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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 colored lead-base paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.

Riding in the back of a pick- up truck 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, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight. WHY?

Because we were always outside playing...that's why!

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 them 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 and X-boxes. There were no video games, 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 and no 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.

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.

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 ?
Y.B.Y.S.A.I.A
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How funny and true... I remember my mom telling me I had to be home before the streetlights came on and I would see that first flicker and ride my bike as fast as I could into our front yard and jump from it to the porch just to make it inside on time and I would turn around to see my back wheel still spinning...
At my house there was only one channel on the TV, CBS, and the never had any of the good shows. I was so excited when the local channel switched to ABC programming so I could watch "The Six Million Dollar Man", then he went and battled Bigfoot, the show went to heck and all we had to watch was Happy Days. It was almost a mile to my friend's house, so everyday it was out on the bike, or if it was a good day, we would saddle up the horses and take off. Gone all day, just fishing and playing in the woods. the closest I ever came to getting hurt was being kicked by a horse.
Those were really good times....
1960s. I would come home from school and drop my books on the back porch. Before they had finished bouncing I would have grabbed my surfboard and suit and run to catch the bus to the beach. Surf until the sun went down and then ride home on the bus, barefoot and sandy with a surfboard and a bag of school clothes. Never had a problem.

Until I got home, that is. I think if you total them all up, I'm grounded for the next sixteen thousand years.
LOL... I did all these things and was born and grew up in the 80's. My best friend was my black lab, who was my protector, and we played outside all day, swam in mud puddles, ran in the cotton field, and whatever else we could do! I grew up in the country and loved it! My mom never let me watch tv unless it was Saturday morning cartoons and that was it! My mom and I would sit on the front porch and she would teach me nursey rhymes or numbers and have me repeat them to her while we wanted on my Dad to get home from work. I honestly think that why I have such a good memory. Funny you posted this blog...my husband and I were talking about his same subject the other day and children playing outside was one of our answers. Also the fact that children had chores, etc. I know that when or if I have kids, they are not having a cell phone a age 8, no video games...etc, if for some reason I allow that, it will be on a time limit and the computer will be on a time limit, no tv's in their bedrooms. I will be such an "uncool" mom! Smiler

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