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 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!
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!
Joel
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 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!
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!
Joel
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