Don't know who wrote this article in Russian, (I translated roughly to English), it brought so much nostalgia and a good laugh to me anyway. The good old days and bizarre life in Russia, you got to live it to understand it.
But If you were a child in the 60's, 70's or 80's, looking back, it's hard to believe that we managed to survived till today regardless the country.
Russian childhood life ... and things
As a child, we drove cars without belts and airbags.
Our cribs were painted with bright colors with a high content of lead. There were no secret covers on the medicine bottles, the doors were often not locked, and the lockers were never locked.
We drank water from the column at the corner, and not from plastic bottles. No one could have thought of riding a bicycle with the helmet. Terrible. For hours we made trolleys and scooters from boards and bearings from the landfill, and when we rushed from the top of the hill down, suddenly remembered that we forgot to attach the brakes. After we drove into the prickly bushes several times, we dealt with this problem.
We left the house in the morning and played all day, returning when the street lights were on, where they were.
The whole day no one knew where we were. There were no cell phones! It is hard to imagine. We cut our arms and legs, broke bones and beat our teeth, and no one sued anyone. Only we and nobody else were to blame. We fought to the blood and bruises, getting used to not paying attention to it.Our actions were our own. We were ready for the consequences. There was no where to hide.
We ate cakes, ice cream, drank lemonade, but none of us got fat, because we were always outside playing. A few people drank from one bottle, and none of them died. We did not have video game consoles, computers, satellite TV channels, compact discs, cell phones, the Internet, we flew to watch the cartoon with the whole gang to the nearest house, because there were no videos!
But we had friends. We left the house and found them. We ride on the bikes, sat on a bench, on a fence or in the schoolyard and chatted about whatever we wanted. When we needed someone, we knocked at the door, ring the bell or just went in and saw them. Remember? Without permission or asking! Alone! What a cruel and dangerous world! Without protection! How did we survive?
We came up with games with sticks and cans, we stole apples in the gardens and ate cherries with the seeds, and the seeds did not germinate in our stomach ... The tooth powder - cleans both the teeth and silver ... , a see through bag with meat hanging outside the window … that was classic … or public machines with soda water and lemonade. There was only one glass – one for all everyone drank from that glass ... It's was normal! . Soda was 1 kopeyka, and lemonade 3. Today, no one will ever drink from a common glass! (Plus it will be stolen in five seconds after the machine is installed, exactly three seconds before the machine itself is dragged out ...) And in fact nobody was afraid to catch any infection ... By the way, these glasses were used by local drunkards. And, imagine, you just imagine this - they RETURNED the glass into place in the morning! Can you believe it!
Everyone at least once signed up for football, hockey or volleyball, but not everyone was in the team. Those who did not get in, learned to cope with disappointment. Some students were not as smart as the rest, so they stayed for a second year. Control and examinations were not divided into 10 levels, and the scores included 5 points theoretically, and 3 points actually.
The notion that it is possible to pay off cops or skip the army, almost did not exist. The parents of those years usually took the side of the law, can you imagine !?
This generation has generated a huge number of people who can take risks, solve problems. We had freedom of choice, the right to risk and failure, responsibility, and we somehow just learned to use all this.
If you are one of this generation, I congratulate you. We were lucky that our childhood and youth ended before the cynics bought freedom from young people in return for the videos, mobile phones, a factory of stars and class crunches ... With their common consent ... For their own good ...
Replies
this is fantastic Michael ... ;) Our life is made of memories ... and good ones should be stronger than sad ones ... and look you become your own good man ... perhaps that's enough ... ;)) of course we always have a room for improvement if we want to.
guess at that time Europe was 'small world' ... for 'famous' people ... ;))
lol ... Michael ... did you make it yourself? ... You look like a trouble maker ... ;))
Also i agree good/fun memories but also some 'sad' ones as well ... simple thing like toilet paper ... we used news paper ... lol ... with less print (as no pictures) i mean it was good reading material ... but 'cave man era' for sure.
My first camping trip here in Canada came with the shock ... there it was a roll of real toilet paper ... lol ... in the middle of nowhere ... ;))
ara, wishing you all the very best, dear russian [now canadian] friend......;-] many similarities to my childhood in london......ate sweets, or icecream, but never got fat.......on holidays always at play; running, climbing trees, jumping, swings and roundabouts, swimming outdoors......lived near hampstead heath, out all day with friends.....in those days free water from public fountains....no claims culture if you fell over.....just patch up and live life to fullest joy....i had a great childhood, remembered fondly....;-0
Drekx Omega You know, there are so many FAT people here in America that if you're not FAT you feel like an OUTCAST!
i had good childhood as well, it's amazing that it is really helping right now to cope with some 'things' ... Pacific Ocean was one of the greatest assets, miss it a lot ... ;))
here's part of the reason-a new (started in the 60's) western conformity;
“We've begun to raise daughters more like sons... but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters.”
― Gloria Steinem
Me in a past life when I was a nipper.. check out the size of my ears back then:)
could fly around the block with those ears luke
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