Friday, January 13, 2006

Congrats to 35-75yrolds

CONGRATULATIONS, to those born 1930-1970!

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
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 coloured 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. NO ONE actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank fizzy drinks 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 mobile phones, no personal computers, 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 made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although
we were told it would happen, we did not poke out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang.

Footy, or the swim team 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!

If 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 so much of
our lives for our own good. And while you are at it, pass it on to your
kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't
it?!!!!