Posted by Phil on November 26, 2002, at 17:09:52
You are probably over forty or approaching it if you get this: You
lived as a child in the 50s, 60s or early 70's. 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
young kid!)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 broke bones and broke teeth and
there
were no law suits from these accidents. They were accidents. 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 Playstations, Nintendo 64, X. Boxes, video games at
all, 99 channels on cable, video tape 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!This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem
solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 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're one of them.
Congratulations!
poster:Phil
thread:764
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/2000/20020724/msgs/764.html