>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.
>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. No guns, no knives.
>We made up games with sticks, stones 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. No lawsuits.
>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
>or any persons.
>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.
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