To  Those of  Us                        Born                         
1920 - 1965                         
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 OKAY. 
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 would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping pong paddles, or just a bare hand and no one would call child services to report abuse.
We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping pong paddles, or just a bare hand and no one would call child services to report abuse.
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 poke 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! 
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,                       swine flu, West Nile virus                       and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a good  time to                       take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?' 

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