We Survived!

To All The Kids Who Survived
the 1940's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!  

First, we survived being born to mothers who 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 with real butter and drank Kool-aid 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. Yes! We were OK!

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 how to solve the problem.

We did NOT have Playstations, Nintendos, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable TV, no video movies nor DVDs, no surround-sound nor CDs, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet nor chat rooms...WE HAD FRIENDS! We went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, skinned knees, got cuts and bruises, broke bones and teeth. Guess what? 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 right 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! 

When we did something we were not suppose to or got into trouble, we got spanked (by the hand, a hairbrush, or a belt) or even worse, we got our legs 'switched' with a branch from a special bush grown in the backyard. Sometimes we even had to go cut it ourselves before it was used on us. But we never thought of calling the police or Social Services to report our parents for child abuse! 

It is very interesting to note these generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors EVER! Why? Could it be because of their innovative nature, willingness to help one another, camaraderie instead of fierce cut-throat competition, love for outdoors and each other? 

The past 50 to 85 years have seen an explosion of innovation and new ideas. Freedoms were won, failures preceded successes, responsibility abounded, and we learned how to deal with it all. 

If YOU are one of those born between 1925-1970, CONGRATULATIONS! YOU SURVIVED!

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.

 Way Back When

 

Way back when could be days gone by

When leisure reigned and time didn’t fly

Back in the day brought a blissful vision

Summer nights with no television

We'd play hide-n-seek way passed dark

When shadows played tricks as we embarked

Wearing socks emitted soundless steps

Muffled strides which slowly crept

Good ol’ days forged many a fable

When conversation ruled the dinner table

Freshly cooked chow incited a snicker

“Pass the peas, please, and the pot liquor”

Way back when could be days gone by

When things remembered made you cry

Reminiscing brought an unwelcome vision

Summer nights with no television

We’d play inside after Jack Frost

When darkness reigned and time was lost

Sounds of the night repeated all week

Rocking chairs that steadily creaked

Now the days pass much too fast 

But memories still linger holding on to the past

Remembrances prompt the slyest grin

“A way of life, way back when!”

©2010 Remembering
Sharla Lee Shults

 

“Let each day begin with thoughts that return to remember when.” ~SLS