I realise that we are a very mixed bunch age wise but thought that some may appreciate the following and for the younger members here their parents might be amused Gill
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the
1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s !
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they
carried us.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese, tuna from a can, and didn't get
tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cots were covered with bright coloured,
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 truck 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 Coke 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 100s of channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no mobile 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 cowboy 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 walked in and talked to them!
The town football club had tryouts for the junior team 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 60 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?
Gill 13 years, 4 months ago.