On for us older folk...

[Kal]

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 up front and handing out the window 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 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 Play stations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no sky, 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!

school football and rugby 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

[Britjoe]

yep, without sounding like a grumpy old bastad I agree.

[NorthernPete]

Hmmm, at 27 I remember most of those things... am I old... or is it just for people <20 ?

[sharpmagna]

Hmmm, at 27 I remember most of those things... am I old... or is it just for people <20 ?

Yeah, I'm 26 and I remember all that stuff.

[blues2cruise]

That would make a good printout to give to the parents who think we shouldn't ride motorcycles.

[Nalian]

Hmmm, at 27 I remember most of those things... am I old... or is it just for people <20 ?

Ditto!

[Stratus311]

Wow! Yep, 26 here too and remember all of that. I also remember living in Texas as a kid and picking wild blueberries, rinsing them off and dumping large amounts of sugar on them. It made for a nice afternoon snack. And no diseases!!

[CNF2002]

Nice message, and it brings up a very good point. Kids today are going to grow up completely sheltered wimps with no basic skills beyond how to manipulate others into getting what they want.

[grymlocke]

and we also drank from the hose,

hucked dirt clods at each other 'cuase it was fun

played on jungle gyms with chain swings and tried to fling ourselves out as far as possible

metal slides that hurt like heck from the summer sun, but we slid anyway

geodesic dome monkey bars that had only redwood bark as ground padding.

cerial prizes with stuff that a kid actually wanted...

and chewy candy that pulled your fillings out...

I remember...

how did I EVER SURVIVE it ?????

[Big B]

hell, i still drink from the hose (country well water is the greatest!)