Ahhhhhh.
The good ol' days.

 

Yep, remember those days well !!!

 

Yeppers, still remember the taste of that yellow bar soap Mom used for laundry.

 

We had a paddle with my name on one side and my sister's name on the other side. The paddle was painted gold for "golden rule". The side with my name on it had a lot more wear on it than my sister's side.

 

Now, that there's funny!

Sorry.

 

Not only were my parents very strict in this sense, I had teachers in school who could also dish it out ... I remember my 5th grade teacher quite well ... he'd pace around the room while he spoke and anyone caught pacing a note or acting up got whacked across the wrists with an 18-inch ruler he carried for that purpose ... he was very accomplished in dealoing such blows too, since he was the kettle drum player in a symphony orchestra ...

I never did regard that as inappropriate and think it wouldn't hurt a lot of kids today to have that same experience.

 

It went without saying that if I got paddled at school, I'd get busted at home as well. The above article seems old fasioned but it was used FREELY in my childhood, and I'm an '84 model.

 

At that age, you probably think I'm so old that I have a crank start, 3 pedals on the floor and a spark advance on the steering column ...


come to think of it, maybe I AM that old ...

 

my dad had big hand ,and it had alot of hard love in it . he is 87 now and i thankfull for him everyday !

 

Same here. '84 model, and I relate completely to the article. It honestly seems as though the people younger than about '86 went downhill significantly.

I repsect my paretns now for all the thing I thought were 'mean' when I was younger. It really was all in my best interest, and I thank them for that daily.

 

I've got a son about the same age as you and JH2K ... not long ago he was talking to a friend of mine who's a lot closer to his own age than to mine ... my son told my friend that when he was growing up, "my dad was a real hard-***" but that he had matured to the point he appreciated that ....

I don't think it's an anomaly ... and kids who grow up undisciplined become undisciplined adults who for the most part are unsuited to cope with the rigors of adult life ....

What you guys have said is a real treat for this old hard-*** ... makes me feel good not only about myself, but for your parents .... I hope you have the chance to learn in life what a reward it is to see your kids grow up to be terrific adults ...

** = ss

 

Don't feel too bad... my older brother's dream truck that he drove was an F-100, 351C with a 3-speed on the column.

Hahaha

ZAHANMA, good to hear about some other "young'ns" that were'nt spared the rod for the sake of being spoiled.

My parents and I have a phenomenal relationship now... BECAUSE of the discipline.

 

Much the same when I was a youngin'. Our first grade teacher used to use a ruler on the knuckles for motivation purposes.

Funny, my knuckles still work.

Mom was tough, so was grandma; straight from the old country, hard as nails, she was the one to introduce my mouth to Ivory. Dad was the decider, Mom the judge.

Still though, in my 'college years' bongs were at every party, the jocks still drank Boone's Farm until they puked in a wastebasket somewhere, you just had to have a white cross or a black cadillac before going to the concert, etc. BUT thoughout all those years I never had the desire nor the reason to act anything but polite & empathic & sensible. No addicting crack, no kill-you-slowly meth., no blow-your-heart out cocaine. I had responsibilities, had to be at work or school, wasn't ever interested in bottoming out or living in the streets or frankly, disappointing my parents.

Hopefully I instilled in my 2 kids some of the same values I was taught by my folks & their folks before them.

The good "drugs"!

 

This exact thinking... this very set of values and reasoning... is honestly something I hold close to my soul throughout school, work, and life in general.

Class never ages, and wise behavior never goes out of style.

 

I'm happy I started this thread. You can learn an awful lot about folks...

I used to beat my son severely-until he hit 260 pounds.

But I think he learned by then. I hope!


He's (as my dear wife puts it) his father's son.

Damn!

 

I remember one evening very clearly: I stopped by a friends house & after saying my greetings to his mom I headed upstairs to his room, knocked & went in. There he is, lying on his bed, TeeVee on, radio blaring one of the local rock stations, high as hell on 'Ludes. "Kurt, you gotta try these, you'll love them!"
I'm thinking: What the heck for? "We had planned on hanging with some of the local girls tonight & here you are pasted to your sheets!"

Sure, coulda, woulda but we had plans & I'm not SO desperate for a buzz that I'll blow off a chance at getting laid. Insanity is not one of my stronger points!

Those easy lessons were never lost on me. Whatever release my friend found that night couldn't have compared to the possibilities of what might have been. Not that it did (dam_ my luck!).

That incident & my response to it was caused by my parents, no doubt. Responsibility & the choices it brings have a greater chance of bringing you peace & fulfillment than losing yourself to the yoke of drug addiction. Not to mention that you're only immortal when you're young, there's a whole LIFE ahead. Why not see what it brings?

I told my kids the same thing: I KNOW you're going to be tempted & I KNOW you're going to do things that I've warned you against just please, use your head & remember that you always have myself or your mom to come to.

Thanks Mom & Dad!

Funny, I had my kids say the same thing to me & the wife! Life is good!