TO ALL THE
KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE
1930s, '40s, '50s,
'60s and '70s!!


First, we survived
Being born to mothers who may have 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, locks on doors or cabinets,
And, when we
Rode our bikes,
We had baseball
Caps,
Not helmets, on
Our heads.




As infants and
Children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts,
No air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes..




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, real butter, and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar.
And we weren't overweight.
WHY?


Because we were
Always outside playing...that's why!


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
OKAY.




We would spend
Hours building
Our go-carts out
Of scraps
And then ride
Them 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 Play Stations, Nintendos and X-boxes. There were
No video games,
No 150 channels on cable,
No video movies
Or DVDs,
No surround-sound or
CDs,
No cell phones,
No personal computers,
No Internet and
No 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 those accidents.

We would get
Spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping-pong paddles, or just a bare hand,
And no one would call child services to report abuse.



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, 22 rifles for our 12th, rode horses,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
To 85 years have seen 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 those born
Between 1925-1970, 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
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?"

O so true!

Butch,

I really do resemble all of that being born in 1949. Somehow I still have 4 limbs that work fairly well and both eyes although I wear glasses. Boggles the imagination, does it not?

Mark

In 1939 when I started 1st grade my mother told me get a licking in school get another when you get home.

Damn Chuck, your mother must have known my mother. I'm a 1951 vintage.

I was on the later end of this, 1965, but being raised by grandparents.......that was my life!

If someone told me I had to wear a helmet to ride my bike I would have walked!

.