Are we training our kids to become weaker?

Have you ever heard some old timer make some crazy claim about how things were in the old days? They say things like, back in my day, there was no school bus. We had to walk. Everyday. Through the sleet and the snow. Five miles. Up hill. Both ways.

That last part is of course ridiculous. There's no way it could be uphill both ways unless the school building physically moved while you were in it, or your house did. At least half of the trip was easy because it was mostly downhill and precipitation doesn't fall from the sky EVERY day. While it is an exaggeration. It does go to show that we do take a lot of things for granted. Life did used to be harder without all of our modern conveniences.

And George Carlin, rest his soul, used to say we were turning our nation into a bunch of wimps(his word was less kid friendly) due to preemptively rescuing our loved ones from bad situations. He would say, in the old days, parents would purposely bring their healthy kids in contact with sick ones that way they could get sick and their immune systems could get stronger. Kids would learn how to defend themselves, either diplomatically or physically by getting into fights. Now we break things up before they get that far and kids never learn to deal with these situations.

I used to think that what he was saying was funny, but nonsense. But, now, I wonder. When it comes to working, I have seen evidence of the current generation being a whole lot more fragile than the previous one was. While we don't associate with him anymore, we used to know this kid. He was kinda young, I think maybe twenty at the time. He still lived at home with his parents. And he used to come home from his job and complain to one of us that because his manager was working that day he had to stay on his feet for half of his entire shift. He was in so much pain and he suffered for soooo long!

Was he busting his back working construction or maybe sweating it out in the hot Florida sun as a roofer? Nope. He was busy peddling novelty items at Spencer's, in the local mall. And the best part? Was he working for 18hours? 16? 12 maybe? None of the above. His shift was four hours. He was complaining about his body being beaten up over having to stand for a grand total of two hours.

We currently live with another youngster who has been part of the work force for about ten years now. But for around seven of those years he has only worked four to five hours at a time. He has just started getting longer shifts, like eight to nine hours and he has spent some time going on and on about how much time he spends on his feet, about how his back hurts and he is working all these long hours.

Most of the rest of us living in the house together have at one time or another worked a great deal longer than that and quite often doing real back breaking work. To most of us eight hours is a short shift.

When I was around the age of the guys I've mentioned here, I worked construction eighteen hours a day, six days a week, for six months. My back and feet and leg muscles used to hurt so much, I would have to take pain medication just so that I could relax enough to fall asleep, in order to get up and start it all over the next day.  Four of us used to do telephone technical support for thirteen and a half hours a day, three to five days a week(depending on overtime). During several of the hurricanes that we have had down here in Florida, a couple of us have worked more than twenty four hours with no breaks. So, we really have no sympathy for the newer generation of workers

If George Carlin and the other old timers that say we are destroying our country by coddling ourselves are wrong, then why is it that many of us that have been part of the work force for ten years or less seem to find actual labor so much harder than those of us that have been around for so much longer?

Somewhat of a repeat

In the process of doing some reading, designed to help with my goal of self improvement, I was asked to do an exercise that involves some self reflection. I decided to post the parts that I was writing down here, so that I can come back to them later. Some of the information I already shared here in the A bit about me post.

First I was asked to describe my five best qualities. This was pretty easy as I have a good opinion of myself and am not constantly struggling to come up with just one nice thing to say about me. I am honest, intelligent, loyal, hard working and observant.

The next one was a little harder though. I was asked to name ten positive things that I have done in the past year. Let's see. I have reduced our household's monthly bills by about $200 by making different choices with our air conditioner usage and internet provider. About a month ago I started a blog(this one). Recently, I have committed to(and have been) spending more time on self
improvement. Just a week ago I acquired completionist in DDO, which is something that I had been working on for about 2 years. In the last several months I have read several new books, some fantasy fiction and some on self empowerment. I have watched many of the movies on my to see list. Last week I helped some friends resolve an issue that has been plaguing their relationship for over a year. I have provided feedback and advice for someone close to me that is going through some of her own self improvement steps. Spent time playing with my son, probably the one thing on this list I have enjoyed the most.  And last but not least I encouraged a friend to get off his ass and stop procrastinating about going to vocational school.

The final area of self reflection for this exercise is about sharing some favorites.
My favorite types of music are heavy metal, classical music, hard rock and blues, pretty much in that order. My favorite band is Iron Maiden. I have been listening to them for over two decades. But I have found within just about every genre there  is something worth listening to. There truly is talent everywhere.

My favorite books are invariably sword and sorcery style fantasy fiction and science fiction. The best fantasy book series ever written is the Wheel of Time, by the late Robert Jordan.

My favorite movie is Independence Day or really anything directed by Roland Emmerich. The special effects are so amazing. He is always blowing up large real world structures, quite often through massive natural disasters.

In the past I would say may favorite television show was either Firefly or Heroes. Of the things currently running my favorite is Castle.

After sharing my favorite TV shows it should come as no surprise that my favorite actor is Nathan Fillion.  I do not really have a favorite actress. Though I suppose Hayden Panettiere , Natalie Portman, Michelle Pfeiffer and Amy Adams are all in the running.

I really do not often watch professional sports. So I don't have a favorite sports team. I enjoy watching the Olympics, both summer and winter. Sometimes I watch the playoffs for basketball or every other year the Super Bowl for football.

It may surprise you to know that I have never really been on vacation. My favorite city that I have been to is Columbus Ohio, the fast food capital of the world.  I'd like to visit Ireland one day though.

My favorite type of car is either a Lamborghini Countach or the Mclaren F1 .

My favorite type of food is either a porterhouse steak cooked Pittsburgh style or a breaded deep fried pork chop. And funnily enough my two favorite places to eat, Antonio's Pizza-rant and Char-Hut do not serve either.

I do not drink often, but when I do, I prefer to drink a lot.  My favorite alcoholic beverages are Oatmeal Cookies and Paintballs.

And that's all for now. More soon.