According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were
kids in the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's or even the early 80's, 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 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 street lights came on. No one was able to reach us
all day. No cell phones. Unthinkable!
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no video games at
all, no 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound,
personal cell phones, personal computers, or Internet chat rooms. We
had friends! We went outside and found them.
We played dodge ball, and sometimes, the ball would really hurt. 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. Remember accidents?
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 we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many
eyes, nor did the 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 and talked to them.
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! Our actions were our
own. Consequences were expected.
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 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.
And you're one of them! Congratulations.
Please pass this on to others who have had the luck to grow up as
kids, before lawyers and government regulated our lives, for our own
good.
Jeff,
I think we grew up in the best time, in the best city, went to the best school, and learned about life in the best possible environment. Also, the fact that we have all found each other again through the world of technology, makes me believe that you can go home again, and the relationships we built as children have ultimately stood the test of time.
Thanks, Jeff. Lots to think about. I remember hearing my grandmother talk about the simpler life when she was a kid, and I thought she was hopelessly old fashioned. Well, guess what?!~
John F. Crowley
Webmaster
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"Strong before our birth are the Sons and Daughters of the Garden State!"
Jeff, thanks for the input, it certainly brings back memories, and I must admit I long for the simpilar times. Now when the world in in such turmoil, I remember that at the end of WW11, I was about 6 yrs.old. I recall standing in long lines with my Mom while she tried to buy meat and butter etc. with ration stamps. You could only have one pair of shows and nothing made out of metal. Mom worked in a war plant and Dad who broke his leg stayed home with me. He was an air raid warden and when the sirens went off, out went the lights, down went the black shades, and we huddled at the big floor model radio, ( if you had one) which had a black cover over the dial to block the light, to hear the news. Dad put on his arm band and CD hard hat and flash light, and off he went hobbling down the street on his cane, checking for people outside, and if you could see and lights coming from any houses. We had no telephone, and our neighbor let us use theirs. There were drills at SRL, get under the desks. Looking back it probably wouldn't have helped, but it was something to do. Over the years I have lost friends and relatives at Guam and Midway, in Korea, and Vietnam, and the Gulf War. I agree completely that those years made us a special breed of men and women, proud to be Americans. It is great that many of us have found each other as well as old friends again. I pray that we will continue to persevere for the good of the world and our own nation. GOD BLESS AMERICA
