[partsbara]

just watching some vid news on yahoo australia and it made me realise how much i used to take the beach for granted... unlike nowdays, when i grew up it was pretty much within the reach of most middle class families to live near the beach... at most we lived 1.5 miles from the beach... later we moved and lived (thankfully my folks are still in the same place) about 400 metres from the beach... waking up at sunrise and rolling down the slight incline on the longboard to have an early dip was heaven...

i ll never forget the first time i took my wife down there... she kicked off her shoes and ran for the crystal clear water... not a person in sight...

yeah, so the long and short of it is that i used to take the beach near our home for granted... these days i d give my lefty to have that again...

so what did you once take for granted ???

 

[Changleen]

Being able to fall / bail /otherwise dismount my bmx on jumps or ramp and get up and keep riding. I've had two injuries in the last year which have shown me I am no longer completly made of rubber.

 

[fluff]

I grew up with unspoilt heathland at the bottom of our back yard - just hope over the fence and wander into the countryside. It's all been built on now but it was a fantastic playground for a kid.

Also the time to do what I wanted when I wanted; having kids has changed that somewhat.

 

[fluff]

Being able to fall / bail /otherwise dismount my bmx on jumps or ramp and get up and keep riding. I've had two injuries in the last year which have shown me I am no longer completly made of rubber.

I had that experience about 4 years ago. It's a bummer.

 

[DaveW]

Beening able to just drop everything at 5 mins notice and go away for a weekends biking, skiing or surfing.... I miss that, it used to be just the norm nothing remarkable

 

[partsbara]

Being able to fall / bail /otherwise dismount my bmx on jumps or ramp and get up and keep riding. I've had two injuries in the last year which have shown me I am no longer completly made of rubber.

i hear ya man...

 

[Changleen]

I grew up on an Island and also had a beach at the bottom of my road. It wasn't much good for surfing, but it was a spot on the European Windsurfing tour. I was never into windsurfing though...

 

[partsbara]

Beening able to just drop everything at 5 mins notice and go away for a weekends biking, skiing or surfing.... I miss that, it used to be just the norm nothing remarkable

responsibility blows .. yeah those spur of the moment surf trips down to yallingup are a thing of the past...

 

[partsbara]

I grew up on an Island .

what was it called ??

sounds nice...

 

[DaveW]

devils island?

 

[Changleen]

Mersea.

Dot: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=37.871902,83.759766&q=Mersea+Island&ie=UTF8&t=h&om=1&ll=51.789718,0.950832&spn=0.073477,0.229683

 

[binary visions]

Having literally hundreds and hundreds of acres of woods and trails and brooks and ponds backed right up to my house that I had full access to.

I miss that.

 

[Westy]

Having literally hundreds and hundreds of acres of woods and trails and brooks and ponds backed right up to my house that I had full access to.

I miss that.

I feel bad for kids these days who don't have access to such things. I had a huge farm, large tracts of woods, an old strip mine connecting to our small back yard to play in. I never knew whose land it actually was but they didn't seem to mind kids playing on it. It is all taken up by $2million McMansions now.

 

[binary visions]

It is all taken up by $2million McMansions now.

That's too bad. The guy who owned the land behind our house was a crochety old man but he bought the land specifically so that the town wouldn't be over-developed. He owned over 2000 acres of land throughout our relatively small town.

It was an amazing place to be.

 

[jacksonpt]

Free time.

 

[DaveW]

That's too bad. The guy who owned the land behind our house was a crochety old man but he bought the land specifically so that the town wouldn't be over-developed. He owned over 2000 acres of land throughout our relatively small town.

It was an amazing place to be.

That sounds pretty cool.

 

[DRB]

Free time.

 

[corey_rideDC]

i grew up riding and racing dirt bikes. hare scrambles, moto-x. i was riding from the age of 4, so i always took it for granted. i moved out when i was 18 and haven't ridden since. DC is not moto-friendly, and i can't afford it now anyway. i almost wish that my dad hadn't gotten me riding at such an early age, so i could have appreciated it more.

and a 2nd vote on the 'free time' ... i never knew how good i had it in college and pre-marriage & baby. the only times i get to ride my DH bike is at races.

why can't i be financially independent!???

 

[valve bouncer]

Same as Partsy, I grew up a stones throw from the beach too. We're from neighbouting towns. I live close to the ocean here in Japan, but it's nothing like back home.
This is about 5 minutes from where my folks live.

 

[Mtbike]

my knees

 

[SkaredShtles]

Having literally hundreds and hundreds of acres of woods and trails and brooks and ponds backed right up to my house that I had full access to.

I miss that.

The farm I grew up on (my mom still owns it) still has that. She's got 10 and there's probably thousands of acres of State Land right behind it.

Too bad it's in Michigan.

Oh - other things I took for granted - fresh bread made by my mum, fresh churned butter (Jersey cows - so you know the cream was *rich*), fresh cinnamon rolls, fresh veg from the garden, fresh blackberries from the woods, fresh eggs I collected from the chickens.......... Hell, sometimes we'd even get fresh honey-dipped donuts. Of course, I *never* took those for granted.

 

[BurlyShirley]

...a working foot.

 

[BurlyShirley]

I also REALLY miss having summers off like I did as a kid. Fishing or riding dirtbikes EVERY day. Swimming at the creek. Messing around w/ chicks that you NEVER would during the school year because it'd hurt your stock w/ the real ladies.

Man I miss those days.

 

[Westy]

I also REALLY miss having summers off like I did as a kid. Fishing or riding dirtbikes EVERY day. Swimming at the creek. Messing around w/ chicks that you NEVER would during the school year because it'd hurt your stock w/ the real ladies.

Man I miss those days.

The summer before my senior year in college I had the choice of getting a internship and great job experience or not. Instead I chose to stay up at school and do nothing, I figured it was the last summer I would have off until I retired. Drank way too much, hung out with dirty women, did others things I won't speak of in a public forum. Spent my days working off hangovers at the local swimming hole and generally being a bum. Best summer ever.

 

[partsbara]

Same as Partsy, I grew up a stones throw from the beach too. We're from neighbouting towns. I live close to the ocean here in Japan, but it's nothing like back home.
This is about 5 minutes from where my folks live.

thats not ocean where you live now... it s some kinda pseduo environment that the master race has constructed so they can eat the blubber of moby... evil bastids...

nice photo btw valve... whos car ??? looks like you drove it from nippon... needs a holden hq in the shot

 

[splat]

having hair

 

[BurlyShirley]

having hair

also: Not having hair

 

[SkaredShtles]

The summer before my senior year in college I had the choice of getting a internship and great job experience or not. Instead I chose to stay up at school and do nothing, I figured it was the last summer I would have off until I retired.

Get your priorities straight, dude.

I still plan on taking a few summers off before I retire.

 

[Brian HCM#1]

i ll never forget the first time i took my wife down there... she kicked off her shoes and ran for the crystal clear water... not a person in sight...

Ah dude........................She was trying to run from you, you were just a bit faster and caught her again

 

[Brian HCM#1]

having hair

You and me both

 

[SkaredShtles]

You and me both

Those of us with full heads of thick, long hair weep for you.

 

[stevew]

Colorado

 

[Brian HCM#1]

Those of us with full heads of thick, long hair weep for you.

I saw some pics of me from 10 years ago, and all I could say is..................FU*K!!!!!:mumble:

 

[BurlyShirley]

I saw some pics of me from 10 years ago, and all I could say is..................FU*K!!!!!:mumble:

You know, Im sure this is really going to sound lame, but it's not so bad to go bald. I mean, Im not, but I dont look at bald dudes and say "Hahahah, No hair" and I pretty much make fun of everyone, but balding, I dunno. It almost looks sophisticated.

Although, I do have a theory that Hasselbeck will never win a superbowl becuase he is bald. It's a lack of confidence thing. He simply couldnt match up to that ever-hairrier Rothelsberger

 

[pixelninja]

Also the time to do what I wanted when I wanted; having kids has changed that somewhat.

 

[jacksonpt]

You know, Im sure this is really going to sound lame, but it's not so bad to go bald. I mean, Im not, but I dont look at bald dudes and say "Hahahah, No hair" and I pretty much make fun of everyone, but balding, I dunno. It almost looks sophisticated.

Although, I do have a theory that Hasselbeck will never win a superbowl becuase he is bald. It's a lack of confidence thing. He simply couldnt match up to that ever-hairrier Rothelsberger

I'm 30, been at least balding for about 10 years now. About a year and a half ago, I started buzzing my hair - not to hide the baldness, but because I got tired of paying for haircuts.

IMO, hair is over rated.

 

[dhbuilder]

youth.

 

[Westy]

You know, Im sure this is really going to sound lame, but it's not so bad to go bald. I mean, Im not, but I dont look at bald dudes and say "Hahahah, No hair" and I pretty much make fun of everyone, but balding, I dunno. It almost looks sophisticated.

Although, I do have a theory that Hasselbeck will never win a superbowl becuase he is bald. It's a lack of confidence thing. He simply couldnt match up to that ever-hairrier Rothelsberger

It just makes you look/feel older. I never get my ID checked when purchasing beer, except when I wear a hat. In fact I've had a few schmucks think my ID was fake because I didn't look 32, until I displayed my hairline. It really doesn't mean anything to me except when trying to hit on hot college chicks.

 

[SkaredShtles]

You know, Im sure this is really going to sound lame, but it's not so bad to go bald. I mean, Im not, but I dont look at bald dudes and say "Hahahah, No hair" and I pretty much make fun of everyone, but balding, I dunno. It almost looks sophisticated.

This makes it much easier to judge.

 

[I Are Baboon]

Being able to walk. Seeing my sister get stricken with MS has shown me that not everyone gets to roam freely.