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-based paints.
• We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, childproof locks on doors or cabinets. When we rode our bikes we had no helmets.
• As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, air bags (or even seat belts!)
• 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 of filtered spring water.
• 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 O.K.
• 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 video games, cable TV, DVDs or CDs, cell phones, personal computers, 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 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!
• 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! These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!
• If YOU are one of them: CONGRATULATIONS!