Friday, January 25, 2008

Recognize These Days?

This has been circling around for awhile and I don't know who wrote it. But, I can certainly identify with most of it. It's amazing how the times have changed for us all!

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930s, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes. Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs 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 infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, 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 Kool-aid made with sugar, 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 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computer! s, no Internet or 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 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. They actually sided with the law! These generations have 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!

The quote of the month is by Jay Leno:"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

5 comments:

SweetAnnee said...

Oh..we are survivors arent we???
and better for it..Those were GOOD times
..I grew up just like you..
lovingly, deena

Holly said...

Good times for sure. I survived!

Giggi said...

Our seat belt -- Daddy's arm. Or maybe being wedged in on my stripe! ha ha! Fun memories.

The Doty's Dish said...

You know I think we could add the 80's to that list too...I remember going through 90% of my life like that...minus the nintendo's.

pruittsplace said...

hey sis... err, people who were born in the 30's, 40's, ... (even 70's) ain't kids no more. and by the way, you forgot "asbestos"... how did we survive!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh the humanity. (by the way, i hate that phrase, and yet find it funny every time i say it or write it because i think of newman from seinfeld... fyi)
keep survivin'... and trivin'!
ricky