1/7/08

Dedicated to all the kids who SURVIVED 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
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 koolade 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, CD's or Ipods, 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 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.
And while you are at it, show this to your kids so they will know how brave
(and lucky) their parents were.
The quote of the month is by Jay Leno:
"With hurricanes, tornadoes, 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?"