CONGRATULATIONS
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE
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.
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?
Terri, Thank you so very much for bringing back some of the best memories of my life!
Just a few nights ago my husband and I were remembering the warm feelings of the summer afternoons when we were kids. When we could go all over town and not have to worry, nor did our parents. Just go out and play; all the things you were talking about.
I remember fondly the carts we build with a rope to steer with, and a good hill to go down. What innocent, simpler times. And my first "skate-board". My dad took a 2x4 and an old roller skate and put it on the bottom. I painted it red! It didn't handle real well but I had something new!
Thanks again for the memories...
Nini
Thanks for sharing that with us Terri. Our little go carts were made from some boards and the wheels off of my doll stroller. Kind of wish that I could bring back those days.