Congratulations to all born in the 1930s, 1940s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and early 80s!
First off, you made it through being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank during their pregnancy.
They took aspirin, enjoyed blue cheese dressing, ate tuna from tins, and weren’t tested for diabetes. After all that, your baby cots were often covered with brightly colored lead-based paints.
There were no childproof caps on medicine bottles, no safety locks on doors or cabinets, and when you rode bikes, helmets were unheard of. Many of you even tried hitchhiking at some point.
As kids, you rode in cars without seat belts or airbags. Riding in the back of a van – unrestrained – was sheer delight. You drank water straight from the garden hose instead of a bottle.
Sharing a soft drink with four friends from a single bottle was common, and no one died from it. You enjoyed cakes, white bread, real butter, and sugary soda without becoming overweight because…
YOU WERE ALWAYS OUT PLAYING!
You left home in the morning and played all day, just as long as you were back when the streetlights came on. There was no way for anyone to contact you all day, and you were just fine. You spent hours building go-carts from scraps, racing down hills until you realized they had no brakes. After a few crashes into the bushes, you figured it out.
There were no Playstations, Nintendos, or Xboxes. No video games, no 99 channels on cable, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no text messaging, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms…
YOU HAD FRIENDS, and you went outside to find them!
You fell out of trees, got cuts, broke bones and teeth, yet there were no lawsuits over these accidents. Many boys played with worms and made mud pies, and no, the worms did not live inside you forever.
Imagination ruled your play; sticks and tennis balls became games, and despite warnings, you rarely poked an eye out. You biked or walked to friends’ houses, knocked on doors or rang bells, or simply hollered for them.
Local teams had tryouts, and not everyone made the cut.
Those who didn’t make the team dealt with disappointment. Can you imagine that? Parents didn’t bail you out if you got into trouble; they often sided with the law!
Your generation has produced some of the most remarkable risk-takers, problem solvers, and inventors!
The past 50 years saw a massive burst of innovation and new ideas. You experienced freedom, faced failure, enjoyed success, and bore responsibility, all teaching you…
HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL! And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!
What do you think of this little trip down memory lane? There’s a lot of truth in it, don’t you think? Share this with others who were lucky enough to grow up during this golden age, before lawyers and government regulations shaped so much of our lives. And why not share it with your kids too, so they can appreciate just how brave their parents were.
