10/06/2004

People over 35

It's for people over 35 but being 34 I remember doing all these things. It's going around the forward world again, I thought I would post it up here because it's true.
People over 35 should be dead. Here's why . According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 40's, 50's, 60's, or even maybe the early 70'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 seatbelts 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 Playst! ations, 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! Tests were not adjusted for any reason. 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!

3 comments:

Smoke Eater said...

WOW! I didn't realize how BAD you guys had it, but come to think of it, I'm really there too. Born in 77 I had the bright crib, a tree house with (gulp) NO SAFETY RAILS, played outside all day, got home after school and left right away on my bike, not to return until after dark, and worse yet, I DIDN'T EVEN HEAR ABOUT "BICYCLE SAFETY" TILL I WAS 20!

So I guess we are dead, and we'll know we're in hell if JK/JE win, right?

Unknown said...

LMAO
Bike Safty?
I learned how to ride a bike but didn't learn how to apply the brakes, I would just run into something when I wanted to stop. That worked until I ran into my Dad while he was working on the car.

DAWN said...

Who knew I was all that and more; how cool are we! Thanks for that post, Kari--sure made me laugh (and think). Have a good one. ~DAWN

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