1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank
while they carried us.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and
didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright
colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets
and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the
risks we took hitchhiking.
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special
treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO
ONE actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop
with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because......
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we
were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then
ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After
running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the
problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games
at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround
sound,
no
cell
phones,
no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat
rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there
were no
lawsuits from these accidents.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not
live in us forever.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays,
made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were
told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the
door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those
who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine
that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was
unheard of.
They
actually sided with the law!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem
solvers and inventors ever!
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new
ideas
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we
learned
HOW TO
DEAL WITH IT ALL!
And YOU are one of them!
CONGRATULATIONS!
You
might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow
up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our
lives for our own good.
and while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know
how brave their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors,
doesn't it?!
PS
-The big type is because your eyes are shot at your age.