Jan 2, 2008
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 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 150 channels on
cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell
phones, no personal computer! s, 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
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!
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, show 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?!