what it was like to be a kid in the 50's 60's and 70's

[justamom]

> 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 hitchiking 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 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 cell phones. Unthinkable.
> >
> > We played dodge ball and sometimes the ball would really hurt. We got
> > cu t, broke bones , 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, XBoxes, video games, 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 r a ng 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.
>
> >
> > Please pass this on to others that have had the luck to grow up as kids,
> > before lawyers and government regulated our lives for our own good?