TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE...

[Kathy]

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN 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 carried us.

They took aspirin, 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 cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

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, from one bottle 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. 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 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 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 yelled for 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!

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!

And 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 our lives for our own good.

And while you are 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?!

Raul Dittrich

[Danette]

HI Kathy,
Read this on another Form, But it's still a good one.

Hugs,
Danette

[Virginia]

The kid across the street - just got a new bike, right! Kid had on helment. knee pads. elbow pads, what appeared to be some kind of padded shirt and glasses, now I don't know if the kid needs glasses or not! Ready for this - the damn bike had training wheels on it !!!!!!!! AAHHHH!
How did any of us live to this ripe old age with out all these "do gooders" out there saving us from ourselves!
I love the christmas gift safety list: "Oh, this toy is so dangerous. your child could break off this piece, put it in their mouth and choke on it." First it would take a small application of dynamite to remove the piece they are usually talking about and if the kid is that dumb or hungry well...............!
Just my feelings on saving all of us!
Virginia

[Lorna]

Hear Hear, hon!!

Back in those days, it was all about stickball, knee scrapes, trying to avoid being called "sissy", the Ice Cream truck, having to fight the other kids in order to "prove yourself" - if you wanted to make friends. Good times.

Another one - it was still okay for your parents to whup your butt if you got out of line - without all these laws protecting children nowadays.

In fact - I did have my Atari 2600 back in the early 80s... However, if it was a nice day out & I was inside playing the Atari or watching TV, my dad would pull off his belt! All he had to do was take it off. That scared me outside mighty quick!!

[Mark]

I'm one of the lucky ones I grow up during the fifties. We built forts fished and swam all day. Or played base ball had our share of fights. All in all They were the best times to be a kid. And if you told your next door neighbor you dad or mom spanked you he or she would tell you dad or mom and you would get it again. I know because that is what happen to me. My dad called it dancing lessons-they paid off later on I won dance contest and had fun doing so.

[Jeannie]

Wasn't it great being a kid back then? I was a kid in the 50's and 60's when we could be kids. We all just played and had fun. Like you kathy me and my friends built tree houses deep in the woods,we went all over the city and surrounding towns on our bikes and played kick ball and hide and go seek. Safety gear on a bike? Virginia. I was one big scab until I was about 12 from sled,bike and our homemade buggy accidents. I fell on my head so many times that's why I'm like this today!
I had a grammer school science teacher,Mr. Duffy who had a jar of mercury and would let us hold it to feel how heavy it is. He would pour some on the table and we would watch it bead up and roll around. Now that hazemat team in respirators and chemical suits would show up. I remember a kid in my class swore at Mr. Duffy in the hall. He was a big man. He slammed the kid against the locker and the kid never did it again. That was it. No Police,lawyers or law suits. Just good old fashioned disipline.
We were born in a small window in this century's history. No world war,no terrorism,child molestors weren't running rampant and no parent worried where there kids were playing because there was no need to worry. Unfortunately the window closed forever. We were very lucky that we had the freedom to be kids. I feel sorry for the children today. They have no idea what they missed. I'd live my childhood over in a minute if I could. Some say I still am but that's a whole differant issue! I believe the term is arrested developmet! For all that tell me that....... I have one thing to say to you!........NA NA Ne NA NA! Hugs

Love
Jeannie