To Be Young Again
When we were kids . . . for those of you who lived as a child in the 1950’s or the 1960’s, or earlier . . . 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 youngster! 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 dodge ball and sometimes the ball would really hurt. We got cut and broken bones and broken teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. They were accidents. And 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 video game devices, or any video games at all, 101 channels on cable, CD movies, surround sound, personal cellular 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 a law was unheard of - they actually sided with the law, imagine that! Our generations have produced some of the best risk-takers and problem-solvers and inventors, ever. The past fifty 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 you are one of them.
by Author Unknown
When we were kids . . . for those of you who lived as a child in the 1950’s or the 1960’s, or earlier . . . 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 youngster! 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 dodge ball and sometimes the ball would really hurt. We got cut and broken bones and broken teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. They were accidents. And 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 video game devices, or any video games at all, 101 channels on cable, CD movies, surround sound, personal cellular 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 a law was unheard of - they actually sided with the law, imagine that! Our generations have produced some of the best risk-takers and problem-solvers and inventors, ever. The past fifty 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 you are one of them.
by Author Unknown
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