Born Before 1986?According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980's probably shouldn't have survived, because our cribs were covered with highly lead-based pain which was regularly chewed and licked. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles or latches on doors or cabinets, and it was fine to play with pots and pans. When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just flip-flops and fluorescent "spokey dokeys" on our wheels.As children, we could ride in cars with no seat belts or airbags and riding in the front passenger seat - or lying in the back of the station wagon -was a treat. We drank water from the backyard hose and not from a bottle, and it tasted the same. We ate fries, bread with butter and drank fizzy juice with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing. We shared one drink with four friends - from one bottle or can - and no one actually died from it. We would spend several hours building go-carts out of scraps, then go top speed down the hill, only to find out we'd forgotten the brakes. After running into a patch of stinging nettles 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 before dark. No one was able to reach us and no one minded. We didn't have Playstations or Xboxes - no video games at all. No 99 channels on TV, no videotape films, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no DVDs, no internet chatrooms. We had friends - we went outside and found them. We played jump rope and dodge ball, and sometimes that ball really hurt! We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones, but there were no law suits.We played Knock Down Ginger and were actually afraid of the owners catching us. We walked to friends' homes. We also, believe it or not, walked to school; we didn't rely on mom or dad to drive us to school, as it was just around the corner. We made up games with sticks and tennis balls. We rode bikes in packs of seven and wore our coats by only the hood. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a 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 seen 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!
Pass this on to others who have had the luck to grow as real kids, before lawyers and government regulated our lives, for our own good. For those of you who aren't old enough thought you might like to read about us. This my friends, is surprisingly frightening......and it might put a smile on your face: The majority of students in universities today were born in 1986........They are called youth. They have never heard of We are the World, We are the children, and the Uptown Girl they know is by Westlife not Billy Joel. They have never heard of Rick Astley, Bananarama, Nena Cherry or Belinda Carlisle. For them, there has always been only one Germany and one Vietnam. AIDS has existed since they were born. CD's have existed since they were born. Michael Jackson has always been white. To them John Travolta has always been round in shape and they can't imagine how this fat guy could be a god of dance. They believe that Charlie's Angels and Mission Impossible are films from last year. They can never imagine life before computers. They'll never have pretended to be the A Team, RedHand Gang or the Famous Five. They can't believe a black and white television ever existed. And they will never understand how we could leave the house without a Mobile phone. Know what I Mean? Yes, you're getting old!!
