To Those of Us Born – 1930 to 1979

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 Play stations,

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 ?

 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 that prefer to think

that God is not watching over

us…go ahead and delete this. 

For the rest of us…