How did we survive
According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us
who were kids in the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's probably shouldn't have
survived.
Our baby cribs were covered with bright coloured 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 seat belts 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 shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle,
and no one actually died from this.
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 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 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 did not have Play Stations, 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 fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth, and
there were no lawsuits from these accidents.
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.
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.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors?
