Growing Up Without A Care In The World

Published: May 27, 2020, 7 p.m.

b'This week\'s stories are about how different the world GamerDude grew up in than it is today.\\xa0 He talks about how "childproofing" was something he\'d never heard about until he had kids of his own.\\xa0 When he was growing up, there were no child-proof lids, or cabinet locks, or covers for electrical outlets, and he talks about how he learned the hard way not to put things in an electrical socket. He talks about being left "in charge" when he was 12, and about how walking to and from school, or over to a friend\'s house, was just standard behavior. He also talks about playing outside on his own, and playing on the beach on his own, and how "parental supervision" was\\xa0quite different when he was a kid.\\n\\nHe also talks about "sunscreen," and how it simply wasn\'t a thing when he was growing up. If you were laying out in the sun, you were trying to get a tan, so you would lotion up with baby oil or tanning lotion.\\xa0 "SPF" was simply not a thing that he was aware of as a kid. He also talks about living off of sugary bubble gum, and how much he looked forward to that good, pink taste of Bazooka bubble gum.\\n\\nHe also talks about riding bikes without helmets, regardless of whether you were racing down the street or jumping streams in the woods.\\xa0 He also remembers "graduating" to being able to sit in the front seat of the car, and also talks about how hitch-hiking was the Uber of his childhood.\\xa0 He also talks about the times he picked up hitch-hikers, and how it\'s not something he would consider doing these days.'