[dadfor2]

well, i figured out how to cut and paste.....

a friend emailed me this the other day....and i had to stop and think...hmmmmmmm, that was my life growing up....my how things have changed.

here it is:

People over 35 should be dead.

Here's why ...

According to today's regulators
and bureaucrats, those of us
who were kids in the 40's,
50's, 60's, or even maybe
the early 70's probably
shouldn't have survived.

Our baby cribs were covered
with bright colored lead-based
paint.

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 children, we would ride
in cars with no seatbelts
or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pickup
truck on a warm day was
always a special treat.

We drank water from the
garden hose and not from
a bottle.

Horrors!

We ate cupcakes, bread and
butter, and drank soda pop
with sugar in it, but we were
never overweight because
we were always outside
playing.

We shared one soft drink
with four friends, from one
bottle, and no one actually
died from this.

We would spend hours building
our go-carts out of scraps
and then rode 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 would leave home in the
morning and play all day,
as long as we were back
when the street lights
came on.

No one was able to
reach us all day.

NO CELL PHONES!!!!!

Unthinkable!

We did not have Playstations,
Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no
video games at all, no 99
channels on cable, video
tape movies, surround
sound, personal cell phones,
personal computers, or Internet
chat rooms.

We had friends!

We went outside and found
them.

We played dodge ball, and
sometimes, the ball would
really hurt.

We fell out of trees, got
cut and broke bones and
teeth, and there were no
lawsuits from these accidents.

They were accidents.

No one was to blame but us.

Remember accidents?

We had fights and punched
each other and got black
and blue and learned to get
over it.

We made up games with
sticks and tennis balls and
ate worms, and although we
were told it would happen,
we did not put out very many
eyes, nor did the worms
live inside us forever.

We rode bikes or walked to
a friend's home 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.

Some students weren't as
smart as others, so they
failed a grade and were
held back to repeat the
same grade.

Horrors!

Tests were not adjusted
for any reason.

Our actions were our own.

Consequences were expected.

The idea of a parent bailing
us out if we broke a law
was unheard of.

They actually sided
with the law.

Imagine that!

This generation has produced
some of the best risk-takers
and 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.

And you're one of them!

Congratulations!

Please pass this on to others
who have had the luck to grow
up as kids, before lawyers
and government regulated our
lives, for our own good !!!!!

People under 30 are WIMPS

[Z&Z'smom]

I love this quote! It so reminds me of childhood. I remember having so much fun. I want my kids to have the same kind of fun during their childhood as I did. Thanks for posting this.

[Lindsie]

Although I'm only 24, I too should be dead, so it seems... I had no idea I was such a risk-taker! I didn't have the lead based paint on my crib, but the rest of it sounds about right. Bring back the good old days with accountability and "getting over" stuff.

[dl]

Thanks for sharing dadfor2!!! I could relate to every single one of these. It reflects my 50's childhood in a small suburb of Chicago very well. Funny ~ the water from the hose always tasted so good!!!

Things were so simple and carefree. I'm glad I was a child then. It seems children today are so stressed at such a young age!

[snow princess]

dadfor2

Thanks for the memories !!

It is sad that kids are not allowed to be kids these day !

air was a lot fresher then too - summer nites had a "certain smell" to them

mary

[AMom2Two]

LMFAO

That was great. Oh yes, we should be dead shouldn't we? With all that, I wonder how we survived.

Very funny and also, very true... I remember it all...

ooppppssss am I showing my age

[Opus]

Thanks, dad, for the nostalgia trip. Its hard to imagine life w/o computers, cell phones etc. but we actually experienced it lol.