My dad (love him) sent me this in an email. I wasnt a child of any of these decades so im sure the reason he sent it to me is beacuse he knows how much i value freedom, and responsibility hahaha. that and he wants me to know how "brave" he was.
take a read. its very very true.
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED 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 theycarried us.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and
didn't gettested 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 pickup 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, twinkies, 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. There was
only one phone in the house and you asked permission to use it.
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 chatrooms..........
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 walked in and talked to 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.
Theyactually 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?!
