TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 1930's, 50's,60's, and 70's
(IN SPITE OF IT ALL)


First, we survived being born to mothers
who smoked and/or dank when they were pregnant,
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese
dressing and 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 and 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 OK

We would spend hours building our go-carts
out of scraps and then ride down
the hill, only to find out we had forgotten the
brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintento'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 call 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 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
reponsibility, and we learned
how to
deal with it all!

If 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 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 sissors, doesn't it ?!