 |
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's!!!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked
and/or drank while they were pregnant.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing,
tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs
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 infants & children, we would ride in cars with
no car seats, booster seats, 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 Kool-aid made with sugar,
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 OK.
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
pro blem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all,
no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's,
no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones,
no personal computers, no Internet or 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 walked in and talked to them!
Little League had tryouts and not ev eryone 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!
These generations have 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!
If 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 so much of our lives
for our own good.
While you are at it, forward it to your kids so they
will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run
through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!
The quote of the month
is by Jay Leno:
"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control,
mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country
from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist
attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take
God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"
|
