Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Remember...

I just read this and wanted to put some place where I wouldn't lose it.  I'm happy to say that I do remember a time like this and thankful that I grow up in that time.

According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s or even the early 80s, 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 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 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 wood scraps and fruit crates 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.

Now one was able to reach us by cell phone.  Unthinkable!  We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no video games at all, no ninety-nine channels on cable, videotape movies, surround sound, personal cell phones, personal computers, or Internet chat rooms.  We had neighborhood friends!  We played dodge ball, and sometimes, the ball would really hurt.  We played other games such as Kick the Can and Capture the Flag.  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.

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 were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor did 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.  Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team.  Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment.

Some of us weren't as smart as others, so we 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 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.
-ANONYMOUS

4 comments:

  1. hi from fellow Pittsburgher to you too!
    You're def faster then I am, I had the same idea earlier today when I noticed there were 2 ppl from Pitts.

    Anyway I really like your website, it's simple and straight forward, just what i need to display my portfolio! Your drawings are great! I did a lot of drawing myself when I was in college and prior, I can really appreciate yours!
    I'm very stressed out over my Blog, I'm not big on writing and English isn't my first language, soo I'm not sure how the whole thing is going to work. I guess I'll just focus on those small steps...

    anyways good luck to you in this course and I'm so glad that you contacted me, see you around!

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  2. and some women drank wine while they were pregnant! :)

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  3. Just ventured over here through Flying Lessons - that is an awesome post! Raising two children of my own I often forget things like this...it's good to be reminded that hubby and I survived all of our bumps and bruises - and our kids will be stronger for having done so as well.

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  4. good post! I don't like the fear and lack of genuine community we have these days. Let's bring back the idea of a "neighborhood"...

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