Posted by Becca_FL on 1/31/06 10:06am
Msg #92576

OT - Food for thought...

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED
(the 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's )

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 can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored 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 pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose 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 cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda 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 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 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, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rangthe 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. Imagine that!!

The 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 TO
DEAL 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?!

Reply by Sandra Rasnake on 1/31/06 10:08am
Msg #92578

Thats great and so true Becca. Thanks...

Reply by LawrenceOK on 1/31/06 10:28am
Msg #92585

You forgot to add Becca that when we crossed the line we got our butts paddled and we did not talk back to mom or dad.

Reply by Rick_NY on 1/31/06 10:32am
Msg #92587

... and we WALKED to school and it was uphill BOTH ways!

-- and we LIKED IT!

(Special thanks to Dana Carvey.)

Reply by Bonnie_CO on 1/31/06 10:37am
Msg #92591

Oh so TRUE! We survived! No adult ever felt like they had to do something to keep us entertained! And they call today a "better" world? I guess, IF you believe that no child should ever be disappointed (ie: not make the team), heaven forbid they get thier feelings hurt! Today's world tells them that they should not be required to work for what they want, and try again if you fail, today's world tells them everything should just be given to them.
Teachers are not allowed to discipline them, not allowed, really, to keep order, the kids have no respect for the teachers and walk all over them, if the child does get something like "in school suspension" for thier misbehavior, here comes Mommy and/or Daddy yelling at the teacher and principal, "how dare you do this to my child!"
It's scary!

Reply by srnotary_CA on 1/31/06 10:45am
Msg #92593

I remember running and playing from morning to night. Only going home to eat if we couldn't scrounge at a friends house. If we dared back talk which wasn't often we got our butts paddled.

Oh the good old days......Sighhhhh

Reply by Teddog_CO on 1/31/06 11:07am
Msg #92599

It sure didn't kill us.

My first thought is "we were allowed to be children" thanks Mom and Dad ! Those are the days you will never return to. Gee! Mom & Dad had a great sense of humor and taught us to laugh at ourselves and keep trying till you get right. They taught mannnny lessons to us, to help us get through this life. Dad, from Germany-Mom from Ireland <gives you the true meaning of "walking the straight and narrow!" Honor, duty, country, responsibilty and God.

They are gone for many years now, I know they have a special place in heaven. They sure worked hard to get there. God Bless Mom & Dad and Thank You from the bottom of my heart.
Good Job Guys!

Teddog

Reply by srnotary_CA on 1/31/06 11:09am
Msg #92601

Well Said Teddog!! n/m

Reply by Teddog_CO on 1/31/06 11:11am
Msg #92602

Often wonder what they'ed think of the 21st.century? nm

Reply by srnotary_CA on 1/31/06 11:14am
Msg #92604

Re: Often wonder what they'ed think of the 21st.century? nm

My dad shakes his head when he hears all of this talk about no spanking and no mouth washing and all that. He also says that kids need to learn to live up to their mistakes. Let me tell ya we did. My moms tune changed of course about the time grandkids came along LOL. I remember her crying with my nephew when she paddled him (years ago) for calling her the b word. It was funny.

Reply by CarolynCO on 1/31/06 11:16am
Msg #92606

Re: Often wonder what they'ed think of the 21st.century? nm

I lost Dad in 1991 -- just the changes that have occurred in these 15 years, last week Mom asked me "I wonder what he would think of such and such"

Reply by CarolynCO on 1/31/06 11:13am
Msg #92603

We were raised that we are just as good as anyone else -- but not to get cocky believing we were better than everyone else, because someone would come along and knock us down a peg or two.

And now that I've typed that, I realize that someone is going to throw it back at me the next time I"m mean to a newbie -- and with that, we were also taught to do for ourself and not expect a handout.

Reply by Teddog_CO on 1/31/06 11:30am
Msg #92615

CarolynCO

Not me Carolyn!

My Mon and Dad would Roll on the floor laughing and ask "how old are you?" if they read some of these questions asked. Their next question would be "and who do you think is going to be there to HELP you when you're supposed to be doing your job?" My dad would just say "Well kid, looks like you're not prepared and need to get back to the books." "Nobody can learn it for you." His favorite was "Mom and Dad will not be forever, so study and learn everything you can you're going to need it kid! trust me on this one." And guess what I did trust them and it worked.

They would NEVER believe some of the language people actually type on this board. Yikes!! They would hunt you down like a dog, just to give you a Good Lecture. lol

Ah! Memories!!

Teddog

Reply by srnotary_CA on 1/31/06 11:45am
Msg #92622

Re: CarolynCO

We lost mom 2 years ago. I always wonder what she woudl think. Just here recently because of all the changes goign on. We use to "argue" our different views. It helped ,even though I am grown up with kids of my own, to get her point of view on things. She would have been down right indignant(sp) about the things that have transpired in the last two years.

Reply by CarolynCO on 1/31/06 11:52am
Msg #92624

Re: CarolynCO

Dad and I used to say we were complete opposites because we never agreed and argued on so many subjects.

I never realized until after I lost Dad that the reason we argued was because we *were* just alike.

Reply by srnotary_CA on 1/31/06 11:56am
Msg #92630

Exactly Carolyn, n/m

Reply by Charm_AL on 1/31/06 11:47am
Msg #92623

haha...being the oldest of four, I was the one responsible to get the herd home from school. My Father used to 'drop by' and surprise us once in awhile, he'd make up chores to keep us busy and if we didn't have homework, he'd make some up.
We were allowed to go out on our block block out after dinner if it wasn't dark and Lord forbid you didn't hear that whistle to get home! To this day the smell of Ivory soap makes me sick!

Reply by CarolynCO on 1/31/06 11:02am
Msg #92596

And don't forget the bar of soap -- not to clean our body, but wash our mouth out! I personally never experienced it, but my sister did once when she was back-talking to Mom, who happened to be standing at the sink washing dishes.

Reply by Becca_FL on 1/31/06 11:07am
Msg #92598

Re: OT - Food for thought...Carolyn...

To this day I can not stand Ivory soap. Mom once made me take a bite out of a bar for calling my sister a be-otch. YUCK! On another occasion, Mom made me brush my teeth with a tooth brush full of Ivory soap. I can't stand the smell of that stuff.

Reply by CarolynCO on 1/31/06 11:08am
Msg #92600

Re: Becca -- the good 'ol days! nm

Reply by Bonnie_CO on 1/31/06 2:25pm
Msg #92684

"This is gonna hurt me worse than it hurts you..."

I used to think, "yeah, right...", until I grew up and had kids of my own, then I found out how right they were... Looking back on it, all it ever really hurt was my pride! LOL, but I learned real quick not to do whatever I had done, again!
I got nasty old LAVA soap! YUCK! They scraped it across my teeth on my tongue, didn't think i'd ever get that taste out of my mouth! Then again, I NEVER AGAIN told my Mom to "Kiss my A**!"
Thanks Mom & Dad! They did a great job raising me!

Reply by CarolynCO on 1/31/06 2:48pm
Msg #92695

Re: As a parent, I remember the first time my own

parents words came out of my mouth -- which, at the time, really quite shocked me, because of all the times, as a teen, I swore their words would NEVERy never would!

Reply by CarolynCO on 1/31/06 2:48pm
Msg #92697

Re: oops -- continuation

I just hate it when I hit the return by accident ...

should be "would swore their words would NEVER cross my lips."

Reply by Bonnie_CO on 1/31/06 3:29pm
Msg #92704

Isn't that the biggest....

shock! LOL! I remember saying the exact same thing!! Thinking back, if I had raised my kids the way I swore I was gonna do when I was 16 or 17, they'd be in prison!!!LOL!

Reply by Charm_AL on 1/31/06 4:32pm
Msg #92718

Re: Isn't that the biggest....

The one thing my Mother always said was "I cannot wait until you have kids" Many times, I've called her over the years to complain, get advice, what not and most of the time she would give me that cruel little laugh. Always followed by ahhhh....What goes around comes around. OK....So give me the damned advice already! That's why I have called her Mommie Dearest for years!