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I Can't Believe You Made It"!
If you lived as a child in the 40's, 50's, 60's or 70's.(and
before) Looking back, it's hard to believe that
we have lived as long as we have...
As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts
or air bags. Riding in the back of a pickup truck
on a warm day was always a special treat.
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 hitchhiking to town as a young kid!)
We drank water from the garden hose and not
from a bottle. Horrors. 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 streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day.
No cell phones. Unthinkable. We played dodgeball
and sometimes the ball would really hurt. We
got cut and broke bones and broke 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 ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank
sugar soda but we were never overweight...
we were always outside playing. We
shared one grape soda with four
friends, from one bottle and
no one died from this.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes,
video games , 99 channels on cable, video tape
movies, surround sound, personal cell phones,
personal computers, Internet chat rooms ...
we had friends. We went outside and
found them.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and
knocked on the door, or rung the bell or just
walked in and talked to them.
Imagine such a thing. Without asking a parent!
By ourselves! Out there in the cold cruel
world! Without a guardian. How did
we do 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.
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. No one to hide behind. The idea of
a parent bailing us out if we broke the rules was
unheard of. They actually sided with the
teachers, imagine that!
This generation has produced some of the best
risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors,
ever. The past 50 years has 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 if you are one of them.
Congratulations!
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