We also built tree houses and "forts". With real hammers and nails. We had chemistry sets and found interesting uses for them. AND for the most part we didn't wear seat belts.

But dextromethorphan is the current standard ingredient in cough syrups! What State is that, that puts a control on that substance?

I wonder if that was dextromethorphan? People have found a way to abuse that in recent years, and in my home state at least it is regarded as a "Schedule Five Controlled Substance". Purchasing it for minors or "with the deliberate intention of abuse" is a crime. I wonder if that means it is unlawful to buy cough syrup for your kids?

Codeine was just beginning to fall out of favor. Another preparation, called "Code 44" I believe, came on the market right about then. I never learned what its active ingredient really was, but the trade name given it was "Silentium." The tag line: "As effective as codeine, but non-narcotic."

That time also saw the release of two anti-drug classics: "Synanon" and "Narcotics: The Pit of Despair."

A strange time, when Cheracol and other cough syrups containing codeine were available over the counter and placed out on drug store shelves, while condoms were kept behind the counter.

Never heard of "Adulton", but I wonder if it was a codeine-based preparation. Which I have no doubt worked quite well as long as you didn't drink several bottles of it. Which the vast majority of people knew better than to do.

And we all are paying for it.

We rode our bikes all over the place too. I devised a way to make it sound like a motorcycle. My friend "drove", and I rode on the back, holding a 5-gallon bucket against the back tire--sounded awesome! We caught spiders and found arrowheads in the creeks, and used twine to lasso steers' horns from the hay mow above them. We entertained ourselves with our own minds, curiosity, and creativity. We didn't need someone else to entertain us. What joy!

There is a reason why the coinage used to say "Mind your business" before "In God we trust".

That sounds like a blast. I caught a little fish when I had a swimming lesson a Lake Enchanto and put it in the fish pond we had, that didn't have any fish. When he got fairly big the dog caught him and we had no more fish again.

Well, I was born in 1957. And I remember growing up just that way in those days. Non-toxic paint was something new. TV had only three networks, though some markets supported independent stations. And back then, you could still watch some decent TV dramas. And in those drama, and the ads, men were men, and had all the virtues (literally, "manly qualities"): discipline, leadership, and a willingness to accept responsibility.

Does anyone still remember men's toiletry products named "Command"? Or a super-strong cough preparation named "Adulton," with a picture of a non-nonsense adult on the label? The idea was: "Don't 'kid around' with your cough, by taking cough syrup weak enough for a little kid to take!"

These days, adding the world "children's" to a cough preparation is redundant. By the time I got old enough to vote, drink, and drive, "Adulton" was no longer on the market. Most of you probably don't even know what I'm talking about!

Sounds wonderful. I rode my bike all over town barefoot. Used to sit in the garden with the salt and pepper shaker poaching cherry tomatoes. Made leis of passion flowers and was always climbing up on the elementary school roof-either to belt out show tunes or make dandilion chains that would span two stories and touch the ground. Trapped tadpoles and stole robin eggs...

I remember those days. Outside as soon as breakfast was eaten and not back until time for Mickey Mouse Club on the black and white TV. Took turns getting buck off the cow or riding the horses. Later after moving to a more 'civilized' area we either spent the day body or board surfing, riding horses or riding bikes. The bikes had playing cards in the spokes to give them that awesome sound. The only time we didn't come home dirty was if we'd spent the day at the beach and the salt water washed all the dirt off.

The person who composed this video ought to be working on AS III. Is he/she a Gulch member? If not, this person deserves an invitation. That video, followed by a "If this was you, you need to see Who is John Galt"! would make an effective advertising campaign.

LOL, that is great!

Awesome video. Thanks!

This is exactly what Dr Patrick Moore ( a co-founder of Greenpeace) says happened in the early 80's. He saw people coming into the environmental movement who learned to use Green language to push Neo-Marxist ideals. It was no longer about the environment. It was about anti-globalization and anti-capitalism and some were pushing extreme ideas like trying to ban chlorine worldwide. He quit Greenpeace in 1986.

It had slowly begun in the late 60's though, as Ayn Rand demonstrates in The New Left.

That's what happened to the world. The looters always need a crisis to create fear. Real or imaginary.

Perhaps the key moment was described best by Michael Crichton in State of Fear when a professor character points to a noticeable change in reporting of keywords associated with fear and the environmentalist movement. The professor pointed to the falling of the Berlin Wall happening just before. Without the US/USSR Cold War to fear, the looters/control freaks had to come up with something global to control the populace. The environmentalist movement was a convenient way of funding (looting) this reacquisition of control.

Yes, I was a 60's "free range kid". Didn't stop moving from breakfast to sunset. It was an awesome childhood. My range was bounded by 3 major roadways and a railway. It was a large area to roam with friends.

Sigh. Those were the days. That was my life. It's why I get up every day and take charge of my own life wherever possible. Thanks!

Those were the days! We have removed all the risk and all the consequences. Wussification of America. :(