My Generation..

[SRH78]

This reminds me of one particular day in high school. I think it was earth week or something but anyway, we were spending our science class period cleaning up the so-called flower beds. A couple of guys immediately grabbed the hoes. They almost the entire class period trying to cut the weeds and grass in just one flower bed. Finally, I walked over, took one of the hoes, and promptly finished that one and a couple more. Those goofballs were completely clueless and had obviously never handled handled a tool in thier lives.

There is an old saying..."things aren't what they used to be and probably never were." That is true, but in some ways, things really aren't what they used to be and they are steadily getting worse.

One thing that drives me insane is to hear a kid say "I am bored. There is nothing to do." Nothing to do? There is a TV with hundreds of channels, a stack of movies a mile high, netfix, internet, computer games, video games, the dogs, a trampoline, a skateboard, rollerblades, a basketball goal, a football field, a weight bench, remote controlled cars, airsoft guns, a fishing pond, and about a million other things to do. Don't tell me there is nothing to do.

[speedsix]

...all those gadgets eat your mind...when we were young, a lot of us had only radio...and that was rationed out to us at my house...when you've got MUSIC on the radio, you can still be productive doing something...can't even get a grunt out of a kid who's thumb-twitchin' a video game or texting or such...and as for MUSIC...

[Thomas]

One thing that drives me insane is to hear a kid say "I am bored. There is nothing to do." Nothing to do? There is a TV with hundreds of channels, a stack of movies a mile high, netfix, internet, computer games, video games, the dogs, a trampoline, a skateboard, rollerblades, a basketball goal, a football field, a weight bench, remote controlled cars, airsoft guns, a fishing pond, and about a million other things to do. Don't tell me there is nothing to do.

All of that stuff is the problem; they're all distractions!

The first time I went to sea, there were no distractions. No Internet, no cell phones, no "news", no blogs, no TV... and it was GREAT!!! There was nothing fighting for the attention of my subconscious. I felt so creative. I probably wrote the most I ever did in my life.

It seems to me like today, people aren't living life, they're living distractions.

[Carry-a-Kimber]

Just some thoughts...
I get pedicures and I hunt, so does my wife. My wife and I have the same job but she makes more $$. I cook, she cleans. She mows the lawn, but I do all the trimming. Her Jeep has bigger tires than my truck. I can bench more than her but she has me dead to rights on leg press. I can outrun her at 100 yards but she whoops my tail on a 15 mile run. I carry a pocket knife in my front pocket, she keeps her's in her purse. We both know how to change a tire on the side of the road and clean a deer and how to change a vacuum bag and clean a toilet. My wife has $500 heels and steel toed boots and she looks good in both.

[SRH78]

One thing that drives me insane is to hear a kid say "I am bored. There is nothing to do." Nothing to do? There is a TV with hundreds of channels, a stack of movies a mile high, netfix, internet, computer games, video games, the dogs, a trampoline, a skateboard, rollerblades, a basketball goal, a football field, a weight bench, remote controlled cars, airsoft guns, a fishing pond, and about a million other things to do. Don't tell me there is nothing to do.

All of that stuff is the problem; they're all distractions!

The first time I went to sea, there were no distractions. No Internet, no cell phones, no "news", no blogs, no TV... and it was GREAT!!! There was nothing fighting for the attention of my subconscious. I felt so creative. I probably wrote the most I ever did in my life.

It seems to me like today, people aren't living life, they're living distractions.

I agree with you on the electronic stuff. Technology is usefull but it does come with a price and I don't mean money. My point is simply, don't tell me there is nothing to do when there is lots to do and don't tell me there is nothing to eat when the pantry is full.

[speedsix]

...those things are not about feminine/masculine, though...they're things we do...not our roles or thought patterns...I just met a slim young redhead who took 4 deer this season with a .308...and cleaned 'em...but, oh, what a lady...delightful and feminine...you don't have to give up who you ARE to do things...

[Carry-a-Kimber]

Point is, men are becoming less manly, and it's sad.

How's that Swiffer Wetjet workin' out for ya? Sorry, couldn't help it.

[snatchel]

Point is, men are becoming less manly, and it's sad.

How's that Swiffer Wetjet workin' out for ya? Sorry, couldn't help it.

LOL! It works extremely well... as a matter of fact, I bought the wood floor spray yesterday, it it did even better than before!!

You were talking about your wife.. I made broad, general statements to make my point.. I don't actually think that men doing feminine things or women doing manly things is necessarily bad. My point was that when men stop being men, it leaves a lot to be reckoned with. I'll even post the incriminating pic below to prove I am not above having a pedicure.. or wearing a pink shirt for that matter That was my very pregnant sister by the way... and yes, her belly was HUGE. Her baby is 5 months now, and 26 lbs. Giant.

[Oldgringo]

Other than the guy with prison tats getting a toe job, ther above picture pointed out another change in current life styles, values or whatever.

It wasn't all that long ago that women "in a family way wore so-called maternity tops when out in public. Ask your parents or grandparents what a maternity top looked like. Pregnant girls dadgum sure didn't get to stay in class in Jr. or Sr. HS either.

[snatchel]

Other than the guy with prison tats getting a toe job, ther above picture pointed out another change in current life styles, values or whatever.

It wasn't all that long ago that women "in a family way wore so-called maternity tops when out in public. Ask your parents or grandparents what a maternity top looked like. Pregnant girls dadgum sure didn't get to stay in class in Jr. or Sr. HS either.

LoL. Prison tats...

Are my tattoo's prison tats? I planned on being a "lifer" in the military.. and in my job, tattoos were almost mandatory.. the more, the merrier. Then I got blown up, med sep'd, and it turns out that in the real world, tattoos aren't as accepted as they were in the military. I don't regret them, but I will be getting the tattoos on my forearms removed in the next year .. or starting the process anyway.

Yeah, I have no idea what a maternity top looks like. I can say that I don't blame my sis for wearing a tank top and shorts.. If I recall, this was taken in Yuma, AZ last year in August... and it was something like 115 degrees out. I would have been naked if I could have legally.

[Heartland Patriot]

...all those gadgets eat your mind...when we were young, a lot of us had only radio...and that was rationed out to us at my house...when you've got MUSIC on the radio, you can still be productive doing something...can't even get a grunt out of a kid who's thumb-twitchin' a video game or texting or such...and as for MUSIC...

Speed, I grew up a bit later than some of you, but I grew up poor and "out on the ranch" in the South Texas Brush Country...and I tell you, all I want right now is a real job again so I can get me some acres and go walking with my .22 rifle like I did as a kid. Then they can take their cable channels and peddle 'em to somebody else...I won't need 'em.

[Oldgringo]

...all those gadgets eat your mind...when we were young, a lot of us had only radio...and that was rationed out to us at my house...when you've got MUSIC on the radio, you can still be productive doing something...can't even get a grunt out of a kid who's thumb-twitchin' a video game or texting or such...and as for MUSIC...

Speed, I grew up a bit later than some of you, but I grew up poor and "out on the ranch" in the South Texas Brush Country...and I tell you, all I want right now is a real job again so I can get me some acres and go walking with my .22 rifle like I did as a kid. Then they can take their cable channels and peddle 'em to somebody else...I won't need 'em.

A reasonable goal, HP. We went five (5) months without any TV or NetFlix last summer. We did have our internet though and we only had cell phone service when in town or down on the lakefront. You know what, we're counting the days until we can get back up there and do without TV again this summer.

BTW, I suspect 'ol Speedo was a closet Elvis fan....

[sugar land dave]

Folks,

I could criticize and praise every generation from my birth forward to today. Humans are an evolving species which grows and wanes with the passage of time. How does any young person (or on a larger note, generation) grow if they are not taught. They do not learn much by just breathing the air, and left to their own devices, without guidance from those who have gone before them, they will seek to quench a thirst they may not recognize, a desire to be more than they now are. They do not fail themselves as much as they are denied knowledge by those who do not give them time or insight.

Most young want to do better, but they do not know how. That, in and of itself, is not their fault. When they say they are bored, it is an admission that they feel an emptiness which they do not know how to fill. That is an opportune time to teach, to fulfill a generational obligation to the future.

Today's generations are not failing us; we are failing them each time we do not have time to teach them something which we have learned. By failing them, we are failing ourselves.

In the end, mankind gets the civilization he chooses for himself. Man's energy or lack thereof, his choices or refusal to make choices, these things bring forth the future. As long as you are alive, you have the power to change other people, generations, and the future. Sharing knowledge makes that change happen.

Which is why I come here. We share.

[speedsix]

...all those gadgets eat your mind...when we were young, a lot of us had only radio...and that was rationed out to us at my house...when you've got MUSIC on the radio, you can still be productive doing something...can't even get a grunt out of a kid who's thumb-twitchin' a video game or texting or such...and as for MUSIC...

Speed, I grew up a bit later than some of you, but I grew up poor and "out on the ranch" in the South Texas Brush Country...and I tell you, all I want right now is a real job again so I can get me some acres and go walking with my .22 rifle like I did as a kid. Then they can take their cable channels and peddle 'em to somebody else...I won't need 'em.

A reasonable goal, HP. We went five (5) months without any TV or NetFlix last summer. We did have our internet though and we only had cell phone service when in town or down on the lakefront. You know what, we're counting the days until we can get back up there and do without TV again this summer.

BTW, I suspect 'ol Speedo was a closet Elvis fan....

...hope you din't betcher lunch money on that one!!! Eagles, and no closet...all I needed the closet for was to fire my first .38 into a can of sand when Mama was gone to the store...inquisitive mind and all that...

[apostate]

Speed, I grew up a bit later than some of you, but I grew up poor and "out on the ranch" in the South Texas Brush Country...and I tell you, all I want right now is a real job again so I can get me some acres and go walking with my .22 rifle like I did as a kid. Then they can take their cable channels and peddle 'em to somebody else...I won't need 'em.

Why wait? I had cable TV for a total of maybe one year in my whole life.