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[mss]

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's  and 70's!! First, we survived being born  to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can,  and didn't get tested for  diabetes. Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies  in baby cribs covered with bright colored  lead-based paints. 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 infants &  children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat  belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day  was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden  hose and NOT from a  bottle. We shared one  soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO  ONE actually died from this. We  ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank  Kool-aid  made with sugar, but we  weren't overweight because, WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE   PLAYING! 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.  And we  were O.K. 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 did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes,  no video games at  all, no 150  channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's,  no cell phones, no personal computer! no   Internet or chat rooms....... WE HAD FRIENDS and we went  outside and found them! We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones  and teeth and there were  no lawsuits from  these accidents. We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the  worms did not live  in us  forever. We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up  games with  sticks and tennis balls and,  although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes. We  rode bikes or walked to a friend's house 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. Imagine that!! The idea of a parent bailing us out  if we broke the law was unheard  of. They actually sided with  the law! These generations have produced some of the best  risk-takers,  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! If YOU are one of  them  CONGRATULATIONS! You might want  to share this with others who have had the luck to   grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government  regulated  so   much of our lives for our own good. While you are at it,  forward it to your kids so they will know how   brave (and lucky) their parents were. Kind of makes you  want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't   it?! The quote of the month is by Jay Leno: "With  hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding,  severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end  to  another, and with the  threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are   we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

[maineman]

If we were so cool, why are our generatiion's kids such slugs? mm