If you are 40 or older, you might think this is hilarious!

So my friend sends me an email and this is what she had to say

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 forty, 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!

1) 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!!

2) 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!

3) 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 ass! Nowhere was safe!

4) 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!

5) 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?

6) 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!

7) 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 GOSH !!! 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.

8) 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!

9) 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!

10) 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 ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!! NO REMOTES!!! Oh, no, what's the world coming to?!?!

11) 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-bastards!

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

13) 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 lucky, 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 1970 or any time before!

Regards,
The Over 40 Crowd

So the youth has it so easy because of new electronics?

Seems you might be a little shallow in your assessment of the current state of affairs.

I cracked up, and i don't mean to bash on it, but the list doesnt talk about reality.

I'm only 32 but quite a few of those ring true.
Thanks for the laughs.

Originally posted by Tephra
So the youth has it so easy because of new electronics?

Seems you might be a little shallow in your assessment of the current state of affairs.

And as stated in the OP, a FRIEND sent this to me in an email and now it's in the joke forum...

Sometimes, things are really just funny.

Your title is misleading!
All us young persons should read this

But you are so right, and I don't dare to think about how the world is when I'm 40 with kids and wife.
All I know, is that I am so happy for everything, and I respect everything I got in my everyday.

But yes, we got it very easy these days.
I would love to have a week in the 60-70's, and see how it will feel like

And now what passes as healthy today in school would have had the nickname of "fatty" or "lard-butt" in 1970.

I was born in the 1990's and I didn't get internet until around 2007 because I live in scandinavia, in the forest.
I never had any trouble going to the library picking up a couple of books. It's really not that hard..
Things get better all the time, and people get used to comfort. That's the problem.
Someone from the middle ages would probably say you are living in paradise.

I'm 33
And they all ring with me
Very good

3) 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 ass! Nowhere was safe!

Nice one

im only 21 and i experienced most of the things listed on here.
i MISS the good ol days. (i say it as if im so old) lol
kids these days are pretty pathetic tho. i hate those girls that would "die" without their phones.
i miss talking on the on my house phone to a girl for hours, not having sent 200 text messages back and fourth.
i miss riding my bike with all the kids in the neighborhood.
i miss the atari and the nintendo.
i miss poking a whole on the dirt somewhere to play marbles.
i miss "pogs".
all this technology made us shut ourselves in. people don't interact the way they use to with each other anymore, everything is done over the net.

one thing i can't stand is spoiled, arrogant kids in this sick society of ours.
they suck!

edit: i miss hanging out with my grandparents.
i was never able to ride "shot gun", they always threw me in the back seat regardless if their were no passenger.
i miss my grandpas Dodge Dart. lol
we use to always play "cops and robbers" in it. lol

2nd edit. I MISS MY FLAT TOP!
kids now a days will laugh at my flat top.

It's worse then. When I think how many times my mom made me ride my bike to the pool, because SHE was too lazy to drive me, I get angry again.

Oh wait... It was a trick!! She TRICKED Me into riding my bike to hang with my friends.

Hmmm Where's my 8 track?

What's a card-catalog?

Just kidding.

Ah... the Good ole days...

reply to post by Tephra


well just because it wasnt pertaining to your reality does not mean it wasnt reality to many of us others! that being said i miss the simple life...

Originally posted by niceguybob
It's worse then. When I think how many times my mom made me ride my bike to the pool, because SHE was too lazy to drive me, I get angry again.

Oh wait... It was a trick!! She TRICKED Me into riding my bike to hang with my friends.

Hmmm Where's my 8 track?

Ah"8 track"tapes and the obligatory cardboard matchbook cover folded "just so" to wedge in the corner between the tape cartridge and the opening so it would track "just right" and not "squeal"..And if you liked a song and wanted to hear it again you had to wait for it to come around again!!

reply to post by jude11


I know right! these kids and there dead economy, lowest employment rates of all time, 300% gas inflation, YOUR debt, multiple foreign wars....wait a minute who has it easy?

I was born during WW2 -
food rationing,
telephone in a box at the end of the next street,
chicken, bananas, oranges were rare luxuries
no National health service
entertainment was a valve radio with few channels
few people had cars. and petrol was in short supply(rationed)
fridges and washing machines were luxury goods (wash by hand and shop daily)

...it was still FUN ...people were more human

3) 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 ass! Nowhere was safe!

That one taught us respect for adults

That whole list was dead on

reply to post by 46ACE


LMAO! How many times did we adjust the 8 track player with match packs? And wait? You COULD play another song you didn't like.. That drove me nuts. At least we had a new "Mobile" Album. How many times did we rewind a cassette to miss the start of a song?

reply to post by jude11
I remember all of that,but I wonder what the new generations will be saying to their children about how bad they had it??can't wait to hear that!

reply to post by jude11
I'm 51 and can really relate

I regret the youngun's will never experience our freedom to roam, build forts, tree swings, or swim in anything that held water without fear of an ameba eating their brain. They will never be able to walk, bike around town hours away from home without fear of being kidnapped and molested. They also can't have an old fashion fist fight without fear of being shot, stabbed or gang beaten. Can't turn 18 and drink a beer while driving oh I could go on!!!!!

So all in all probablity an even trade given the fact they can google, tweet and text............maybe

P.S. or the 70s version of e-mail or texting... We all had base CBs and the older kids with cars had mobile CBs. So every night was spent on the CBs make plans, yaking about the previous school day and screwing with each other (just remembered that one).

This is a recurring joke all be it a great one.