Hobo Jungle

[2railjon]

No helicopter moms here!!!
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the

60's & 70's

First, some of us survived being born to mothers who
smoked and/or drank while they carried us.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing and
didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered
with bright colored lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors
or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no
helmets, not to mention, the risks we took
hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts
or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was
always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a
bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one
bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, bread and butter and drank soda pop
with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because WE
WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day,
as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of
scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out
we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a
few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no
video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video
tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no
personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat
rooms.

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth
and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate
worms (only with some tomato sauce for me) and
although we were told it would happen, we did not put
out very many eyes, nor did the worms live in us
forever.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and
knocked on the door or rang the bell or just walked in
and talked to them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the
team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with
disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the
law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

This generation has produced some of the best
risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation
and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility,
and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had
the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and
the government regulated our lives for our own good

[Tramp]

Anyone ready for an early beer? It's 3 here.

Jon, I ate a worm on a bet once. Won a case of beer.

[2railjon]

A worm? You got over!!! Hell, I'da screwed a wild dingo for a case. But that's just me.

[Tramp]

Any indication when the Berk hits your door step?

Now that damn Niagara is getting to me. I've seen those pretty cheap on eBay. I don't think it has EOB, or the fancy new smoke unit, but I could be wrong.

[2railjon]

Yep, Early brew it is! Just poured the SA in my favorite plastic cup.

[Tramp]

Hey, did I mention that I finished the first draft of my new novel?

[2railjon]

Great news, Tramp! If I remember correctly this novel is based on when Jay lived in NYC?

[2railjon]

Why is it everytime my wife mows our yard, all the neighbors show up with lawn chairs?

[San Diegan]

A wild dingo? Boy, I would think twice about that.

How about having your main squeeze drive one of those, ahem, ride-on lawnmowers with an O Gauge layout mounted (thank you Dave Vergun) on it while pulling a beer cart? You could pull a new cold one each time she made a pass on the back 40 and test engines all at the same time.

San

[2railjon]

San, LOL!! Hey, You might want to consider this one for a future project!!!!

[San Diegan]

Man, that's nice, and no aluminum to polish.

San

[2railjon]

Amalie, concerning your thoughts on the transformer, your best bet for something larger is going to be on Ebay. Do you have a TMCC system yet? I'm pretty sure your new engine is equipped with it. Your going to miss out on some really nice features if you don't.

[Tramp]

I have the new Lionel ZW with 180 (?) bricks. I'm pleased with it. Seems to put out good power at 4 channels. Go over what you think you need. But I'm a bit of a retard when it comes to electrical, even if I ran the 220 for the Bosch. That was a honey-do demand. Spurs a fellar.

Jon, the question on your lawn-mowing wife? The shoes!

Is there anyway we could get shots of both the Mohawk and the Niagara, so we might compare them? I like both names. Native American, I believe.


Can anyone list all the steam engine nicknames? I know a few:

Atlantic
Hudson
Pacific
Berkshire
Mohawk
Niagara
Blue Ridge
Northern
Yellowstone
Big Boy
Allegheny
Mountain

These are just off the top of my head.

[Daisy]

What a list, I love it. Wasn't there one in the 60's named Tiny Tim? A Wild Dingo?

Jon, that 60s-70s passage was the best. I think of that often. We used to play with liquid mercury all the time too, watch it bead up and roll around in our hands.

[2railjon]

Tramp, I think you can add Little Joe and Challenger.
I don't own either the Mohawk or Niagara, but it would be nice to see some side by side photos. Maybe Clouser does.