We survived being born to mothers who took aspirin for a headache, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get
tested for diabetes.
Our baby cots were covered with brightly colored lead-based paint which was promptly chewed and licked.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, latches on doors or cabinets, and it was fine to play with pots and pans.
When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets ... just flip flops and fluorescent "clackers" on our wheels; not to mention, the risks
we took hitchhiking.
We rode in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding "shotgun" or 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. Tasted the same.
We shared one drink with four friends from one bottle or can, 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, no one minded, and we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill at top speed, 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 movies or DVD's, no
surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms. We had real live human friends. We
went outside to be with them or to find new ones!
We fell out of trees, got cut, and broke bones and teeth. There were no lawsuits because of these things. They were accidents.
We learned not to do the same thing again.
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 played run-outs, elastics, and street rounders, and sometimes that ball really hurt; but we didn't stop playing because of a
bruise.
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! Again,
no one minded that we did this.
We had fights, punched each other hard, and got black and blue. We learned to get over it.
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!
Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected.
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! If you are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS! If you're not, I thought you might like reading about us, such a unique group of
people.
And you might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before lawyers and the government
regulated our lives for our own good. And while you're 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!
| Children of Yesterday |
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| To All the Kids Who Survived the 1920's, 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !! |