Things I miss from my youth

[Kamaji]

What do I miss...I miss my childhood and I want a do-over with what I know now..

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

What do I miss...I miss my childhood and I want a do-over with what I know now..

Nah, knowing what you know now would have ruined it probably.

[jafo2010]

mystery-ak,

Who among us do not wish to do it over again knowing what we know now?  All of us.  We could go back in time and POTENTIALLY undo all the wrong decisions we made in our life.  Who knows, maybe make new wrong decisions, for rest assured, it would not all be a golden path.

Back in 1976, I debated buying 8 shares of Berkshire Hathaway.  They were $1,000 per share then.  It closed today at $735,276 per share.  Can you imagine buying that and holding all these years?  I had the cash to buy 8 shares then.  But I was too busy chasing girls.  Uggh.  I spent a ton of money chasing girls back in the day.  Just plain stupid.

If I went back, I would not marry until I was over 40.  I would build wealth that would keep me comfortable my whole life.  I married at 25, and that was totally foolish.  Even if I had found the right girl, it would have been foolish.  My first wife ripped my heart out and threw it in the tree shredder.

[MeganC]

mystery-ak,

Who among us do not wish to do it over again knowing what we know now?  All of us.  We could go back in time and POTENTIALLY undo all the wrong decisions we made in our life.  Who knows, maybe make new wrong decisions, for rest assured, it would not all be a golden path.

Back in 1976, I debated buying 8 shares of Berkshire Hathaway.  They were $1,000 per share then.  It closed today at $735,276 per share.  Can you imagine buying that and holding all these years?  I had the cash to buy 8 shares then.  But I was too busy chasing girls.  Uggh.  I spent a ton of money chasing girls back in the day.  Just plain stupid.

If I went back, I would not marry until I was over 40.  I would build wealth that would keep me comfortable my whole life.  I married at 25, and that was totally foolish.  Even if I had found the right girl, it would have been foolish.  My first wife ripped my heart out and threw it in the tree shredder.

On behalf of the girls I'd like to thank you for chasing one of us instead of money! 

[jmyrlefuller]

The material stuff, the great thing about a lot of it is that it's still there. And I'm still relatively young and in good health.

But if I were to say there is one thing gone from my youth that I would love to have back, it's optimism. I had a lot of hope for the future: land a steady job in my field of study (or at least comfortably middle class), get married and raise a family of my own. Everyone assured me in times of disappointment that eventually things would get better, that it would all work out. Had I seen the future from then, knowing what my current destiny turned out to be having none of those things, I would be dead by now. I miss the days where my entire life wasn't an existential crisis where I'm nothing but one of the too many people on this planet. I watched, checked in, helped my older loved ones until they passed away, and now lament there'll be no one there to return the favor if I make it that far.

[andy58-in-nh]

What do I miss...I miss my childhood and I want a do-over with what I know now..

In a way, I think we'd all love that.

But life does not work that way, and for a reason.

What we learn from a lifetime of struggle, frustration and sometimes outright failure teaches us a great deal about the virtues of patience, humility, and empathy.

With age we come to appreciate how the arc of our life, with all bumps and bruises intact, stretches out toward a greater understanding of what really matters.

[Free Vulcan]

I feel fortunate to live in backwater Iowa, where while we accept new things, it's part of the culture not to throw out the old things either.

Even the youngins' are pretty balanced in that regard. I appreciate the Screw the Matrix attitude most people here have.

[libertybele]

The material stuff, the great thing about a lot of it is that it's still there. And I'm still relatively young and in good health.

But if I were to say there is one thing gone from my youth that I would love to have back, it's optimism. I had a lot of hope for the future: land a steady job in my field of study (or at least comfortably middle class), get married and raise a family of my own. Everyone assured me in times of disappointment that eventually things would get better, that it would all work out. Had I seen the future from then, knowing what my current destiny turned out to be having none of those things, I would be dead by now. I miss the days where my entire life wasn't an existential crisis where I'm nothing but one of the too many people on this planet. I watched, checked in, helped my older loved ones until they passed away, and now lament there'll be no one there to return the favor if I make it that far.

How fortunate you are to be relatively young and in good health!!!   

[libertybele]

What do I miss...I miss my childhood and I want a do-over with what I know now..

Counting our blessings is something we need to do now more than ever, to remind us of how good life really is and how fortunate we really are.

[berdie]

Nah, knowing what you know now would have ruined it probably.

Yep...I could have missed the pain but I'd have had to miss the dance.

[Fishrrman]

mystery posted:
"What do I miss...I miss my childhood and I want a do-over with what I know now.."

Mary Jo Leet ("I'd Like To Be Sixteen Again", first track...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO04SomlzOY&list=RDXO04SomlzOY&start_radio=1

[berdie]

I thought of 2 more...

Cafeterias like Wyatts and Luby's. Restaurants with super duper salad bars.

On a more personal note. Although I miss my dearly departed just because, the man could do anything or fix anything. If something went awry all I had to do was say.."honey the _____ stopped working." Voila! Fixed! Or "honey there's a snake in the bedroom". Voila! Snake deaded. Today if I can't fix it myself somebody gets paid to fix whatever, if I can find someone.    Otherwise it stays broke. He also made me feel completely protected at all times. Good times.

[roamer_1]

I feel fortunate to live in backwater Iowa, where while we accept new things, it's part of the culture not to throw out the old things either.

Even the youngins' are pretty balanced in that regard. I appreciate the Screw the Matrix attitude most people here have.

Mayberry. It's all about Mayberry.
It seems that when things get bigger, better, faster, better than Mayberry, they really don't. The excess always comes with a price.

I MISS Mayberry. A town where I knew mostly everybody, the familiarity of main street, the county fair, the vo-ag events. The picnics and farm parties. Hunting camp and fishing camp. The old guy named Monte that had a junkyard for old building supplies. Another named George that had a junk yard where old tools went to die.

Nothing went to waste. Nothing thrown away... it all just recycled into something else, as the need arose for someone.

No doubt Mayberry is still out there. It just isn't here anymore.

[libertybele]

I thought of 2 more...

Cafeterias like Wyatts and Luby's. Restaurants with super duper salad bars.

On a more personal note. Although I miss my dearly departed just because, the man could do anything or fix anything. If something went awry all I had to do was say.."honey the _____ stopped working." Voila! Fixed! Or "honey there's a snake in the bedroom". Voila! Snake deaded. Today if I can't fix it myself somebody gets paid to fix whatever, if I can find someone.    Otherwise it stays broke. He also made me feel completely protected at all times. Good times.

Good times and good memories @berdie   There are people that never get to experience what you have, so you are fortunate.

[libertybele]

Mayberry. It's all about Mayberry.
It seems that when things get bigger, better, faster, better than Mayberry, they really don't. The excess always comes with a price.

I MISS Mayberry. A town where I knew mostly everybody, the familiarity of main street, the county fair, the vo-ag events. The picnics and farm parties. Hunting camp and fishing camp. The old guy named Monte that had a junkyard for old building supplies. Another named George that had a junk yard where old tools went to die.

Nothing went to waste. Nothing thrown away... it all just recycled into something else, as the need arose for someone.

No doubt Mayberry is still out there. It just isn't here anymore.

I don't know if there is a 'Mayberry' out there.

Our neighbor at our other house, used to bake his own bread from scratch and always had a pot of coffee on in the morning and all of his buddies would stop in before they went to work.

He could fix anything and everything and never, ever let anything go to waste.  He wasn't the most eloquent speaker and spoke like a redneck (in our minds anyways), but he was the nicest man you'd ever want to meet. His handshake and his word was the only agreement needed. 

He mowed our lawn for free when we were caring for my father during his bout with cancer.  After his father passed he moved away  back to Nebraska and sadly last we heard he was in a bad automobile accident and was having problems.  I do wonder about him at times.

His home, his garage, his mannerisms, his compassion, and his friendliness, was the closest thing I've ever known to 'Mayberry'. 

[roamer_1]

On a more personal note. Although I miss my dearly departed just because, the man could do anything or fix anything. If something went awry all I had to do was say.."honey the _____ stopped working." Voila! Fixed! Or "honey there's a snake in the bedroom". Voila! Snake deaded. Today if I can't fix it myself somebody gets paid to fix whatever, if I can find someone.    Otherwise it stays broke. He also made me feel completely protected at all times. Good times.

  You do honor by him. 
That's hard to find.

[berdie]

Good times and good memories @berdie   There are people that never get to experience what you have, so you are fortunate.

Without a doubt!

[roamer_1]

I don't know if there is a 'Mayberry' out there.

Our neighbor at our other house, used to bake his own bread from scratch and always had a pot of coffee on in the morning and all of his buddies would stop in before they went to work.

He could fix anything and everything and never, ever let anything go to waste.  He wasn't the most eloquent speaker and spoke like a redneck (in our minds anyways), but he was the nicest man you'd ever want to meet. His handshake and his word was the only agreement needed. 

He mowed our lawn for free when we were caring for my father during his bout with cancer.  After his father passed he moved away  back to Nebraska and sadly last we heard he was in a bad automobile accident and was having problems.  I do wonder about him at times.

His home, his garage, his mannerisms, his compassion, and his friendliness, was the closest thing I've ever known to 'Mayberry'.

I'd feel right at home with that gent. That's the only kind that matter. 

[libertybele]

I'd feel right at home with that gent. That's the only kind that matter. 

I couldn't agree with you more, that's the only kind that matters.   

[MeganC]

I guess the things I miss from my youth are the days before my brother, father, and mother thought they could handle meth.

I'm not kidding, we had some great times and I had some great adventures before that. I also met some nice people in the entertainment business, shocking, right? The nicest people I ever met on a consistent basis always seemed to be the caterers.