To te Kids Who Survivied

Received this e-mail today. Thought I'd share it...

To All the Kids Who Survived the 50's, 60's & 70's.......
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us. They took asprin, 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 cabinents, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, and we often hitchhiked. 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 and no one actually died from this. We ate cupcakes, white bread, 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 home when the street lights came on. No one was able to reach us all day, and were were still O.K. We would spend hours building go carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot about brakes. After running into a few bushes, we learned to solve the problem. We did not have Nintendo, Play Stations, X-Boxes, video games, 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 real freinds and 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 were given BB guns for our 10th birthday, made up games with sticks and tennis balls, and even though told it might happen, never put out anyones eyes. We rode bikes to our friends house, knocked on the door, rang the bell or just walked in. 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 innovations 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!.....Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?

Comments

  • 4 Comments sorted by Votes Date Added
  • I don't feel like running through the house with scissors, 8-| but there is so much truth here. Playing outside with neighborhood kids will teach you all kinds of wonderful skills for later in life. I'm thankful for many of the technological advances we now enjoy, but I also wish I could give my kids a taste of 'the good old days.'
  • Speaking of the "good old days", I grew up in the 50's & 60's in Miami, FL. While I was in high school (mid-60's) the lock on our front door broke and we could not lock the door. After my Mom died in 1986, we were peparing the house for sale when we were reminded that the lock was still broken. For twenty years our friends and family came and went at all hours of the day and night; it didn't even occur to us that having an unlocked front door for all those years could have been dangerous; probably because it wasn't dangerous back then, i.e., "the good-old-days". I can't imagine living anywhere in our country, especially in Miami, and not locking your front door at all times and especially at night. Like it or not, those were very different and special times.
  • I was especially struck by the notion of "trying out" for little league. I remember how the process was both stressful and invigorating. I was never cut, but I sure as hell was no superstar either, and rode the bench many times. You learn how to deal with it. I'm so fed up with the "self esteem" garbage our schools have created. It leaves our children beleiving someone will always be there to fill in for their shortcomings. I wish real life was that way.....
  • Wow, thanks for the reminder, I did learn a lot of valuable skills playing outside with the neighborhood girls, ah the good old days!
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