Yeh!
I got sent this in an email today and thought i would share it
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a tin, and didn't get tested for diabetes.Then after that trauma, our baby cots were covered with bright coloured lead-based paints. 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 van - loose - was always great fun.
We drank water from the garden hosepipe and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this.
We ate cakes, white bread and real butter and drank pop with sugar in it, 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 our 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 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no text messaging, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them! We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents .We played with worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. Made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not poke out any eyes. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them! Local teams had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine thatThe idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law .This generation has 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 TODEAL WITH IT ALL .
And YOU are one of them!
CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.
and while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?
PS -The BIG type is because your eyes are shot at your age
Yeh!
Not to mention if we were late, we got grounded and we took as the punishment it was intended to be! Not as an excuse to strop around and have hissy fits, shouting abuse...
I had something very similar to yours some years ago:
NOSTALGIA
If you lived as a child in the 40's, 50's, 60's or 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. Our cots were covered with bright coloured lead-based paint. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors, or cupboards, and when we rode our bikes we had no helmets.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. 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 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 mobile phones.
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 patty cakes, bread and butter, and drank cordial, but we were never overweight... we were always outside playing. We shared one drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one died from this.
We didn't have Playstations, Nintendo 64s, X-Boxes, video games, 65 channels on pay TV, video tape movies or DVD, surround sound, personal mobile 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 didn't put out very many eyes, nor did the worms live inside us forever.
Footy and netball 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. Tests were not adjusted for those who couldn't make the grade.
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!
And just to make sure you have had enough ........... just for a minute, forget everything stressful and read this ................................. go back in time...
Before the Internet or the Apple Mac.
Before semi-automatics, joyriders and crack.... Before SEGA or Super Nintendo...
Way back........
I'm talking about Hide and Seek in the park. The corner shop. Hopscotch. Butterscotch. Skipping. Handstands. Football with an old can. Beano, Dandy, Buster, Twinkle and Dennis the menace. Roly Poly. Hula Hoops, jumping the stream, building dams.
The smell of the sun and fresh cut grass. Bazooka Joe bubble gum. A penny Arrow Bar. An ice cream cone on a warm summer night from the van that plays a tune, Chocolate or vanilla or strawberry or maybe Neapolitan
Wait..................................
Watching Saturday morning cartoons .... short commercials, The Double Deckers, Road Runner, He-Man, Zeebedee, Tiswas or Swapshop?, and 'Why Don't You'? - or staying up for Doctor Who. When around the corner seemed far away and going into town seemed like going somewhere. Earwigs, wasps, stinging nettles and bee stings. Sticky fingers. Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians and Zorro. Climbing trees. Building igloos out of snow banks. Walking to school, no matter what the weather. Running till you were out of breath, laughing so hard that your stomach hurt. Jumping on the bed. Pillow fights. Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles.
Being tired from playing .... remember that?
The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team. Water balloons were the ultimate weapon. Football cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle. Choppers and Grifters.
I'm not finished just yet.......................
Eating raw jelly. Orange squash ice pops. Remember when...............
There were two types of trainers - girls and boys, and Dunlop Green and Flash and the only time you wore them at school was for P.E. You knew everyone in your street - and so did your parents. It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends. You didn't sleep a wink on Christmas eve.
When nobody owned a pure-bred dog. When half a crown was decent pocket money. When you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny. When nearly everyone's mum was in when the kids got home from school.
It was magic when dad would "remove" his thumb. When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents. When any parent could discipline any kid, or feed him or use him to carry groceries and nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it. When being sent to the head's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home.
Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of drive-by shootings, drugs, gangs etc. Parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! - and some of us are still afraid of them!!
Didn't that feel good?
Just to go back and say, Yeah, I remember that! Remember when...............
Decisions were made by going " dip dip dip, my blue ship..... out". "Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest. Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "Monopoly". The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was germs. And the worst thing in your day was having to sit next to one. It was unbelievable that 'British Bulldog 123' wasn't an Olympic event. Having a weapon in school, meant being caught with a catapult. Nobody was prettier than Mum. Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better. Taking drugs meant orange-flavoured chewable aspirin. Ice cream was considered a basic food group. Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true. Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors.
If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED.
Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "grown up" life... I DOUBLE-DARE YOU"
I came into the big wide world in the late 80's
However what Barry posted just doesn't relate to the 80's kids
I got this in an e-mail today, it is doing the rounds and is oh so true!
THE ABILITY TO QUOTE IS A SERVICEABLE SUBSTITUTE FOR WIT!
When did the 80s get added to this? Last time I saw something like this, it stopped at the 70s.
Just because these kids are now old enough to start doing productive work does not mean they can claim to have survived the same dangers we had back in my day!
(I was born in the late 60s.)
Hmmm. Nobody had to 'stay up' for Dr Who. It was on like - 5.30 on a Saturday afternoon, just after The Flintstones.
It used to go from Fred pounding on the door after Dino put him out - Bam!Bam!Bam! "Wilma!" Bam!Bam!Bam! "Let me in! Wilma!"
to
"Oooooo-eee-ooooooooooooooo..."
A variation on this theme. I don't know about schools in 1960. The ones I went to in the 70s were like this as well.
School 1960 vs. School 2008
Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.
1960 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end
up mates.
2008 - Police are called, Armed Response Unit arrives and arrests
Johnny and Mark. Mobiles with video of fight confiscated as evidence.
They are charged with assault, ASBOs are taken out and both are suspended even though Johnny started it. Diversionary conferences and parent meetings conducted. Video shown on 6 Internet sites.
Scenario: Jeffrey won't sit still in class, disrupts other students.
1960 - Jeffrey is sent to the headmaster's office and given 6 of the
best. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2008 - Jeffrey is given huge doses of Ritalin. Counseled to death. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. School gets extra funding because Jeffrey has a disability. Drops out of school.
Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his neighbour's car and his Dad gives him the slipper.
1960 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.
2008 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy is removed to foster care and joins a gang. Psychologist tells Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mum has an affair with the psychologist. Psychologist gets a promotion.
Scenario: Mark, a college student, brings cigarettes to school .
1960 - Mark shares a smoke with the school principal out on the smoking area.
2008 - Police are called and Mark is expelled from School for drug possession. His car is searched for drugs and weapons.
Scenario: Mohamed fails high school English.
1960 - Mohamed studies harder, improves his English, retakes his exam, passes and goes to college.
2008 - Mohamed's cause is taken up by local human rights group. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that making English a requirement for graduation is racist. Civil Liberties Association files class action lawsuit against state school system and his English teacher. English is banned from core curriculum. Mohammed is given his qualification anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.
Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers, puts them in a
model plane paint bottle and blows up an anthill.
1960 - Ants die.
2008 - MI5 and police are called and Johnny is charged with
perpetrating acts of terrorism. Teams investigate parents, siblings
are removed from the home, computers are confiscated, and Johnny's dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.
Scenario: Johnny falls during break and scrapes his knee. His teacher, Mary, finds him crying, and gives him a hug to comfort him.
1960 - Johnny soon feels better and goes back to playing.
2008 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces three years in prison. Johnny undergoes five years of therapy. Becomes gay.
I was going to deal with this stuff piecemeal but it is so loaded I decided not to try.
Of course there has been over-reaction, over-compensation, and of course we can all view the shortcomings of the current situation with 20/20 clarity.
That's no excuse for viewing the 1960s through rose-coloured and very badly scratched glasses, however!
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