feel" 31. I don't know if this still holds true, but society imposes certain "acceptable" limitations on age groups. For example it is viewed inappropriate to wear above-the-knee skirts for women aged over 60. Some might want to dress more provocatively and feel younger than they are, but society will disapprove of their behavior. Nobody would actually stop them physically from doing so, but the peer pressure and threat of becoming an outcast will force some to conform to the standard view. We're all expected to behave a certain way once we reach a certain age. When you "mature", you're expected to cease partaking in certain behaviors and start acting on new responsibilities. These days it seems like more and more people are defying the standards placed on their age groups. I think more and more people realize that as long as you live responsibly and you don't hurt anyone in the process, you can do almost anything you want. Also, with the slow disappearance of certain religious beliefs some people feel more free to "have fun". They don't fear punishment in the afterlife for "questionable" behavior on earth.



reply posted on 19-3-2010 @ 02:56 AM by _R4t_
reply to post by 2manyquestions


As a matter of fact, we have it much harder then your generation dude, we're left with all your generation's trillions of debts and no job to pay them

And also I agree yes a kick in the ass hurts... but how bout you try surviving today's highschool... physical pain hurt... but it heals.... the mental pain some of these diabolical kids will make you go through will stick stick with you for awhile


reply posted on 19-3-2010 @ 03:07 AM by plumranch
reply to post by 2manyquestions




I remember the first time I heard people complain about taxes or the government.


We were happy that we HAD our government and were not speaking German or Japanese! Very happy! And thanking goodness that the Great Generation had fought the second war and not us! We remembered all the war pictures of Europe and the Pacific, the Atomic Bombs, all the great Generals, where they fought, what they accomplished, what our forces went through, the incredible losses that were incurred for freedom!

And no sooner than those memories faded but there was the Korean War, then the Cold War, the Missile Crisis and finally Viet Nam when all the guys in your generation were having to slug it out in rice paddies! And came back humbled and humiliated by the US press often with missing body parts!

Heck we didn't have telephones or TVs in our early years. We were lucky to have survived tetanus, TB, polio, small pox, whooping cough and no seat belts!

I could tell you how hard it was and how good you have it now but you wouldn't believe me, so I won't!


reply posted on 19-3-2010 @ 03:29 AM by ventian
Well I am 24 and I completely understand even my own generation. Growing up poor and on a mountain with 3 tv channels and no remote was kind of rough. I got the old free video games while everyone else was jamming with the 3d graphics and blast processing lol. In elementary CD's got popular and I got my first boombox like out of a bad rappers video (thing was huge like a friggin refrigerator box that played music). Tape deck and all. Every day was come home and go outside not because my parents occasionally made us, no it was because outside we could walk up and down the mountain all day and imagine ourselves running from some kind of satanic cult or aliens. Go carts that my friends had heh screw that. Me and my bro got a ket car. For you that don't know it that is a go cart that is powered with peddles. We couldn't peddle that thing up the mountain but going down was a blast lol. Cell phones got popular in high school. I didn't get one until afterwords though. Not only that but my car was a 82 Pontiac t1000 (this was in 2002). It broke down weekly which meant I had to walk.....alot. And the beatings I got my God. DHR would have a field day. My great grandmother would beat us just so we wouldn't think about getting out of line. She did it with a switch that we had to choose and the hit usually went to the back of the leg. We learned real quick about manners and what to do and what not to do.

Yea kids these days (especially my age group) man yall got it easy. Not complaining at all though. My dad has told me about growing up and at least we always had a microwave. My grandfather told me about quitting school in the 4th grade cause his dad died and he had to step up and take over the farm. I know I got it easy and dangit, the american dream or whats left will make damn sure my kids don't have to live like I did.
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