I loved this when I saw it here and wanted to add my two cents worth and share it with you.
Congratulations 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 had no clue that Folic Acid was a must and vitamins were taken only if they didn't cause more heartburn or nausea and you could afford them.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, drank Diet Pepsi and didn't get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints. Our toys had corners, paint, strings and small parts and most of us lived through it.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, knee or elbow pads, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Actually the only seat belt I remember was my mom's arm coming at me 30 mph when she slammed on her brakes and if I was lucky she missed hitting me in the mouth.
Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat. Riding in the back window of the car was an every day occurrence and if she hit the brakes then you would be hurled into the seat back, jump up and want to do it again.
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 because that is just what they were- accidents, not someone trying to make a quick buck off of some misfortune.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them! We had sleepovers and camp outs in the backyard. We never worried about anything except waking the neighbors while we toilet papered their house. I am sure there were freaks around back then, but it was so random it just wasn't worth worrying about. We had FUN!!! We made our own fun!!
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 built clubhouses and played in the creek. We played games in the streets without fear of some jackass coming along 30 mph too fast and killing someone. We watched out for each other and for each other's kids as we grew older and had families.
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! You can bet they all tried harder the next year!
We worked!! Starting as young as 5 years old sweeping, watching the babies, hanging out clothes on the line, helping in the kitchen, helping out on the farm with planting and feeding the animals. In fact the animals always got fed before we did at our house and CPS wasn't called out even once because of inhumane treatment!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! And some of them even called the town sheriff themselves to teach us a lesson about right and wrong. We learned how to go out a cut a willow branch for Granny to whoop us with and for some of us it took longer to realize that the little ones hurt the worst! We learned respect and honor. We learned to treat each other as we would like to be treated. We learned to love and how to be loved.
We learned to save for a rainy day and to do without sometimes. We learned to share what we did have with friends, family and those less fortunate.
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!
Geez I miss the "good old days". How will my kids ever make it through this world in one piece?? Waitress bring me my Xanax Martini now please!!
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