- 1/24
- 23. Writing lines for being a jerk at school, either on the board or on paper
- 2/24
- 24. Playing “dangerous” games like dodgeball, kickball, tag, whiffle ball, and red rover (The Health Department of New York issued a warning about the “significant risk of injury” from these games)
- 3/24
- 1. Riding in the back of an open pick-up truck with a bunch of other kids
- 4/24
- 2. Leaving the house after breakfast and not returning until the streetlights came on, at which point, you raced home, ASAP so you didn’t get in trouble
- 5/24
- 3. Eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the school cafeteria
- 6/24
- 4. Riding your bike without a helmet
- 7/24
- 5. Riding your bike with a buddy on the handlebars, and neither of you wearing helmets
- 8/24
- 6. Drinking water from the hose in the yard
- 9/24
- 7. Swimming in creeks, rivers, ponds, and lakes (or what they now call *cough* “wild swimming“)
- 10/24
- 8. Climbing trees
- 11/24
- 9. Having snowball fights (and accidentally hitting someone you shouldn’t)
- 12/24
- 10. Sledding without enough protective equipment to play a game in the NFL
- 13/24
- 11. Carrying a pocket knife to school (or having a fishing tackle box with sharp things on school property)
- 14/24
- 12. Roasting marshmallows by the fire
- 15/24
- 13. Throwing rocks in the river
- 16/24
- 14. Playing politically incorrect games like Cowboys and Indians
- 17/24
- 15. Playing Cops and Robbers with *gasp* toy guns
- 18/24
- 16. Pretending to shoot each other with sticks we imagined were guns
- 19/24
- 17. Shooting an actual gun or a bow (with *gasp* sharp arrows) at a can on a log, accompanied by our parents who gave us pointers to improve our aim.
- 20/24
- 18. Saying the words “gun” or “bang” or “pow pow” (because everyone knows they are CODE for invisible guns)
- 21/24
- 19. Working for your pocket money well before your teen years
- 22/24
- 20. Taking that money to the store and buying as much penny candy as you could afford, then eating it in one sitting
- 23/24
- 21. Buying space man candy sticks and pretending to smoke them like cigarettes
- 24/24
- 25. Walking home from school alone.
Did you do any of these things and live to tell the tale?
With all of the ridiculous new regulations, coddling, and societal mores that seem to be the norm these days, it’s a miracle those of us over 30 survived our childhoods.
This article was originally found here.
