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Did your friends live in the L.A. area during the 60's-70's-80's? During that period, breathing in all that smog was the equivalent of smoking 2 packs of cigarettes a day. Yes, even school children were "smoking 2 packs of cigarettes" a day! Exposure to dust can do it as well.
During the nastiest days in Pittsburgh, the smoke from coal, you couldn't even open a window!
Almost ALL of my moms' friends that were born/raised in LA had early onset dementia or Alzheimers by the time they were 55. We'd run cross country, and stop and gag every 1/4 mile, then run again.
And you DIDN'T build housing in areas of strong Santa Ana winds as they'd burn down.
Omitted in a number of these posts is the smoke-filled houses we grew up in. ...
Today, it might come under Child Abuse!
But back then, the kids smoked. I began regularly sneaking smokes in the 7th grade and by sixteen my parents made enough snickering jibes about my smoking that it was no longer necessary to hide the habit. Lots of guys in high school smoked in the Fifties.
On the slick back cover of every magazine was some sports star or movie celebrity telling you how totally wonderful it was to smoke Lucky Strikes.
Juxtapose THIS: I'm watching this rural India story about people drinking contaminated water in the same draw area as their excrement goes, they barely own anything other than the cloths on their backs, all are uneducated especially the women, BUT
EVERYONE HAS A CELL PHONE. Whaaaaaaaa???
its because they do not have the infrastructure for landlines. Never had it, so if they want to communicate, of course they will get a cell phone
And it is way cheaper over there
When I deployed to Kuwait in 2003, I was amazed at the cell phone culture over there.
Yes, I had one in the states, but we didn't text or send pics. I loved the Nokia phones they used. Very rugged.
They had service everywhere.
We took care of the cell phones there. And their cable - awesome. We even had cable tv in our tents. lol.
On the slick back cover of every magazine was some sports star or movie celebrity telling you how totally wonderful it was to smoke Lucky Strikes.
The Sunday funnies had ads for cigarettes, featuring big league ballplayers puffing away -- my mental picture now is Sal Maglie. And "More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette", for those of you who believe the conspiracy theory they were not healthy.
Another Board I'm on just started a thread about Jarts (lawn darts) and it reminded me of the dangerous toys we had back then. Jarts were banned after a few people threw them wrong and they ended up piercing the head of someone nearby.
Anyone remember Vac-u-Forms and Creeple People? Mattel made a unit that let you pour something called Plastigoop into molds and bake it- one popular mold was for little characters you could stick on the end of a pencil. Vac-u-Form used the same unit but you stuck a sheet of hard plastic into a frame, let it heat up till it softened and then quickly flipped the frame over a metal mold and used a handle to suck the air out so the plastic formed around the mold.
When reading a thread like this, it makes me wonder about all those young couples who insist that it's not possible to be a one income family with kids who are brought up by their own parents instead of day care workers.
When reading a thread like this, it makes me wonder about all those young couples who insist that it's not possible to be a one income family with kids who are brought up by their own parents instead of day care workers.
Have you tried living in California or NNJ? In 1997 after I was divorced I bought a 3-BR 1950s- vintage Cape in a respectable school district in Bergen County, NJ and it cost me $350,000. OK, it had a pool, but would it have been much cheaper without that? Realtor.com says it's now worth $870K and property taxes run about $12,000/year. How many one-income families can handle that?
Fortunately when I sold the house it was so I could move to a KC suburb for my job. Far lower housing costs and DS, who now lives in Des Moines, is supporting a family of 4 (soon to be 5) on his income as a claims adjuster for an insurance company. They're frugal but happy so it can be done- but not in NJ. Even in the cases when it can be done, it's because the primary wage earner has a VERY high-paying job and probably an onerous commute, so they see the kids awake only on weekends. That's a big load for one person and a hard way to parent.
But back then, the kids smoked. I began regularly sneaking smokes in the 7th grade and by sixteen my parents made enough snickering jibes about my smoking that it was no longer necessary to hide the habit. Lots of guys in high school smoked in the Fifties.
On the slick back cover of every magazine was some sports star or movie celebrity telling you how totally wonderful it was to smoke Lucky Strikes.
From 16 to about 22 I smoked going to approx 3 packs of cigarettes/day the last few years, mostly Marlboros but I had a period with Lucky Strikes too. For about 20 years I smoked about 50% of the time, pack a day maybe, alternating years off with relapses back.
Definitely the worst thing I ever did & I didn't really leave many stones unturned in my younger/middle days. My biggest regret by far, truly addicted... haven't touched one in about 20 years thank god.
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For about 20 years I smoked about 50% of the time, pack a day maybe, alternating years off with relapses back. 
