TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930s, 40s, 50s,

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TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s -- This is for you!

 

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us. They cleaned out the kitty litter boxes and helped Dad spray

chemicals on the lawn.

 

They also took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing and didn't get tested for diabetes. IF they saw a OB/GYN on a regular basis, they didn't get the high powered vitamins that are given out now.

 

Then, after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright-colored, lead-based paints. We slept with stuffed animals with button eyes and our bottoms were powdered with REAL talcum powder.

 

We had no childproof lids on medicine or cleaning product bottles, no child-proof locks on doors or cabinets, so safety plugs in the outlets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets or knee guards -- not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking when we got older.

 

If we got sick, we got an aspirin, that's all there was and we never knew anyone who got brain damage from that. We saw a doctor only if the aspirin didn't work, no such thing as a check up every six months.

 

Dentists drilled out our cavities and used MERCURY fillings all the time.

 

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags, hanging out the window to cool off because we had no A/C in the cars either.

 

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat and if uncle Joe took you for a ride on his motorcycle, you didn't wear a helmet, neither did uncle Joe.

 

We drank water from the garden hose, or from the stream in the woods and never heard of store bought bottled water.

 

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. Taking a bite from a friends candy bar was considered "sharing" not a potential death sentence.

 

We ate cupcakes, bread and 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 OK.

 

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, Nintendos, X-boxes, no video games at all, just 5 network channels - no 300+ channels on cable, no videotapes or DVDs, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms.......... Instead, 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 made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms and, although

we were told it would happen, we did not put out any eyes, nor did the worms 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 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!! There was also just THREE outs, no such thing as every kid getting his chance at bat. If you won an award in school, it meant something. Awards weren't given to EVERY kid to console the dummies.

 

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! We had a FEAR of punishment and a respect for authority, it kept us out of trouble. Kid's today don't have this motivation.

 

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 -- without medication.

 

And YOU are one of us! 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."

 

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