TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. . They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes. . After that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints. . We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, special latches on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking. . As infants & children, we rode in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags. . Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat. . We drank water from the garden hose, NOT a sports bottle. . We shared one soft drink with four friends, from the same bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. . We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-Aid made with sugar, but we weren't 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 streetlights came on. . No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K. . We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then ride 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 Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet, no I-Pod or chat rooms... WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them in our own town, neighborhood and state! . We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. . We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. . We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out too many eyes. . We made up games with sticks and tennis balls . We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them! . If we were lucky, they were eating a meal and we got invited to eat with them. . Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! . The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! . We produced some of the best risk-takers, 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!

If YOU are one of us . . . CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives for our own good. And while you're at it, have your kids read this so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were. Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!