Oh the things we did way back when - Kids & Parents humor

[Ronald Blue]

So many stories.... I grew up a farm kid in Illinois. Probably the first of numerous stories was hay baling time. I couldn't be more than 3 because we never lived at this farm after that. Before tractors hay was put in the hay mow(loft) via a track than ran the length of the peak. Originally they used horses attached to a rope that went through a pulley at ground level up the side of the barn through another pulley and across to the hay fork which raised and lowered on the other end. Originally designed for loose hay. They were lifting bales with it and my brother was running the tractor attached to the rope. In my infinite 2-3 year old wisdom I got the idea I could stop the tractor if I grabbed the rope. And I did but not in a good way. My hand was pulled into the pulley. My brother stopped when I began screaming. Fortunately my hand was skinned/bloodied pretty good but not crushed. There wasn't any hay on the fork at the time.

Dave I was "tied" out too. I don't really recall it but was told about it many times. That might have been after I followed the dog and ended up a mile away on another road. Actually a strager brought me home. And I survived. Maybe I should write a book of my adventures of unwise decisions and I'm still here not much worse for the wear.

[Brian Deakin]

My dad gave me this advice about being a father
He said about my children " You are not their friend you are their dad
Growing up you learnt from a very young age how to act and always to do exactly what he asked ,not because of the fear of being hit but simply because he would be disappointed in your behavior and throughout my entire life I could never handle my father being disappointed with me
Three examples of interactions with my father
(1) As children we played football in the street .When it was time to go in dad would stand on the doorstep and whistle. Without any hesitation I would stop playing football and go into the house .Later in life a friend asked what happened if you did not go in I said I have no idea know you simply went in
(2) I was playing a radio in my bedroom and dad came in and told me to turn the sound down About 5 minutes later my radio stopped working After spending about 30 minutes trying to establish what was the problem I went down stairs to find my father sitting in the dark laughing ,he had turned the electricity off at the mains Dad did use this method on other occasions so you always thought carefully about how loud the radio was playing
(3) My dad gave me this advise
The thing with children is you have got to be firm with them they need to understand the boundaries Their is no point being firm with them when they are tired because all that happens is everyone becomes upset
A friend who has teenagers takes the following action if they do not keep their bedrooms tidy He simply removes their bedroom door

[Frederick Skelly]

Another time, probably about 4-5 years old, I was in the barn loft high on the top of the hay looking out a little vent window with broken slats. I remember leaning out to get a better look at some snakes sunning themselves on the irregular stones that made up the foundation and "basement" wall of the hillside barn. The next thing I remember was lying on the ground on my back looking up at the sky. I had fallen out of the window, probably 20' from the ground. When I looked over at the rock wall all I could think of was "the snakes, the snakes are gonna get me" and obviously not hurt, got up and ran to the house yelling "SNAKES, SNAKES!!". My mother walked with me to behind the barn to see these snakes I was so upset about. When she finally understood I was first looking at them from the loft window then fell to the ground to land on my back she almost fainted! Little kids mist be tougher than they look. Or maybe just lucky sometimes.

JKJ

"Heaven protects children, sailors and drunken men."

Great stories John!

[Bruce King]

When I was twelve I decided to build a small car. I had limited resources but managed to produce one in the basement. My parents never thought about the steep and long hill on the next road over. It had bicycle wheels on the rear and solid rubber tires from a toy tractor on the front. It had hand brake levers that rubbed on the rear tires. The steering was two ropes tied to the front wooden flat axle. I was safety conscious so I enclosed the cockpit and stapled foam all over the inside. It had shoulder strap safety belts too. I did a test crash on the small hill next to the house. Hit a tree head on at about 5 mph. It hurt like hell but I figured that it didn’t matter because I wasn’t going to hit anything. A friend helped me push it to the hill on the other road. I told him not to push me but he pushed real hard. It got going to about 30 and started fish tailing badly. The rear tires were skidding on the asphalt. I was having to pull with all my strength on the steering ropes to keep it from flipping. If I would have let go and went for the brakes it would have flipped. A car came up and ran off in a ditch. I ended up crossing a ditch but still upright. Heart was pounding out of my chest. I was so tired I couldn’t get out, when my friend got there he turned the whole car over on its side. I’m cussing like a sailor because I knew it would kill the weak axle holders on the rear. The next day we took it to a big cliff and pushed it off. It was really cool watching it rip through small trees, flip and fall apart. I went back to my usual occupation of getting wood from construction sites and building tree houses.

[Jerry Bruette]

"Heaven protects children, sailors and drunken men."

Great stories John!

I've known my share of drunken sailors that were divinely protected.