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 Koolade 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'd forgotten the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, or X-boxes. We had 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 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 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 just 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, forward it 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?!
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? "
For those who prefer to think that God is not watching over us.......go ahead and delete this.
For the rest of us.....please pass this on.
______________________________________
My dear friend Colleen emailed the above post to me today. I'm not sure who wrote it originally but it struck a chord with me.
My dear friend Colleen emailed the above post to me today. I'm not sure who wrote it originally but it struck a chord with me.
I remember playing outside as a child. Inside too at times, I road a small horse as a child and young person. Princess (a biting kicking, crowhoping, fence jumping, explosion-and my best friend), anyway Princess was dishfaced like an arabian, and a bit smaller than a morgan. black mane and tale, star on her forehead, deep bay color, fine legs, and ran like the wind.
One summer day I was riding princess, I was under 9 years old at the time. Can't quite remember just what age I was, somewhere between 4 and 9. Mom must have called me from the kitchen and I didn't want to get off my horse. I knew I had to come when she called me, so I came in with the horse under me.
Here is this little red headed girl, bareback on this spirited horse, coming up the front walk, up the step, I remember leaning forward and opening the screen door.... and into the kitchen we went.
I have no idea what my mom wanted, but I do remember her exact words. Get that horse out of this house! 40 years later the thought of it still makes me laugh.
What can I say, made perfect sense to me at the time. The horse was my friend, I didn't want to leave her behind so she came into the house with me...
Princess was my piggy bank horse. The day we went to pick out a horse for me to ride, we went to the horse dealer. There were so many beautiful horses in that corral. All different colors, there was this one paint that was so flashy and beautiful. Then I saw Princess. She was so skinny, and rough coated, her head hung down and her main and tail were all matted.
When it came to people I was a very shy little girl. But there was something about that horse. I remember talking to the horse man, saying I'll give you everything in my piggy bank for that horse. My mother was not thrilled. I wasn't in school yet so I must have been 4 years old. The horse man looked at me and said deal.
Princess was mine. My $10.00 piggy bank horse. We took her home, she was covered with lice. and so skinny it hurt to sit on her back. We, mostly mom I would imagine, cleaned her up, got ride of the mats in her main and tail and those nasty lice. She put on weight and instead of hanging her head and dragging her tail, her head came up with this wonderful arch in her neck, and her tail was up.
I grew up with Princess. She was absolutely beautiful, ran like the wind, and jumped over anything I asked her too. Sometimes when I didn't ask her. She loved to run, nose stretched forward, neck out, ears back, with her tail whipping out straight behind her....with this little red headed girl stuck to her back, no saddle just flying mane and a bridle ...
Life is a journey... enjoy the trip ... Mary E. Robbins & the Hairballs
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