9 Things We Grew Up With That Today’s Generation May Never Understand

Quiet stories from a time when life was lived more in the moment

Some things you don’t forget — not because they were big, but because they were real. They weren’t special at the time. They were just how life worked. But decades later, they come back in pieces — a song on the radio, the way summer air smells after dusk, or a faded photo that still holds laughter.

Here are nine things many of us grew up with in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s — not to say “those were better times,” but to gently remember the beauty of living with a little more freedom, a little more patience, and a little more presence.

1. Hitchhiking Without Fear

There was a time when a thumb out on the side of the road wasn’t cause for alarm — it was part of growing up. Whether you were headed to a friend’s place, across town, or chasing something further down the highway, hitchhiking was seen as mostly safe and oddly social.

You’d wait with your duffel bag, your guitar maybe, or just your hope that someone kind would pull over. And they usually did.

It wasn’t reckless — not back then. It was trusting. Sometimes risky, yes, but it was built on the belief that most people meant well.

2. Field Keg Parties and Bonfires

No club. No reservations. Just someone’s cousin who knew a farmer, or an open stretch of land where the stars came down close.

The keg sat in a tub of ice in the back of a pickup. There was always a beat-up radio or someone’s car stereo blaring rock or Motown, and people danced in the dirt like it was a stage.

No wristbands. No bouncers. You showed up, you said hey, you passed the cup.

Sometimes it got rowdy. Sometimes it got quiet, with just the crackle of the fire and the sound of someone talking about dreams.

3. The Infamous Hand Stamp

You didn’t need a selfie to prove where you’d been last weekend. You just had to forget to scrub off the hand stamp.

A faded star or smiley face on the back of your hand — usually from a club, a house party, or some concert — was a badge of honor and, sometimes, a giveaway.

On Monday morning at school, someone would spot it and say, “Ohhh, you were at the lake house.”

It wasn’t a post. It was a mark. And if it was still there by Tuesday, you’d probably rubbed it with dish soap and a toothbrush trying to make it vanish.

4. Calling for Help From a Payphone

Before cell phones, we had dimes — or quarters — and the instinct to find the nearest payphone when things got tough.

You’d duck into a booth, shut the door, and hope the line wasn’t too static-filled. No GPS, no texting. Just dialing a number from memory and waiting for someone to pick up.

If they did, you knew they’d come. Even if it was late. Even if you couldn’t explain it all right then.

That kind of help didn’t require a signal. Just a voice and a promise.

5. Riding in the Back of a Pickup Truck

There are few feelings like it — sitting in the open bed of a truck as it rolled down a country road. Wind in your face. Legs dangling. Laughing for no reason.

No seatbelts. No helmets. Just trust and a little thrill.

It could be after a game, on the way to the river, or just because the front cab was full.

We didn’t overthink it. It was freedom.

6. Taping Songs Off the Radio

You sat with your cassette player, finger poised over the “record” and “play” buttons, waiting.

The song you loved would start. Maybe the DJ talked over the intro — maybe not. Maybe your little brother shouted in the background and ruined the take. You tried again next night.

Eventually, you had a full tape. Not just of songs, but of moments: weather updates, station jingles, static, and your own breath.

You made tapes for friends. Or crushes. Or yourself. Each one was a little time capsule.

7. Ashtrays in Cars, Planes, and Restaurants

It’s almost unthinkable now, but back then, smoke was everywhere.

Ashtrays were built into the arms of airplane seats. A booth at the diner came with a fresh glass ashtray, set neatly next to the salt shaker.

Cars smelled like leather, cigarettes, and sometimes vanilla from those cardboard pine tree air fresheners.

We didn’t see it as strange. It was just the air of grown-ups, of diners after dark, of long road trips with windows cracked open.

8. Furniture Covered in Plastic

Visit anyone’s grandma — especially in the ’60s or ’70s — and you’d likely sit down on something that crinkled.

Plastic slipcovers. Shiny. Sticky in summer. Cold in winter. But always there to “keep it nice.”

No one questioned it. That’s just how you took care of good furniture.

Sometimes it even had a floral pattern underneath, barely visible through the thick layer of vinyl. A couch that wasn’t meant to be sat on, really — just preserved.

9. TV Signing Off at Midnight

There was an end to the day. A clear one.

Just after midnight, the screen would fade to black, or sometimes the national anthem would play — a flag waving, a trumpet sounding — and then… static.

No late-night reruns. No endless streaming. Just the day saying: enough.

You turned it off, went to bed, and let the silence take over.

There was a kind of peace in that. A line between now and tomorrow.

We Didn’t Know It Was Special at the Time

No one sat around saying, “We’ll remember this.”

But we did.

Because these things — the field parties, the mixtapes, the phone booths, the plastic-covered couches — weren’t just quirks of a different era.

They were part of how we grew up. Part of how we learned patience, connection, trust.

And while every generation has its own magic, this one had a kind of grounded beauty that came from being there. Fully.

So when we talk about the “good old days,” we’re not trying to go back.

We’re just remembering how it felt when life was a little more analog, a little more hands-on, and a whole lot more human.